Coral Snow to control Vermetids

[Projects with Sam]

So I've been battling vermetids lately and have been concerned I let it go too long and I'm on the loosing side now. I can imagine that once it gets too far along there'll be nothing I can do...

I've gotten a bunch of Bumblebee snails and am hand-cracking all the stalks I see but I am still finding myself having to scrape my corals from the small ones every so often...

I saw an AI search summary that said coral snow helps by disrupting their feeding abilities. Has anyone tried this?

Do you think it may work?

 

[exnisstech]

From I've read the the coral snow cleans the water and removes the particulates the vermatids feed on. I've read real people say it can help but have no first hand experience.

 

[Projects with Sam]

are bumblebees the only other thing aside from manual removal?

 

[Projects with Sam]

does anyone know if UV kills their gametes?

 

[F i s h y]

are bumblebees the only other thing aside from manual removal?

bumble bees are all i am aware of that remove them. i do crack them and let my copperband eat them.

 

[F i s h y]

From I've read the the coral snow cleans the water and removes the particulates the vermatids feed on. I've read real people say it can help but have no first hand experience.

 

[F i s h y]

does anyone know if UV kills their gametes?

this is probably plausible if the exposure time is long enough, but in our systems i dont think it could possibly get them all before some would settle out. or you may mutate them into super verms.

 

[JTP424]

As far as I was able to find regarding things that eat them yea.
Rumor is you can use calcium carbonate as a "flocculant" as opposed to coral snow. I've been using it lately (a squirt of it (premixed with RO/Saltwater, i dont remember which) every few days.

 

[JTP424]

I think it's helped starved them, I see less of their strands, I would wait until I see their strings, squirt in some, let the tank cloud up, then do it again next time I see the strands again.

 

[JTP424]

Here's where I based my info on https://reefbuilders.com/2023/05/11/how-to-get-rid-of-vermetid-snails/
It's a few years old, snippet from the link about the mixture:
"The formula for calcium carbonate that I use for this treatment is 2 tbsp to 1 liter of tank water and then dose half of that twice a day. Calcium carbonate has been used for a number of years as a tank clarifier and it will not affect the water chemistry in tanks where it is used. Treating the tank twice a day for the first week is just a start. Then once a day for the next 3-4 weeks, I have even had to go a total of eight weeks, this seems treatment is done. I usually do this right before the lights go out as the worms are usually more active at night."

 

[BriDroid]

I used DIY coral snow when I was overrun with hydroids. I feel like it did help to beat them back. The tank is incredibly clear after a treatment too. I still use it from time to time when it's dingy.

 

[Sdoutreefer]

So I've been battling vermetids lately and have been concerned I let it go too long and I'm on the loosing side now. I can imagine that once it gets too far along there'll be nothing I can do...

I've gotten a bunch of Bumblebee snails and am hand-cracking all the stalks I see but I am still finding myself having to scrape my corals from the small ones every so often...

I saw an AI search summary that said coral snow helps by disrupting their feeding abilities. Has anyone tried this?

Do you think it may work?

I was using coral snow for awhile, then stopped. I now have a decent population of vermatids…. There may be something to it!

 

[twentyleagues]

I have been doing the "snow" weekly for 8 or so months. It does not seem to effect them. I have a ton of them now. I had a few but started smashing them and then the population exploded. I dont feed fine particulate very often so not sure where the explosion came from unless they release babies when smashed.

 

[Goaway]

@billyocean @tbrown

i followed a recipe given, and something happens in clogging the tubes or the worms can't digest the particles of the calcium carbonate. Either way, it was working for me as I was running the weekly dosage. I quit and now they are returning. So, there might be something to it.

 

[skiergd011013]

I saw on bulk reef supply to crush their tubes, and get peppermint shrimp and they will eat them once their tubes are crushed.

 

[mjszos]

I tried the DIY Coral Snow route and I found it effective. I did also take a few additional measures (less feeding, cleaning food, etc). I would never recommend paying for the name brand product, just buy a bottle of Calcium Carbonate and mix it with RODI - note that it won't absorb and you'll have to agitate it. I kept it in my fridge, covered, for months.

The silver lining of it all is that the water got so dang clear that I could see the vermitids that were hiding before, lol.

 

[Projects with Sam]

I've been following the following thread:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/extreme-water-clarity-and-cyano-eradication-made-easy.916381/for water clarity where Calcium Carbonate is talked about at length and many folks say not to overuse it because it, in addition to removing the food particulates, also removes your trace elements.
not an issue if you're doing water changes but I'm going to dose trace as I up my snowing.

 

[Projects with Sam]

Good to hear that it anecdotally keeps the vermetids at bay from a bunch of folks. may be more then a coincidence if many people have the same experience.

I'm embarking on this journey...

 

[Nano_Man]

@billyocean @tbrown

i followed a recipe given, and something happens in clogging the tubes or the worms can't digest the particles of the calcium carbonate. Either way, it was working for me as I was running the weekly dosage. I quit and now they are returning. So, there might be something to it.

I think you're on the right lines friend

 

[mjszos]

@billyocean @tbrown

i followed a recipe given, and something happens in clogging the tubes or the worms can't digest the particles of the calcium carbonate. Either way, it was working for me as I was running the weekly dosage. I quit and now they are returning. So, there might be something to it.

I think the logic is that the particulates being in the water causes them to begin their feeding response. Rather than absorbing actual food, they're absorbing the calcium carbonate which effectively starves them.