Vermetid Snail ELIMINATION - In tank Treatments

[LobsterOfJustice]

Vermetid Snail ELIMINATION - In tank Treatments

I have the space and some extra equipment, so I went ahead and set up a test tank.

Just a 10g tank with a heater and powerhead. Fluorescent strip light for observation. I put a bunch of spare LR from my sump into the tank which already has vermetids on it. I am going to try to let their population explode for a few weeks before trying any treatments. I figure I can feed them a daily dose of detritus - either siphon some from my frag tank or suck some up with a baster from the sump. I can feed some small particulate food if the detritus isn't cutting it or if I run out.

My thing that I'm personally interested in trying is ground up NLS Ich Shield pellets (containing CP) as I mentioned above... potentially also something like CP bound to a particulate food using Seachem Focus. I already have all of these things, so easy for me to try. There are also some other good options listed on page two that I could move onto. If/when I find something that kills the vermetids, I also have some frags from the frag tank to run a test and see if the corals can withstand whatever treatment as well.

 

[Vinny Kreyling]

Keep us informed please.

 

[tkeracer619]

If anyone is interested this is how I am dealing with the phosphates that were left behind by the Chloroquine Phosphate.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2667999

 

[becon776]

i wish there was an easier way for a full mixed reef.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

Not much to update - I was hoping that a few weeks of daily detritus feedings would make the population in the test tank explode but that doesn't seem to be the case. I guess they were more happy in my main system with a constant supply. So I think I'm going to initiate the first test today. Crush up some NLS ich shield pellets containing CP into a powder and broadcast feed the test tank. I will run some carbon to absorb any CP that leaches into the water column.

I think in my tank, the challenge is that I have a constant food supply. I run mechanical filtration, but I have a lot of fish, a lot of flow, and two diamond gobies, so detritus is getting produced (and remains in suspension) just as fast as its getting filtered out. At any given time I can see plenty of suspended particles floating around the DT. I run 3-5x sump turnover, I would like to run more but once you get to high output DC pumps the cost jumps from a few hundred to a few thousand...

I have considered getting one of those small marineland internal diatom filters and running that inside the DT, maybe for a month or two, to try and polish their food from the water.

I'm also thinking about biological competition options. I don't have any of those small feather duster hitch-hikers in my system because I have two angels and a butterfly that eat them. So maybe adding some competition for food source (suspended detritus) could help as well. Either adding some fresh LR rubble to the sump to increase biodiversity, or a few other kinds of ornamental filter feeders - maybe NPS corals/gorgonians, or even something less common like a filter feeding cucumber or feather starfish. If I have a good enough food supply for a few thousand vermetids, there has to be something else less invasive that would also eat the same thing.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

The ground-up NLS ich shield absolutely resulted in a feeding response from the vermetids, and I could see particles get trapped by the nets, reeled in, and consumed... stay tuned.

 

[psidriven]

do you have micro brittle starfish? the live rock in my last tank was filled with them and they would wave their arms out trying to catch suspended food. might be an option unless the butterfly likes them too.

 

[pisanoal]

The ground-up NLS ich shield absolutely resulted in a feeding response from the vermetids, and I could see particles get trapped by the nets, reeled in, and consumed... stay tuned.

Interesting... I'd still be scared using a non-reef safe medication with it, but could be used to help get the vermetids to ingest another type of medication they would normally be able to avoid by not ingesting too much of it.

 

[tkeracer619]

I'd be cautious about anything that had CP if you had corals in the system. The medication would have to be ok for the corals to consume as well. Its a tricky subject.

I tried feeding CP laced food for a bit a while back and the fish didn't eat it, they hated it actually. The lps coral didn't react very well.

 

[ReefKeeper64]

I tried feeding CP laced food for a bit a while back and the fish didn't eat it, they hated it actually. The lps coral didn't react very well.

What CP laced food are you referring to? I've found that NLS ick shield pellets are quickly eaten by all my fish. It seems that decaying or mushy medicated fish food has a bad taste that the fish recognize.

 

[tkeracer619]

Dr G's. Fresh batch.

http://www.drgsmarineaquaculture.com/frozen-antiparasitic.cfm

 

[ReefKeeper64]

Here is a video showing how tangs eat the nls pellets without hesitation. I’ve experienced the same. https://youtu.be/paJXi8IaCP0

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

Vermetid Snail ELIMINATION - In tank Treatments

Maybe the fish eat the pellets because there isn't much CP in them...

After four days of 1x daily feeding of crushed ich shield pellets (vermetids visually confirmed to catch and consume pellet pieces) the vermetids are doing just fine. Along with all other typical LR microfauna (pods, Asterina and micro brittles, aiptasia, etc).


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[_DZ_reef]

Any progress ?

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

I tried lacing some food with ich shield powder but I wasn't super careful about it and I think it got into the water so I'm not drawing any conclusions from that test. I needed the QT tanks for other things so the experiments are on pause. I did notice the population declining simply being in another tank, which to me is more evidence that my water is giving them constant food supply and even with daily detritus feeding their population somewhat declined.

I also have treated my DT twice with fenbendazole and the vermetids didn't miss a beat.


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[five.five-six]

I had a few of them and someone told me to try KZ coral snow... yea, I know you can make it yourself for about $5/5 gallons now but I digress. I started dosing it daily and those lil suckers kept spitting up their webs and now I don’t see any webs anymore. May depend on the variety you have but it worked for me.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

Vermetid Snail ELIMINATION - In tank Treatments

I had a few of them and someone told me to try KZ coral snow... yea, I know you can make it yourself for about $5/5 gallons now but I digress. I started dosing it daily and those lil suckers kept spitting up their webs and now I don't see any webs anymore. May depend on the variety you have but it worked for me.

I tried the DIY option (powdered CaCO3) with no effect. Might be worth trying the brand name though.


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[five.five-six]

I dosed daily baised on total water volume, not tank volume.



It may depend upon the brand of vermeted snails you have though.

 

[ReefKeeper64]

fenbendazole

fenbendazole

Has anyone been successful using fenbendazole against vermited snails? It seems a few folks in others posts found it worked and a few experienced the opposite. I'm wondering if it's an issue of effective dosing strength? Thoughts?

 

[becon776]

interesten in update. very close to complete system reboot