Question about those snails that throw out the threads...

fishgate · 03/03/2013, 06:56 AM

I have a bunch of those snails that look a little like small feather dusters in my tank. I did a water change yesterday and as soon as I dumped the 4 gallons in from my homer bucket, all of them spit out their webs/strings. The tank looked like a Halloween decoration! What do you think prompted them to do this?

thegrun · 03/03/2013, 07:50 AM

The change in water chemistry

Beandawg · 03/03/2013, 10:16 AM

When adding new water, you are adding flow to an area that previously did not have that flow. Different flow = stirring up sediment. To some organisms sediment = food. Food = feeding response. Those strings you saw are how those snails feed.

Palting · 03/03/2013, 10:33 AM

Stir the substrate and kick up some dust. They'll send out those threads again

.

Sk8r · 03/03/2013, 03:53 PM

Ack! Don't stir your substrate, really! Palting means that's what you accidentally did when you added water: they detected 'dust', aka 'food,' and reached for it. Stirring the substrate can be really dangerous if you kick up the sand layering. Use only nassarius snails for under-sand cleaning!

Palting · 03/03/2013, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sk8r

Ack! Don't stir your substrate, really! Palting means that's what you accidentally did when you added water: they detected 'dust', aka 'food,' and reached for it. Stirring the substrate can be really dangerous if you kick up the sand layering. Use only nassarius snails for under-sand cleaning!

LOL!!! Alright, don't stir up the sand bed. It's fun, but it's like walking on the railing of the 30th floor.

whodeydan76 · 03/03/2013, 07:18 PM

LOL Palting!!!

fishgate · 03/04/2013, 05:36 AM

This makes sense as I usually use another bucket to add water from the homer bucket lessening the substrate disturbance. I was rushed this time and just dumped it in all at once.

I didn't stick around to see what happened to the strings but when I came back they were all gone. Do they real that string back in or just let it go?

Spyderturbo007 · 03/04/2013, 08:45 AM

They pull it back in and eat what food is caught. I've been trying to kill these stupid Vermetid snails for weeks and just can't win. Be careful because they can take over your tank.

Palting · 03/04/2013, 09:45 AM

You'll drive yourself nuts trying to kill them. They'll just come back. The good news is that with time, they will recede to the deeper recesses of the tank where they will be barely noticeable. . Just put all that energy you are using up to kill them to cora[ husbandry instead, and you will not notice any of those snails as real coral take over your tank. I literally have hundred thousand or so vermatid snails in my 150 gallon, but they are all under crevasses or in between rocks, places you have to make a point to look into to see them. Otherwise, all you see is coral. Plus, since they are all in the crevasses and in between the rocks, I think they keep my rockscape stable! LOL!

thebkramer · 03/04/2013, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Palting

You'll drive yourself nuts trying to kill them. They'll just come back. The good news is that with time, they will recede to the deeper recesses of the tank where they will be barely noticeable. . Just put all that energy you are using up to kill them to cora[ husbandry instead, and you will not notice any of those snails as real coral take over your tank. I literally have hundred thousand or so vermatid snails in my 150 gallon, but they are all under crevasses or in between rocks, places you have to make a point to look into to see them. Otherwise, all you see is coral. Plus, since they are all in the crevasses and in between the rocks, I think they keep my rockscape stable! LOL!

+1

I love my vermies even!!! I have even gone sooo far as to buy rock with them on lol They are great little filter feeders!!!

Basman346 · 03/04/2013, 02:34 PM

I guess they're good for filter feeding I just can't stand the web they create. Are there any predators that will eat them??

I searched and found a few people said some wrasses will but does anyone know of anything else that will eat them?

Palting · 03/04/2013, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Basman346

I guess they're good for filter feeding I just can't stand the web they create. Are there any predators that will eat them??

I searched and found a few people said some wrasses will but does anyone know of anything else that will eat them?

