Getting Rid of Vermitid Snails

Aaron-A2 · Aug 22, 2018

Hello!

I've had vermitid snails in my system for a few months. Normally I do a sweep of pinching the shells with tongs off the rock every few weeks, especially when I see them close to my coral.

Is there any other method to keep vermitid snails at bay or eradicate them? Perhaps a natural predator?

KJ · Aug 22, 2018

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/vermetid-snails.334528/

Brew12 · Aug 22, 2018

Byronyk said:
Hello!

I've had vermitid snails in my system for a few months. Normally I do a sweep of pinching the shells with tongs off the rock every few weeks, especially when I see them close to my coral.

Is there any other method to keep vermitid snails at bay or eradicate them? Perhaps a natural predator?

Some evidence shows that Trapezia crabs will protect the corals they live in from Vermitids.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00338-010-0663-9

If I break the stem off, my cleaner shrimp will eat them. He loves them, but he can't get to them without help. I've seen where some people say that their emerald crabs eat vermitids, but not sure I put much faith in that.

Dancingmad · Aug 22, 2018

No preds that I'm aware of. Ive had the little ones and they are too bad. The big ones are a pain. The ol smash and scrape provode short term relief.

If you feel like you must intervene more you may try to reduce free floating particulates (more mechanical filtration) or outcompete with other suspension feeders (e.g. featherdusters, sponges and of course corals).

They usually go away for me with time...

Aaron-A2 · Aug 22, 2018

Dancingmad said:
No preds that I'm aware of. Ive had the little ones and they are too bad. The big ones are a pain. The ol smash and scrape provode short term relief.

If you feel like you must intervene more you may try to reduce free floating particulates (more mechanical filtration) or outcompete with other suspension feeders (e.g. featherdusters, sponges and of course corals).

They usually go away for me with time...

Right now my tank is fallow. I recently started dosing nitrates to bring values above 0. I have a hard time believing it's free floating particles, but it's possible. Fallow ends on the 23rd of this week

Brew12 · Aug 22, 2018

Oh.. btw.. Mantis shrimp will eat them, but that causes other issues

Aaron-A2 · Aug 22, 2018

Brew12 said:
Oh.. btw.. Mantis shrimp will eat them, but that causes other issues

lol, true true.

Rakie · Aug 22, 2018

DIY KZ Coral Snow will kill them -- guaranteed. Just gotta keep at it. Worked for me.

Thread Link ---> DIY KZ Coral Snow (with >97% purity)

Brew12 · Aug 22, 2018

Rakie said:
DIY KZ Coral Snow will kill them -- guaranteed. Just gotta keep at it. Worked for me.

Thread Link ---> DIY KZ Coral Snow (with >97% purity)

Do you have a dosing recommendation to use it on Vermitids?

Rakie · Aug 22, 2018

Brew12 said:
Do you have a dosing recommendation to use it on Vermitids?

There's actually no dosing recommendations at all. Basically shake well, pour in enough to make your tank milky. The skimmer will suck it out and it binds to anything floating in your water and gets skimmed out.

I made mine in a gatorade bottle, and dosed approximately 2-3 gatorade lids worth... lol

I CAN say, dose often.. Dose every 2-3 days to starve out Vermatids

Aaron-A2 · Aug 22, 2018

Rakie said:
There's actually no dosing recommendations at all. Basically shake well, pour in enough to make your tank milky. The skimmer will suck it out and it binds to anything floating in your water and gets skimmed out.

I made mine in a gatorade bottle, and dosed approximately 2-3 gatorade lids worth... lol

I CAN say, dose often.. Dose every 2-3 days to starve out Vermatids

Is there a thread that discusses the use of that product against these snails? I checked the thread you linked, but the search option didn't find any reference to snails or vermitid.

Rakie · Aug 22, 2018

Nope. I'm one of the only people that have used it for this, but those I know who've tried it have had success. It was basically a happy accident.

Aaron-A2 · Aug 22, 2018

Rakie said:
Nope. I'm one of the only people that have used it for this, but those I know who've tried it have had success. It was basically a happy accident.

Can you link me the powder/site you purchased this from? So you followed that threads instructions of dosing 1ml per 25 gallon?

What exactly is the science behind this? Is it binding together with particulates in the water and -- tied in with a skimmer -- is skimmed out?

Thanks for your help!

rkpetersen · Aug 22, 2018

I had several growing into and through the tissue of a setosa monti. No way to get them out without taking a bunch of host tissue with them. I tried skewering deep down into their tubes with thin stiff wires, but somehow they survived that. Then I superglued their tubes shut, that stopped them, and now the setosa is slowly starting to grow back over them.

Rakie · Aug 22, 2018

I just got the best prices one I could find on Amazon. It's literally just chalk powder, and it's the same thing KZ sells for $50 a small bottle.

I probably used about 5ml per 25 gallons, maybe more.. You can't overdose this stuff unless you pour in a bottle of it. It separates in the bottle, so it's really hard to get in a syringe hence the gatorade cap!

Yes, it binds with anything floating in the water and gets skimmed out. It's very effective.

Vermatids die from starvation -- I'm not sure if they have eyes, or just sense stuff in the water. Either way, they cast their mucus nets out when you dose. They catch the chalk, pull it in and start eating it, then struggle to get rid of the mucus net. You dose this every few days, or even every day... And they starve out. Some may die from trying to eat the chalk.

Aaron-A2 · Aug 22, 2018

Rakie said:
I just got the best prices one I could find on Amazon. It's literally just chalk powder, and it's the same thing KZ sells for $50 a small bottle.

I probably used about 5ml per 25 gallons, maybe more.. You can't overdose this stuff unless you pour in a bottle of it. It separates in the bottle, so it's really hard to get in a syringe hence the gatorade cap!

Yes, it binds with anything floating in the water and gets skimmed out. It's very effective.

Vermatids die from starvation -- I'm not sure if they have eyes, or just sense stuff in the water. Either way, they cast their mucus nets out when you dose. They catch the chalk, pull it in and start eating it, then struggle to get rid of the mucus net. You dose this every few days, or even every day... And they starve out. Some may die from trying to eat the chalk.

This is perfect. Will any calcium carbonate do, or does it have to have a specific concentration %? (e.g. This one from Amazon?)

Rakie · Aug 22, 2018

Byronyk said:
This is perfect. Will any calcium carbonate do, or does it have to have a specific concentration %? (e.g. This one from Amazon?)

So long as it's pure, and not colored or anything funky.

EDIT: Try to get one that claims how pure it is (97% purity for example) / Pharmacutical grade ---> Link: 1lb Food Grade Calcium Carbonate

CoralCache · Aug 22, 2018

Curious how long approximately you think it took your tank?

Rakie said:
DIY KZ Coral Snow will kill them -- guaranteed. Just gotta keep at it. Worked for me.

Thread Link ---> DIY KZ Coral Snow (with >97% purity)

Rakie · Aug 22, 2018

CoralCache said:
Curious how long approximately you think it took your tank?

I honestly didn't pay attention, because I wasn't trying to kill them. I was just dosing to see if it would make my water crystal clear as it's supposed to. Without having paid attention, I could guess a month or so.

EDIT: I can say several people in my club confirmed it worked for them as well.