Vermitid snails on my snails

[jerimiah74]

Finally purchased new dry rock, sand. When we move will replace. The slime plugs up filter socks, even goes right thru them. Media reactor, the slime gums up the gfo. Purchased a 1 micron filter sock to keep the slime out of reactor, slimes outside.

My question: can they be killed off the shell of my invertebrates? The snails are as much a joy as marine fish. Suppose last resort is permanent removal in another small tank.

Second question: live sand, can they survive in sand. Not sure how long a bag sits in a warehouse or shelf?

 

[T-J]

Either you have tens of thousands of these things, or the slime is coming from something else. I have a few vermetids and the only time you see the "Slime" is when there is food in the water. Then they use that small thread to reel in their food.
As far as removing them, you can pull the snail out of the water and completely scrape them off the shell. If they are on rocks, encase their tubes with superglue or putty. If you break the tube off, they most likely will survive.
HTH.