Vermetid Snails- The undefeatable pest

[The Opinionated Reefer]

I know this isn’t an answer for most reefers, but if you’re willing to give up some coral (mostly meaty LPS & Zoas, some w/ acros) angels will keep your display rock vermetid free. Not sure about most dwarf angelfish species though as they are heavy algae eaters.

I have two different dwarf angels and they don't seem to touch them. What type of angels are you talking about because my tank is only a reefer 350? Also do fish like copperbands or long-nosed butterfly fish eat them?

 

[mfollen]

Ok yes my potters hasn’t eaten them, but he’s an algae addict.

Pomocanthus & Chaetodontoplus confirmed love eating vermetid in my experience. I believe Regal may, but can not confirm.

Very likely Holocanthus will eat them too as they’re the most willing corallivore out of the angelfish family. I would assume definitely not Genicanthus.

That said I would only add any angelfish after thorough research into other aquarists experience with a species and certain coral.

 

[The Opinionated Reefer]

That’s exactly the question.

Medications like mylbemicin and fembendazole have been tried without success for those pests (used both myself).

mylbemicin and fembendazole are not really molluscicides though are they?

 

[Reef and Dive]

mylbemicin and fembendazole are not really molluscicides though are they?

Mybemicin yes

 

[Reef and Dive]

I have two different dwarf angels and they don't seem to touch them. What type of angels are you talking about because my tank is only a reefer 350? Also do fish like copperbands or long-nosed butterfly fish eat them?

My CP does not care at all

 

[FarmerTy]

Ok yes my potters hasn’t eaten them, but he’s an algae addict.

Pomocanthus & Chaetodontoplus confirmed love eating vermetid in my experience. I believe Regal may, but can not confirm.

Very likely Holocanthus will eat them too as they’re the most willing corallivore out of the angelfish family. I would assume definitely not Genicanthus.

That said I would only add any angelfish after thorough research into other aquarists experience with a species and certain coral.

My regal, majestic, and bandit could care less about vermatiids. My rocks are covered... nay... infested with them.

 

[mfollen]

Did your emperor ever eat them?

 

[FarmerTy]

Did your emperor ever eat them?

Just Jawdropper...

 

[mfollen]

I don’t blame him, fine dining

 

[Alexopora]

If you've been in this hobby long enough...you often hear reefers boast about how they defeated a particular pest with a natural predator. However, Vermetid snails seem to be the exception. The really don't have many natural predators.

I've had them in a few of my systems over the years and they are the most annoying pest out there other the AEFW. They will irritate Acro's and stunt their growth, they will grow up through the coral, they multiply like crazy if nutrients are left unchecked and they ruin your photos.

You hear people Bumblebee Snails work. I haven't personally witnessed that to be true. You hear Emerald Crabs work. Emerald Crabs actually help tremendously with the Vermetid's on your rocks, but some Emerald Crabs have a palate for corals. Recently, I had 4 out of 5 Emeralds go for my corals and I took photos of one crab on top of an Acro and also where it ate the base of the coral. Anyway, there's not too many options for dealing with Vermetid snails. It's depressing. Even if you killed them, they will leave behind their hard little tubes which would need to be broken off the rocks. You can put super glue on 20K snails so that's out of the question for most of us.

These guys are microscopic too. The only way to possibly avoid them is to only introduce "live tissue" or microscopically check everything going into a new system after it's been quarantined for months which is way too difficult for most. The best way is to cut all frag plugs off the corals, keep only live tissue, and quarantine the corals. You might get lucky for a while just doing the first two steps.

If anybody has heard of a sure way to eliminate these snails, please let me know. I think about 75% or more of hobbyist have these in their tanks.

For mine, i have a few but its always the other way, they grow but my sps (acros, monti, porites) grows faster and envelopes them. Maybe its due to low feeding the vermitids in mine always lose out.

 

[radiata]

I know this isn’t an answer for most reefers, but if you’re willing to give up some coral (mostly meaty LPS & Zoas, some w/ acros) angels will keep your display rock vermetid free. Not sure about most dwarf angelfish species though as they are heavy algae eaters.

I must ask if you are confusing Vermitids with Aiptasia. Angels and Butterflyfish will keep a tank visibly aiptasia free (I say "visibly" because aiptasia will quickly return when the Angels and/or Butterflyfish are no longer residents in the tank). Somehow I just can't imagine any Angelfish chomping down on the hard calcareous tube of a vermitid, breaking it off as necessary, and then sucking out the remainder of the living snail at the bottom of the tube. I think there might be a wrasse somewhere that is capable of doing this, but not an angelfish. Do you have any corroborating observations to support your belief?

