New fish to help control vermetid snails

[Savage Henry]

In my 30G tank I have a pair of Ocellaris Clownfish, a Yellow Assessor and a Royal Gramma. I also have a plague of vermetids snails.

i intend to add another couple fish, hopefully one being a flameback angelfish once I find one. The other fish will be either a small wrasse (hoping for a pink streaked wrasse), a flame hawk fish or an orchard dottyback.

I have never had a problem with Vermetid snails before and think that was because I always kept a wrasse and/or a flame hawk fish. I think these fish must have eaten the juvenile vermetid snails.

i have read that wrasse and hawkfish pick at juvenile crustaceans. I also read that dottybacks will eat some crustaceans.

i am looking for comments whether an orchard dottyback might be helpful in eating small vermetid snails? Would a wrasse be better?

 

[Savage Henry]

I should add, I am not looking for a fish that eats adult vermetid snails.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Personally I think you would be overstocking your tank with those 2 additions, your close to full now, angel fish should be in larger tanks than 30 gallon.

IME the best cure for vermatids is to go around ice picking them,its the fastest easiest way in a small tank, then get some bumble bee snails to clean up, bumble bee's eat juvenile vermatids.

 

[Savage Henry]

Thanks, I am removing them physically, but know that they will come back so thinking ahead at ways of removing the juveniles. My tank has exploded with them, the conditions must be right, i.e. there are no competitors and no predators for them.

Flameback angels are small. With adequate live rock they can be kept in a small tank. This is why I have held out for over a year to replace the one I lost. I haven’t been tempted by anything else.

 

[Nasrath]

+1 on bumblebee snails, they alone dealt with pretty severe vermetid infestation in my previous tank. Not overfeeding also helps.

 

[BriDroid]

Not overfeeding also helps.

Broadcast feedings seem to bring on the worst things for me. First hydroids and now Vermetid Snails. I’ve stopped all broadcast feedings and honestly the corals look the same. Only the pests seem to suffer.

 

[Reef Jedi]

+1 on bumblebee snails, they alone dealt with pretty severe vermetid infestation in my previous tank. Not overfeeding also helps.

+2 on bumblebee snails.

 

[BriDroid]

+2 on bumblebee snails.

Bumblebee snails were eating something around my big Derasa clams byssal opening… I added 10, and 6 of them were all around the opening one morning attached. They had to go! The other 4 or so don’t seem to bother the 2 clams in there. Just be careful with them! The clam is fine, and may have been fine, but I wasn’t risking it.