Calcium Carbonate to fight Vermetid snails

[Boosterman]

I am documenting my journey of using calcium carbonate to hopefully diminish if not eradicate Vermetid snails from my aquarium. They look ugly when my corals grow over them especially encrusting SPS species.

Video of me pouring the solution into the tank.

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[civics14]

I use calcium carbonate every week for several months with no impact whatsoever on the population. I wish you the best of luck.

 

[ichthyoid]

How (by what means) does it work?

 

[Boosterman]

I use calcium carbonate every week for several months with no impact whatsoever on the population. I wish you the best of luck.

That's bummer. I will be dosing twice a day for the first week and once a day for next three weeks. Hopefully this will enough to choke up their tube and starve them.

 

[Boosterman]

How (by what means) does it work?

Basically works by starving them. When you blow the sand and rockwork using a turkey baster, it triggers the feeding response and Vermetid snails cast their nets. Then you dose calcium carbonate solution which has no nutritional value and choke up their digestive system. Combined with this, I won't be feeding any 'dirty' food for fish and corals such as frozen and powdery food.

 

[Boosterman]

Day 3 of the treatment and I'm not seeing much of a change.

 

[scottw]

I am a fan of bumblebee snails to help with this vs the chemical route. I know the battle you are undergoing, they are a nasty and annoying thing to deal with. Now you should have some crystal clear water dosing that much/often, just not sure it will help with the problem.

 

[Boosterman]

I am a fan of bumblebee snails to help with this vs the chemical route. I know the battle you are undergoing, they are a nasty and annoying thing to deal with. Now you should have some crystal clear water dosing that much/often, just not sure it will help with the problem.

Thanks for the input. I'll try it for a couple of weeks to see if I notice any changes. And yes, my tank is crystal clear after dosing calcium carbonate.

 

[chaples55]

I feel like I saw a reduction in numbers after doing this for a couple weeks. Far from eradication though unfortunately. Curious to see what happens if you keep it up longer.

I have ~20 bumblebee snails in my 45 gallon tank and I feel like they do absolutely nothing. I only have the small tube vermetids though, not the chonky ones.

 

[billyocean]

It was months before they became hard to find. Just get them riled up with their webs out and then dose. It takes a while but it put a huge dent in the numbers for me.

 

[Boosterman]

I feel like I saw a reduction in numbers after doing this for a couple weeks. Far from eradication though unfortunately. Curious to see what happens if you keep it up longer.

I have ~20 bumblebee snails in my 45 gallon tank and I feel like they do absolutely nothing. I only have the small tube vermetids though, not the chonky ones.

Yeah I also have about 10 bumblebee snails but I feel like they are only going for the easy food such as my Astrea snails. Glad to hear that you saw a reduction in numbers. I will probably do it for minimum 4 weeks to max 8 weeks.

 

[Boosterman]

It was months before they became hard to find. Just get them riled up with their webs out and then dose. It takes a while but it put a huge dent in the numbers for me.

Glad to hear that you were able to reduce their population. Just curious, did you dose calcium carbonate daily or weekly?

 

[billyocean]

Glad to hear that you were able to reduce their population. Just curious, did you dose calcium carbonate daily or weekly?

At first it was a few times a week..now i do it about once a week

 

[jcook54]

Cool gang! I've never heard of this to get rid of the little bastards. Please do keep us posted. I hope it works well!

 

[Boosterman]

At first it was a few times a week..now i do it about once a week

Thanks!

Cool gang! I've never heard of this to get rid of the little bastards. Please do keep us posted. I hope it works well!

I will keep my journey on this thread for future reference!