Mollusk of the Week, Vermetid Snails/Worm shells

[herefishiefishie]

Every week I will be posting a new mollusk for discussion. Please post everything you know about this week's mollusk, to include pics, care and feeding habits, optimal environment, common names, and anything else you can think of.

This week's mollusk is a common hitchhiker in our tanks, the Vermetid snails or Worm Shells. There are those little creatures that live in little holes or tubes in the live rock and send out stringy webs of mucus to catch particulate matter for nourishment. Some information on these creatures can be found on pages 578 and 579 of the Baensch Marine Atlas Volume 2.

Two common sepecies of this type are Dendropoma maxima (the large worm shell) and Serpulorbis arenarius (the Mediterranean worm shell).

I find that they benefit from the occasional "storm event" (blowing particulate matter off your live rock periodically with a small powerhead or turkey baster).

Please post any information or experience you might have on these common reef inhabitants, especially pics if you have them.

[herefishiefishie]

^

[Clyde]

hmm I thought I posted today. I might have replied/and posted to a WRONG thread oy..

[Clyde]

yup I posted in the main board - anyway a simple cut/paste will make it allright

I could be wrong, is it like this ? my picture is on the reefs.org hitchhikers faq.

http://www.reefs.org/hhfaq/img/faq_vermetid.jpg

they tend to spew strands across the tank, when I was a newbie, I was like hey I got live sand, i see live sand particles moving, but actually it was this snail putting out like fishing line, then pulling it in to get food.

its a neat snail, it open and closes often, and 2 tiny atteneas sticking out.

I got a bunch, they sure poke your fingers if you do live rock arrangement on an established tank.

[toddgack]

Ahh the vermetid snail. I have one piece of live rock (fiji) that is currently the home to about 20 of these little beasties. They're quite entertaining to watch when I throw in food. One in particular shoots out a mucus strand that's easily 8 inches in length. His neighbors often join in, and create a web, which makes my lionfish very unhappy :D Another one, whom I've named Happy (it's the only thing in my tank with a name) often "turns around" in his tube, doing a complete 180 spin. It's quite amusing to see this, and it's the only one in the tank that actually "moves". As for their benefits, they are excellent cleaners, and grab a significant amount of detritus floating in the tank (makes my skimmer's job a little easier). As for their downfall, I have to feed slightly more than what would be normal, so that my worms and copopeds get enough to eat. And they're extremely painful if you pick up the rock they're on. Never been cut, but I image that it's not out of the question.

tg

[anathema]

The only thing I know about them is that I have one, and that my camera is broken. It's not the nice red color that yours is though.

[DukeDog]

Heres one of mine. I also noticed one on the shell of my crocea.
Jeff
http://www.reefcentral.com/vbulletin/attachment.php?s=&postid=262971

[adrinal]

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=61944&papass=&sort=1&thecat=500

[manderx]

i *hate* these guys (the small ones at least). my tank is completely overrun with thousands them. i have a tang that when i first got him zipped around the tank and completely tore his fins on them. they clog my plumbing. they grow on the sides of my clams and poke and irritate the mantles. they suck up calcium. they tear up my hands when i rearrange rocks. they grow overtop my candycanes and sun polyps. i stepped on one once with bare feet that cut a 1/4"x3/16" plug out of the bottom of my foot. ug, i hate them more than any pest i've ever had- aiptasia, red bugs, monti-nudibranchs, flatworms,...

[adrinal]

So, what are you saying...














:)