Vermatid Snail Success Stories?

[jimmypencil]

I have PLAGUE levels of vermatids. Thousands and thousands of tubes that cover ever millimeter of my tank that isnt getting high flow. I have tried everything below and nothing has significantly impacted the population. Does ANYONE have a success story where they had a similar amount to me and did anything to reasonably reduce the population? I dont mean "oh i manually removed some and they dont bother me" i mean you had the same amount as me or more and found a way to noticeably impact the population and keep it down. Obviously, i don't mean eradicate. Ive always had some level of vermatids and they never bothered me, but for some reason when i upgraded tanks almost 2 years ago the population EXPLODED.

REDUCE FEEDING: I literally stopped all feeding other than pellets for over a year. No frozen, no powder foods, no coral foods of any kind. Literally only pellets twice a day on an auto feeder. Guess what? Made no difference, and now that im feeding frozen again, the population is as strong as ever!

BUMBLE BEE SNAILS: Have added 100+ to my 125g over the last year. If it has made an impact, it is not nearly enough.

CORAL SNOW: Only been doing this for a month or 2 so the jury is still out. Every night i turn off the return, stir up the sandbed until i see some vermatid webs, then i dose 25+ ml of coral snow (this is like 5x recommended dose). They are still reproducing as fast as ever.

Manual removal: A month ago I spent a couple hours destroying every vermatid i could with a flat head screwdriver. In 2-3 weeks they are back stronger then ever.

I will admit that overall the vermatids are not causing significant issues other than making me bleed everytime i do maintenence, annoying me when i look at the tank. I only see the webs from the big ones most of the time and those are easy to manually remove. Im just at such an insane level of infestation that when i upgrade tanks in a few years i dont think i will carry over anything other than coral. I will start with all new rock from TBS.

 

[davidm777]

I didn't know I had them until I did coral snow to reduce DOCs instead of using carbon. That's when I saw the webs. I also learned that some of my corals were being affected by said webs. Got a bunch of bumblebee snails. Between the snails and the coral snow they are kept at bay. Good luck to you!

 

[James CNM]

I have setup two new systems in the past two years, i am not new to the hobby by far. twenty five years plus i never new what a vermatid snail looked like.

The two systems i speak about are loaded with them, both started with dead rock etc.
No bumble bee's, my dove snails and trochus far more beneficial

That aside, what i do is smash any of the visible tubes the snail builds. Detritus or rotifiers or any fine foods even a water change can make these fckrs throw out a web. I dose coral snow (calcium carbonate) but make my own as it is way more cheaper. I no longer disturb the sandbed. My system is 1000ltrs i know longer measure and just dump some snow every two to three days. It's working, the little fckrs still present but not multiplying so much and will soon choke. Just my opinion.

Crack on and get rid

 

[Fish Fan]

I had very good luck with Bumble Bee snails. It took like two months, but they got nearly all of them.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I take a butter knife and basically 'shave' my rocks. The bumble bee's can't get to the worm inside the tube so you have to break the tube. Shave some rocks, a little each day, over time you'll notice the numbers dying down. Quit feeding powder or liquid foods for a while (if you do feed powder foods), and try to feed your fish with smaller amounts more frequently to avoid waste. It takes time but it can be done IMO

 

[winxp_man]

I had very good luck with Bumble Bee snails. It took like two months, but they got nearly all of them.

I think you just need to get more than you think you need. It takes a village to take out vermatid I think.

 

[kevgib67]

Bumble bee snails always worked for me, good luck.

 

[jonelder68]

Those adding bumble bees how many are you adding? I just added 20 for 60 gallon DT. Curious if that’s enough or not?

 

[Fish Fan]

Those adding bumble bees how many are you adding? I just added 20 for 60 gallon DT. Curious if that’s enough or not?

I added 21 to a 25 gallon because 21 was all my LFS had that day. I don't know what the magic number is, but that worked for me.

 

[BeanAnimal]

I have ignored them for 25 years. Success is just a state of mind.

 

[jonelder68]

I added 21 to a 25 gallon because 21 was all my LFS had that day. I don't know what the magic number is, but that worked for me.

so your saying I need more

 

[jimmypencil]

I had very good luck with Bumble Bee snails. It took like two months, but they got nearly all of them.

Are you saying you saw the tubes dissapear after adding the snails? or the tubes were just empty

 

[jimmypencil]

I added a total of 100 bumblebees in the last year but only 20-30 at a time months apart. Based on the responses, i am considering throwing 90+ in my 125g. I also heard a copperband butterfly can sometimes eat vermatids so im considering one.

 

[kevgib67]

Are you saying you saw the tubes dissapear after adding the snails? or the tubes were just empty

The tubes were empty but they eventually break or wear away. I don’t see any in my tank.

 

[jimmypencil]

The tubes were empty but they eventually break or wear away. I don’t see any in my tank.

Good to hear. I’m just hoping that I’ve had an insufficient # of bumblebees this whole time.

 

[Fish Fan]

so your saying I need more

I mean, 21 in 25 gallons worked for me

 

[Fish Fan]

Are you saying you saw the tubes dissapear after adding the snails? or the tubes were just empty

Yes, eventually even the tubes went away, possibly after the snails are killed/eaten. I'm not saying I never see a tube anymore, but they are very few and far between compared to what they once were.

 

[davidm777]

I also added 20 (10 at a time 2 weeks apart) to my 20 gal and already had 4. I heard you needed quite a few, usually more than what people think.

 

[Poseidon03]

I'd also like to add coral boring spinoids into this conversation. I've been looking into how to also manage those at they are unsightly...

 

[James CNM]

I have ignored them for 25 years. Success is just a state of mind.

Im with you my friend, so much paranoia these days , a little maintenance just smash those those tubes, if you value the worthy snails, ie trochus , dove etc,

Bumbles will kill your Real benefical snails. Vermatid? lol they are stationary and easy targets to destroy if everything looks good, fck it