Predator Fish for Vermetid Snail infestation

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

Some pictures of the pests.

Those seem too small to be vermetids?

 

[mta_morrow]

Only my big male emerald crab eats vermetids; the female eats bubble algae, not sure if that’s just my crabs so take it fwiw lol.

I’m really curious about this. I crushed and removed all I could find about a year ago.

Now they are coming back.

When you say your emerald crab eats them, what have you seen?

Meaning to they grab it when extended out of the tube, or do they break off the tubes?

Just curious

 

[Hemmdog]

I’m really curious about this. I crushed and removed all I could find about a year ago.

Now they are coming back.

When you say your emerald crab eats them, what have you seen?

Meaning to they grab it when extended out of the tube, or do they break off the tubes?

Just curious

I mean’t sporibid worms :( my bad. He just picks them off the rock like he’s eating popcorn, super fast, 10 or so eaten a minute.

 

[West1]

Any updates?

 

[mfollen]

Angelfish eat vermetids all day. I haven’t seen my dwarf angel eat them. But my regal, pomocanthus & chaetodontopolus angels eat them all day and night.

 

[jimc40]

Some pictures of the pests.

Pull the rock out and hit them with a blowtorch. Kill it with fire

 

[4tanks]

Wow and I was worried about the 10 I just found in my tank

 

[MrPike]

Sure those are not hydroids?

 

[mfollen]

Or get an angelfish

 

[Vette67]

Sure those are not hydroids?

I’m with you. Those look like colonial hydroids to me, not vermetid snails. I don’t see the telltale curly base to indicate vermetids.

 

[sixline]

My understanding of vermetids (which i am currently battling) is that the juveniles actually move around like a regular snail, and then they find a place to park themselves, fasten themselves down, and start growing the long tube.

I can't imagine anything being able to eat them once they have the larger tube built, except maybe a triggerfish or a parrots, but eating their way through the tube. I can imagine a wrasse of some sort waiting around and trying to eat it every time it extended from the tube, and eventually harassing it to death. But I'm a bit skeptical of any wrasse or crab being able to catch one before it retreats back into the tube.

So when people talk about wrasses, bumblebee snails and emerald crabs eating them, they are referring to the non-stationary juveniles, right?

BTW, I have lots of emerald crabs and several bumblebee snails and still have vermetid snails. They were pretty bad a while back, but I went at them with needle node pliers and got the population under control. I don't mind a few of them but want to keep them in check.

 

[Fishurama]

I saved this from another member on here, i forgot who, im sorry.
Death and life: Muricid snails consume the vermetid gastropod, Dendropoma maximum, and use empty shells for reproduction
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00338-014-1141-6

So now we all just need to tell all our LFS to get these so that they tell it to their wholesalers and they tell it to their collectors...


Here can pictures of them be found:

Thais (Mancinella) armigera

Menathais tuberosa

 

[McPuff]

I have had zero luck with fish predators. My humu trigger did not eat them unless I crushed the shell first. I had hoped he would learn to chew on the shells but that doesn't seem to have worked. My blueface does not seem to eat them at all. Bumblebees seem to work for the smaller species or vermetid but definitely not the large ones.

 

[Ernie C]

I've tried bumblebee snails and emerald crabs but still no luck. I have the large ones so when they start to irritate something with their web i plug their tube, but there are some hard to reach ones. I found this article online about a potential predator but not sure if you can even find these predators or if they are reef safe. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00338-014-1141-6

 

[italquam]

Those seem too small to be vermetids?

Honestly not sure what they ever were but I ended up starving them out. I have FOWLR , so I was able to shut the lights off for a few months , and basically starve them out .

 

[Drewbacca]

Pull the rock out and hit them with a blowtorch. Kill it with fire

ha!
Million dollar idea: laser pointer that kills vermatid snails and aptasia.

 

[uhgster1]

Bumblebee snails worked for me

 

[DCMW1]

Vermetids can be so frustrating. Bumblebee snails worked for me. I never had any luck with using fish or crabs. You have to give it time though. The bumblebees won’t work over night. It took months before I started seeing some small improvement and maybe close to a year before I realized one day didn’t see the vermetids anymore. So buy a bunch of bumblebees and throw them in the tank and just give it time.

 

[Drewbacca]

Vermetids can be so frustrating. Bumblebee snails worked for me. I never had any luck with using fish or crabs. You have to give it time though. The bumblebees won’t work over night. It took months before I started seeing some small improvement and maybe close to a year before I realized one day didn’t see the vermetids anymore. So buy a bunch of bumblebees and throw them in the tank and just give it time.



Thanks.
I bought 6 bumbles a few weeks ago. Placed them on the main rocks. Bit have only seen them on the small sand/frag rocks. I'll get more. Do you knowl if emerald crabs are prone to eat them? I have one emerald but would like to try more.

 

[Neoma369]

Have you tried Emerald Crabs? I understand they eat them like popcorn.

Do they eat other snails that are beneficial?