Just like you, I went on this search for predators several years ago. All anecdotal, unique experiences that no one else seem to be able to replicate. In my search, there are no confirmed, consistent predators to vermatids. If you keep the dirt and dust down, you won't see the webs. I don't, unless I stir up the sand and make a mess.

Spyderturbo007 · 03/05/2013, 01:33 PM

I'm trying to kill them because they cause my polyps to close up when they get hit with the web. I'm also afraid that my firefish may injure herself when darting back into her hole if she brushes up against one of the tubes. Besides, they look terrible.

Sk8r · 03/05/2013, 01:53 PM

I rather like them. And I never had anything annoyed by them: firefish, gobies, jawfish, etc. I was unhappy to lose them eventually. They're very slowly coming back, which makes me happy.

nogascans · 03/05/2013, 02:00 PM

Like a lot of the smaller "hitch-hikers" we inherit, I prefer to think of them as a sign of good times and water conditions, like an aquatic version of a 'canary in a coal mine.

Sincerely,

David

dthorn · 03/05/2013, 02:13 PM

I agree with palting 100%, but would like to add my experience. I have little ones in every dark place in my tank and they don't bother anything I've even added a few to my new sterile tank intentionally. But there was one that I got on a frag from live aquaria that was much different. It was bigger and sent out large webs 6 to 8 inches in length. It would actually snag a large piece of spaghetti leather 6 inches away and tug on it, leading to serious irritation of the coral. I superglued the hole in his tube shut and now have no problem with the "normal" ones that are everywhere in my tank. Biodiversity!

03/03/2013, 06:56 AM	#1
fishgate Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Damascus, MD Posts: 3,340	Question about those snails that throw out the threads... I have a bunch of those snails that look a little like small feather dusters in my tank. I did a water change yesterday and as soon as I dumped the 4 gallons in from my homer bucket, all of them spit out their webs/strings. The tank looked like a Halloween decoration! What do you think prompted them to do this? __________________ 125RR in-wall, 40B Sump, CS180 BM Skimmer, ATI 4x80 watt, eheim 1262, custom wrap around rock wall, ReefKeeper Elite 120g in-wall, 40B Sump, PC 54wx4, Jabao DC-6000 (full siphon), future seahorse t Current Tank Info: 125g, 120g, 2x40b sumps, ATI 4x80 T5HO

03/03/2013, 10:33 AM	#4
Palting Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Ohio Posts: 6,912	Stir the substrate and kick up some dust. They'll send out those threads again . __________________ Anything I post is just an opinion. One of many in this hobby. Believe and follow at your own risk of rapid and complete annihilation of all life in your tank :) Current Tank Info: Incept 3/2010, 150 RR, 50g sump, 20g fuge, 150w 15K MH x3, T5 actinics x8, moonlight LED x6, 1400gph return, Koralia 1400 x4, 300 g skimmer, 4 tangs, 2 mandarins, 2 perc, 6 line, 3 cardinals, 2 firefish, SPS, LPS, zoas, palys, shrooms, clam

03/03/2013, 03:53 PM	#5
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Ack! Don't stir your substrate, really! Palting means that's what you accidentally did when you added water: they detected 'dust', aka 'food,' and reached for it. Stirring the substrate can be really dangerous if you kick up the sand layering. Use only nassarius snails for under-sand cleaning! __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

03/03/2013, 07:18 PM	#7
whodeydan76 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Lima, Ohio Posts: 364	LOL Palting!!! __________________ "Don't sweat the petty things, don't pet the sweaty things" ~bazooka joe~ \,,/ REEF ON \,,/ Who Dey!?!? Go Bengals, Reds, Celtics, and most of all my boys midget team the Shawnee Quilnas! Current Tank Info: 75 gallon factory drilled set up. Oak stand and canopy.