 

[mfollen]

Yup, I know what vermetids are. 100% certain these two angels eat them. At least at smaller sizes.

The vermetids are all over in my sump, nowhere to be found in my display but in the deepest cracks. I see my angelfish hunt them by pecking the exposed snail tissue at the tip end without breaking the tube.

Emperor angelfish juvenile I first noticed doing this, but my chateodontoplus searches in crevices every day as well.

 

[radiata]

Yup, I know what vermetids are. 100% certain these two angels eat them. At least at smaller sizes.

The vermetids are all over in my sump, nowhere to be found in my display but in the deepest cracks. I see my angelfish hunt them by pecking the exposed snail tissue at the tip end without breaking the tube.

Emperor angelfish juvenile I first noticed doing this, but my chateodontoplus searches in crevices every day as well.

Thank you!

I'll have to add a juvenile imperator angel to my DT. I do wish that I understood the differentitaions between the larger vermiteds and the smaller ones. (Like maybe they're a different species?) I can envision smaller ones being eaten by Bumblee Snails and possibly Angelfish, but I still can't see the larger vermiteds being eaten by either predator.

Thanks again...

 

[Ketan]

I had an infestation of vermetid few months ago because I was feeding reef roids and other filter foods a lot. I cut those off and added 10 bumblebee snails in my 80G. In a few days they were gone mostly. I still have some here and there but they are definitely in check. Also I don't have anything in my sump. I still don't feed reef roids as my coral don't react to it that well.

 

[Backreefing]

I have herd of the green coris wrasse will eat them. ( that’s I herd it , not seen it ). But they are nasty towards inverts. Anyone who knows about the green coris wrasse?

 

[Acroguy]

check out my overflows , covered in them . I hate them too.

Nuke them !!!

 

[rueric]

Battling the same problem..
I am running a FOWLR tank but with the hopes of adding corals down the line once I can get rid of these pests.
I am contemplating on just throwing out the live rocks or letting them completely dry out and re-use them way down the line.
Replacing the rocks with cured rock (BRS Reef saver). BUT, I suspect that since my tank already seems to be infested, over the next few months, these vermetid snails will just be back.

For clarification, I am dealing with the smaller versions of the Vermetid snails. Not the 1/4" ones some have referenced.
I bought a few BB snails today to see if it will help, I am not getting my hopes up.

My question is, if I do go the route of complete tear down (which I suspect is just removing all the water, sand, etc.), how long can these snails last for until I can restart the tank?

I'm ready to go nuclear on this, the sooner I can decide on a plan of action and execution, the sooner I can progress.
For context, my rocks, back wall, and fan is looking like pincushions.

 

[Carl Eckelman]

If you've been in this hobby long enough...you often hear reefers boast about how they defeated a particular pest with a natural predator. However, Vermetid snails seem to be the exception. The really don't have many natural predators.

I've had them in a few of my systems over the years and they are the most annoying pest out there other the AEFW. They will irritate Acro's and stunt their growth, they will grow up through the coral, they multiply like crazy if nutrients are left unchecked and they ruin your photos.

You hear people Bumblebee Snails work. I haven't personally witnessed that to be true. You hear Emerald Crabs work. Emerald Crabs actually help tremendously with the Vermetid's on your rocks, but some Emerald Crabs have a palate for corals. Recently, I had 4 out of 5 Emeralds go for my corals and I took photos of one crab on top of an Acro and also where it ate the base of the coral. Anyway, there's not too many options for dealing with Vermetid snails. It's depressing. Even if you killed them, they will leave behind their hard little tubes which would need to be broken off the rocks. You can put super glue on 20K snails so that's out of the question for most of us.

These guys are microscopic too. The only way to possibly avoid them is to only introduce "live tissue" or microscopically check everything going into a new system after it's been quarantined for months which is way too difficult for most. The best way is to cut all frag plugs off the corals, keep only live tissue, and quarantine the corals. You might get lucky for a while just doing the first two steps.

If anybody has heard of a sure way to eliminate these snails, please let me know. I think about 75% or more of hobbyist have these in their tanks.

I got rid of mine but I don’t know which one for sure did it.

125 gallon tank I added 15 bumble bee snails
1 lawnmower Blenny, that was super fat till they were gone?
1 6line wrasse

 

[mfollen]

Vermetid will return, they’re in the pipes.

I’ve seen some angels eat them. Only few animals can crunch and scrape rock and most of them eat coral.

 

[Reefahholic]

I got rid of mine but I don’t know which one for sure did it.

125 gallon tank I added 15 bumble bee snails
1 lawnmower Blenny, that was super fat till they were gone?
1 6line wrasse

Would have been the BB snails, but they’re hit and miss.