Vermetid snail infestation

[parajack]

Hi and Help!
I have an advanced snail infestation and I'm looking for the best way to glean support and ideas through RC. I was able to indentify and run down the problem on a Reef Central mag article by Ron Shimek in a Spineless Column article.
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rs/index.php
See fig 3 and text following. My infestation is the Vermetid snail, the small variety. My challenge is that I'm getting ready to set up a 330 gal custom syst and was planning on moving over corals and inverts, fish etc to the new system from my 55 when ready. The problem started when I took a few pieces of Caribbean shelf rock which I'd ordered from a reputable supplier. I'd ordered a few hundred pounds to use in dry aquascaping my new tank before start up. I put a few pieces of it in my current syst and even though it had been sitting dried out for several months, there must have been some spores or eggs or something which eventually became established in my current 55 reef. My system is years old and has had nothing added in terms of fish, rock, inverts, etc. for the past year or so. This rock was the only thing added and after a couple of months the Vermetids started showing up. The problem is that they are not just showing up... they have completely infested my tank and are spreading exponentially. The idea of introducing these snails into my new system is inconceivable. I don't believe for a second that I'm alone dealing with this challenge......My feeling now is that my current 55 system has no long term future....
thanks for any thoughts and ideas....
Jack

 

[morgan]

ok well in my experience i have the bigger type and that "muccas" string and like drag nets and suck them back in
if u are cleaning your pumps reagurly then wats the problem with them? besides the mucus drag nets
it did mention copperbanned butterflys? why not try one of them
if these snails did cum out of ur live rock that was dry could there be more in the remaining dry rock there for any removel now will just cum back again when the new tank is going?
i though my 50gl had no long term futer when i had hair algea but i beat that sucker and cyno and i say nothings impossible

 

[gloo]

I have a bunch in my tank as well, but aside from the larger ones ( ~1cm in diameter at the opening ) irritating the monti, they dont seem to cause much of an issue. The irritation to the monti is minimal, although i have 4 of these large ones at the base of the digi, the monti seems to re-coop shortly after, and is almost growing faster than the snails can build their tubes.

My sexy shrimp and hermits actually benefits from them since he snakes the mysis shrimp from their 'net' before they can pull it in.

 

[parajack]

Thanks for the replies. Everything I've read thus far states that the larger varieties are not a nuisance at all. The problem with this smaller variety is that I have up to 10 per square inch in some places and the #s are increasing exponentially. At this point there is no way that anything in my long established 55 is ever going to see the light of day in my new set up.... Unless I can figure out a reasonable way to handle them. Ultimately I'm sure the explosion I'm experiencing is more or less a result of the small tank and my lack of attention to something or other... I''ve probably created the perfect Vermetid snail sanctuary some how. Maybe control is easier than one might think. Just a few key fish steadily browsing the snail tips might be enough to drop #s to manageable levels....
Jack

 

[BlennyBabe]

I have heard that they thrive in poor water quality. I have a huge infestation in my coral farm. I was using natural seawater and feeding a lot, but I have since switched to artificial saltwater and very light feeding. I also target feed, so I dont have a lot of free floating debris for them to snag. I also break their tubes often when I handle the LR and that seems to slow them down too. Best of luck, do let us know if you find a solution...