03/04/2013, 05:36 AM	#8
fishgate Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Damascus, MD Posts: 3,340	This makes sense as I usually use another bucket to add water from the homer bucket lessening the substrate disturbance. I was rushed this time and just dumped it in all at once. I didn't stick around to see what happened to the strings but when I came back they were all gone. Do they real that string back in or just let it go? __________________ 125RR in-wall, 40B Sump, CS180 BM Skimmer, ATI 4x80 watt, eheim 1262, custom wrap around rock wall, ReefKeeper Elite 120g in-wall, 40B Sump, PC 54wx4, Jabao DC-6000 (full siphon), future seahorse t Current Tank Info: 125g, 120g, 2x40b sumps, ATI 4x80 T5HO

03/03/2013, 07:50 AM	#2
thegrun Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Garden Grove, Ca Posts: 17,023	The change in water chemistry

03/03/2013, 10:16 AM	#3
Beandawg I see whatchu did there. Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Central CT Posts: 666	When adding new water, you are adding flow to an area that previously did not have that flow. Different flow = stirring up sediment. To some organisms sediment = food. Food = feeding response. Those strings you saw are how those snails feed.

03/04/2013, 08:45 AM	#9
Spyderturbo007 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: PA Posts: 2,564	They pull it back in and eat what food is caught. I've been trying to kill these stupid Vermetid snails for weeks and just can't win. Be careful because they can take over your tank.

03/04/2013, 09:45 AM	#10
Palting Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Ohio Posts: 6,912	You'll drive yourself nuts trying to kill them. They'll just come back. The good news is that with time, they will recede to the deeper recesses of the tank where they will be barely noticeable. . Just put all that energy you are using up to kill them to cora[ husbandry instead, and you will not notice any of those snails as real coral take over your tank. I literally have hundred thousand or so vermatid snails in my 150 gallon, but they are all under crevasses or in between rocks, places you have to make a point to look into to see them. Otherwise, all you see is coral. Plus, since they are all in the crevasses and in between the rocks, I think they keep my rockscape stable! LOL! __________________ Anything I post is just an opinion. One of many in this hobby. Believe and follow at your own risk of rapid and complete annihilation of all life in your tank :) Current Tank Info: Incept 3/2010, 150 RR, 50g sump, 20g fuge, 150w 15K MH x3, T5 actinics x8, moonlight LED x6, 1400gph return, Koralia 1400 x4, 300 g skimmer, 4 tangs, 2 mandarins, 2 perc, 6 line, 3 cardinals, 2 firefish, SPS, LPS, zoas, palys, shrooms, clam

03/04/2013, 02:34 PM	#12
Basman346 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Trabuco Canyon Posts: 66	I guess they're good for filter feeding I just can't stand the web they create. Are there any predators that will eat them?? I searched and found a few people said some wrasses will but does anyone know of anything else that will eat them?

03/05/2013, 01:33 PM	#14
Spyderturbo007 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: PA Posts: 2,564	I'm trying to kill them because they cause my polyps to close up when they get hit with the web. I'm also afraid that my firefish may injure herself when darting back into her hole if she brushes up against one of the tubes. Besides, they look terrible.

03/05/2013, 01:53 PM	#15
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	I rather like them. And I never had anything annoyed by them: firefish, gobies, jawfish, etc. I was unhappy to lose them eventually. They're very slowly coming back, which makes me happy. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

03/05/2013, 02:00 PM	#16
nogascans Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Jesup, Georgia (USA) Posts: 387	Like a lot of the smaller "hitch-hikers" we inherit, I prefer to think of them as a sign of good times and water conditions, like an aquatic version of a 'canary in a coal mine. Sincerely, David

03/05/2013, 02:13 PM	#17
dthorn Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: erie pa Posts: 280	I agree with palting 100%, but would like to add my experience. I have little ones in every dark place in my tank and they don't bother anything I've even added a few to my new sterile tank intentionally. But there was one that I got on a frag from live aquaria that was much different. It was bigger and sent out large webs 6 to 8 inches in length. It would actually snag a large piece of spaghetti leather 6 inches away and tug on it, leading to serious irritation of the coral. I superglued the hole in his tube shut and now have no problem with the "normal" ones that are everywhere in my tank. Biodiversity!