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robbyras

robbyras

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Vermetid snails... and it turns out I have hundreds of them :(


I had no idea what all these "reddish sticks" were growing all over my tank. I finally looked into it. Yeah, they are everywhere. The initial weapons of choice will be bone cutters and bumblebee snails.


Any suggestions?
 
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robbyras said:
Vermetid snails... and it turns out I have hundreds of them :(


I had no idea what all these "reddish sticks" were growing all over my tank. I finally looked into it. Yeah, they are everywhere. The initial weapons of choice will be bone cutters and bumblebee snails.


Any suggestions?
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Pull each rock, wear gloves and be careful to avoid cuts. Vermatids can be sharp and cuts + exposure to saltwater and bacteria can lead to infection for some. Use a scalpel and make sure you get each one off from the base. Don’t just snip the portion extending vertically. Once you’re done, rinse the rock in a clean bucket of saltwater then back into the tank. Bumblebees to help from there.

It’s a lot of work
 
B the Nano Reefer said:
Pull each rock, wear gloves and be careful to avoid cuts. Vermatids can be sharp and cuts + exposure to saltwater and bacteria can lead to infection for some. Use a scalpel and make sure you get each one off from the base. Don’t just snip the portion extending vertically. Once you’re done, rinse the rock in a clean bucket of saltwater then back into the tank. Bumblebees to help from there.

It’s a lot of work
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We're gonna do our best. Thanks for the guidance!
 
B the Nano Reefer said:
Pull each rock, wear gloves and be careful to avoid cuts. Vermatids can be sharp and cuts + exposure to saltwater and bacteria can lead to infection for some. Use a scalpel and make sure you get each one off from the base. Don’t just snip the portion extending vertically. Once you’re done, rinse the rock in a clean bucket of saltwater then back into the tank. Bumblebees to help from there.

It’s a lot of work
Click to expand...
How many bumblebees for a 140 gal? i was thinking 15 or so
 
I find bone cutters work great in-tank. Just make sure to cut through the bulgy base, not just the tube. The smaller bone cutters with a bit of a backward curve work a little better than the larger ones. I never take rocks out or get too worked up for vermetids personally, just snip the ones I can. I don’t try to retrieve the cut off part, the tank clean up crew will take care of it. It’s actually kind of perversely satisfying and not very difficult. If you keep up with it, they aren’t too hard to control in my experience. Also I’ve found they aren’t one of those pests that will always come back. I haven’t had to go after them for the past couple years.
 
robbyras said:
How many bumblebees for a 140 gal? i was thinking 15 or so
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15 are unlikely to be enough without sufficient manual removal, but they can be hit or miss whether they actually target the vermatids. I would start with 15 with the idea that you may have to purchase more, and if thats the case i would get your 2nd batch for a different source to increase the chances of success.
 
JVU said:
I find bone cutters work great in-tank. Just make sure to cut through the bulgy base, not just the tube. The smaller bone cutters with a bit of a backward curve work a little better than the larger ones. I never take rocks out or get too worked up for vermetids personally, just snip the ones I can. I don’t try to retrieve the cut off part, the tank clean up crew will take care of it. It’s actually kind of perversely satisfying and not very difficult. If you keep up with it, they aren’t too hard to control in my experience. Also I’ve found they aren’t one of those pests that will always come back. I haven’t had to go after them for the past couple years.
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This is the attitude I'm going in with. I want to get them away from my corals first and whittle away the rest as I can. The only real damage I can see that they cause is harming corals. And I can see that in my torch. There are a TON in there, so I'm going to take a few weeks and do my best, then maintain from there. I can see how it will be pretty satisfying to cut them out :D
 
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Invictus said:
15 are unlikely to be enough without sufficient manual removal, but they can be hit or miss whether they actually target the vermatids. I would start with 15 with the idea that you may have to purchase more, and if thats the case i would get your 2nd batch for a different source to increase the chances of success.
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It's going to a battle of two fronts. Manual removal and bumblebees. I've seen some folks have reportedly great success and some see no difference. So we'll see. Thanks for the advice on the number. I don't want too many of them in there, so I think 15-20 is a good start.
 
If you can take a rock out, and there isn't coral in the area, pliers or a steel hammer also work for killing them. Use appropriate force and ppe. Bone cutters and needle nose pliers are likely the two most common tools used. Can attest, these are sharp and poke holes in skin easily.
 
I noticed that there’s different kinds of vermited snails. Small ones and big ones. You really don’t want the big ones. The small ones are manageable. Almost everyone has them or will get them. I have the small ones. I dropped 50 in my 190 back in the day. They seemed to help although I never seen the bumblebee snails actually eat a vermited. I hear the bumblebee are meat eaters but not 100% sure. I always have some in my systems.
 
I have a 2.5ft long 1/4" diameter fiberglass rod that I use to smash the small ones without needing to stick my hands in the tank. It might not always kill them if you only breaks the tip, but it stunts their growth enough that they are no longer a problem for me. The stick is also handy for general maintenance poking and moving things at the bottom of the tank.

 
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CaseyP said:
I have a 2ft long 1/4" diameter fiberglass rod that I use to smash the small ones without needing to stick my hands in the tank. It might not always kill them if you only breaks the tip, but it stunts their growth enough that they are no longer a problem for me. The stick is also handy for general maintenance poking and moving things at the bottom of the tank.

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Honestly reef tank poking stick needs to be a product that's regularly sold. I was joking with one of @robert4025 's employees the other day that he should just get a bunch of these in to sell.

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I don’t think the little vermetids cause much harm, I have seen a beautiful SPS tank with the little ones literally blanketing every inch of rock.

I think the bumblebee snails do help - in large numbers and added before the snails really reach critical mass.
 
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