nemetid snails

[sly fox]

i got some rock off someone with nemetids on, those little tubes that put out the sticky stuff... i have had it in the sun outside for 2 days and used a wire brush on it... will they be dead yet?

would boiling in salt water help?
thanks

[JimD]

If you've brushed them off all the way down to the rock, they should be gone. Dont boil the rock, you'll kill everything.

[sly fox]

ive had them out of water for 2 days so the live rock is no longer live, so i dont transfer them there were some i couldnt get to in nooks and crannies so i was trying to wipe them out...

[johnmaloney @ Reef Cleaners]

not sure if it would they live just fine right at the high tide line here. When the tide is weak, sometimes they will be out of the water for almost a week. They keep on living. It would really depend on the species. The irregular worm snails, (as they are also called), will survive that no problem. (But then again they probably get a little moisture), Boil them with freshwater, save the salt.

[Aqua-Dome]

They are called vermetid snails. And as for trying to kill a harmless animal while at the same time ruining your newly acquired live rock, ?..........
Hunter
Aqua-Dome

[dustint21]

^^^^^^I was thinkin the same thing! ^^^^^ Why dont you want the critters? I pay for stuff like that!:bigsmile:

[JimD]

Would you like to buy some glass anemones??? :bigsmile:

[sly fox]

sorry vermetid snails... their sticky strands are a nuisance for corals and irritate them i believe

[johnmaloney @ Reef Cleaners]

Vermetid snails or worm snails can cause problems in a tank like you said sly. Some are harmless others are not. There are 1000s of different species of worm snails in the oceans. Depending on which kind you have, and its size, will determine how much harm it can do to your tank. The common worm snail for example, Vermicularia spirata, gets to be a foot and a half, and can can cast large mucuos nets all over your tank. Usually we get smaller ones on liverock, as the liverock distributor breaks these off, but sometimes not. It really depends on the size of the rock you have. Since it isn't live anymore, I would clean it all up, and remove anything dead on it and then back into the aquarium after it cools.

[mikedelgado]

I have those in my tank. They seem harmless. When I see them growing out in the open I crush thier shells with needle nose pliers and my fish eat them. yummy???

[sly fox]

thanks guys...well theyre still in the sun and i have been systematically crushing the worms...i'll boil in water as well which will help get anything dead off and then all go :)

[johnmaloney @ Reef Cleaners]

I guess if you are a fish it is!?!