tube snails hurting corals?

[kona]

Hi, I've learned from this board that I have quite a few vermetid/tube worms growing on my rocks. They spread out a web like net that is invisible until saturated with particles, which they then suck back in and eat off of.
My question is, will these things harm my corals, if they are interspersed within them? My main concern is that they are taking food away from the filter feeding process. My secondary concern, and pure conjecture, is that they are stinging my corals.
Here is a picture of four tube worms with their webs extended (because I kicked up some debris in the tank). As you can see, the clove polyps all around them (which are normally healthy looking) are shriveled and sickly.

 

[shawnts106]

Looks more like it has too much current than a turbo hurting it, those daisy polyps need to be in low current

 

[kona]

Tube / Vermetid Snails, not Turbo Snails. Are they hurting my coral (clove or daisy, whatever it is)?
And the coral is robust and healthy when the snails aren't excreting their webs.

 

[kona]

anyone?

 

[reefnut]

Well the clove polyps shouldn't be bothered by the Vermetid Snails unless the snail's "spider webs" are making the polyps close... which it kind of look like it is. I recently had to remove a vermetid because his web was going all over a sps coral and making its polyps stay closed.

 

[kona]

Hey Reefnut,
How would I go about removing a Vermetid Snail? I searched on the forum and couldn't find anything.
I have been using a chopstick to break off the tubes occasionally. But I realized that everytime I touched the tube, the snail would retract way back and practically into the pores of the rock. I would essentially be breaking only the tube, which grows right back the next couple days.

 

[reefnut]

In that case the only way (that I know of) would be to kill the snails, try digging them out of the rock or breaking up the rock to relocate them...

 

[wax32]

I've got one that has been making webs across some of my zoanthids for over a month. So far the zoos don't seem effected but they do occasionally close up. I'm taking a "wait and see" type approach.

 

[kona]

Hey, thanks for the replies...
It seems to me that most of you have 1 or 2 or a handful of these snails. I have approximately 200 in a 10 gallon tank. I'll post a picture if I get the chance.
So, 200 in a 10 gallon. Doesn't that seem a bit strange?

 

[wax32]

Ouch, yeah I think I'd be looking into getting rid of them. Might mean manually smashing them with a chisel or something.

 

[reefnut]

I little superglue plugging the tube will work...

 

[tizzo]

I have noticed that the vematids usually cast their line out during feedings or when the substrate is disturbed... Is there any possibility that the polyps are closing because they are "catching" the same food as the snails? Since it only happens whan the web is out, then maybe the web isn't the common denominator, maybe it's the reason the webs out...the food/debris. :thinking:
I have spots in my tank that are virtually covered in those snails. So, I don't think it's uncommon to have a whole mess of them in one small area. Least, I never worried about it before. :notsure:

 

[kona]

That is a really good point. It makes the most sense to me.....thanks for the input.

 

[wax32]

Well, I started looking back at some pictures of the zoanthid rock my snail is on. The zoos near him looked better a month or so ago. The zoos on the same rock, but not near the snail have obviously grown and look better now. I took a screwdriver to the snail. He is gone.