Vermetid Snails

[AnisaG]

What are your thoughts on vermetid snails?? I have 5-10 in my 29g biocube...

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

Snails That Worm Their Way Into Tanks by Ronald L. Shimek, Ph.D. - Reefkeeping.com

highly successful, component of reef biodiversity

I have several too

 

[AnisaG]

Thanks for the link

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

You are very very welcome !

 

[Reefmack]

The vermetid webs can irritate corals if you get them close to one. Pretty reef safe though. I even have some on the back of snails.

 

[vubben]

I even have some on the back of snails.

I have one snail that has so much growing on it that it no longer looks like a snail. It's covered in a thick mat of red algae, has a vermetid snail growing off to one side and has a long feather of green algae sticking straight up from the middle that makes the whole thing look like some kind of crazy Octoberfest hat. I've been trying to get a shot of him for days but he prefers the back of the tank.

Back to the Vermetids, I have a ton of them as well. I have removed a few of the larger ones because the webs were constantly draped over one of my zoo colonies. Aside from that, I would only worry bout them if their numbers drastically increased. I've noticed that my Skunk shrimp has a favorite Vermatid that he will sometimes sit beside for hours while eating it's web.

 

[AnisaG]

Thanks everyone for the good news! Mine tend to stay fairly hidden while the lights are on, but if you sneak up on them at night they are outstreated probably a good 2 inches... the first time I saw it I almost screamed! hahaha

 

[XeniaLee]

I think the vermetids are kinda cool, but I put some new zoos, and they are always covered with the slimy web. Is that just because they're new, or because they are too close to the vermetids.

@vubbin, how did you "remove" them?

 

[vubben]

I was successful removing a few and unsuccessful with a few others. I just took the a razor and scraped them off the rock. But that's not enough because the shell was on the rock but the worm itself was in the rock so, where I could I dug down into the rock with the point of the razor.

 

[XeniaLee]

I read that you can poke them (ick) or close off the opening with coral glue or epoxy. None of those options appeals to me. I may move the new zoos across the tank so they aren't slimed any more.

 

[IamELMO]

I find the webs hold food which my fish then go eat. Like a holding pen it's funny to watch. But they multiply rapidly and like already said, their webs can irritate corals.

Some annoyed me so I just snapped them off

 

[Epictofer]

anyone ever see a vermetide web take down a percula clown fish?

 

[GlassMunky]

OH NO! did something happen to the new guy? i hope not?

 

[cheeks69]

What are your thoughts on vermetid snails?? I have 5-10 in my 29g biocube...

My thoughts are it's painful to pick up my rock because I have hundreds of them everywhere...lol

 

[Epictofer]

yea he was no longer living when i returned from work yesterday

 

[saltycity]

The webs can be a problem with some coral but dont bother others. They can go crazy in your tank and creat a problem so would try to keep the numbers down.

 

[mgraf]

I crunch my snails with a fine needle nose pliars. Is there anything that will eat these things? They are rapidly spreading throughout my tank as well