Swirly Brown Thing Growing on LPS

[Jnhernandez1]

I'm not sure what this is or if it is a problem. I think you can see it pretty well from the picture. This one is growing on my Hammer coral and one is growing on my Torch coral in about the same spot. The black spot on the end of the brown thing has a little tentacle or something sticking out. Does anyone know what it is? Should I remove it. It seems to be growing pretty quickly now.

Thanks for the help.

 

[chefbill]

Vermatid snail is my guess. Google that for a positive id

 

[Jnhernandez1]

I think your right. It has doubled in length since the picture. I tried scratching it off with my finger nail with no luck. Any suggestions on how to get it off?

 

[ZeeSparrow]

Either break it off quick with pliers or the like (low enough to make sure you actually get the snail) or stuff the hole with kalk or superglue. Or both!

 

[Jnhernandez1]

I'll try it.

 

[Jnhernandez1]

I'm having trouble figuring out how to do this. It is up against the base of the coral so I can't really get anything to break it off. I tried and almost broke the coral loose from its rock. How do you put the superglue in it? Do you stick to glue bottle in the water and squirt it in? Also, the snail is in the front of the coral so I don't want it to look messy. Should I wait for it to grow away from the base of the coral so I break it off easily then? Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

 

[homer1475]

All my vermatid snails are pretty easy to just scrape off anything. Their shells really aren't that strong. If I see one that's irritating a coral, I just take my tweezers and snap it off, then scrub a bit with the ends of the tweezers to get the small bit that's left(typically the end which houses the actual snail). If you only snap off the tube and don't get the base, it will grow back anyways.

Honestly though unless its irritating the coral its on, I would just leave it be. They are after all harmless filter filters. Only problem is their population can explode and the mucus net they use to catch food, can irritate some corals. Honestly though, unless its bothering the coral its attached to, just leave it be. It's all part of the biodiversity in your tank.

 

[ZeeSparrow]

I agree with Homer. Tweezers are very handy tools, if you really want to get rid of it.

 

[homer1475]

I have a couple pairs of these:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/191492947434?ul_noapp=true&chn=ps&lpid=82

I also have a pair of 24" ones too, but for the life of me I can't remember where I got them.

 

[ZeeSparrow]

I just bought 24" hemostats on Amazon.

 

[Jnhernandez1]

I thought it was pretty cool at first. Then I read a bunch of stuff suggesting to remove it. It is not bothering the corals at all right now. It still looks pretty cool - I guess I'll just keep my on it and remove it when / if the time comes. Thanks Zee and Homer.