flat worms

[bowkry]

http://i586.photobucket.com/albums/ss305/bowkry/IMG_0092_zps291992d9.jpg (http://s586.photobucket.com/user/bowkry/media/IMG_0092_zps291992d9.jpg.html)http://i586.photobucket.com/albums/ss305/bowkry/IMG_0094_zpsa5f9112e.jpg (http://s586.photobucket.com/user/bowkry/media/IMG_0094_zpsa5f9112e.jpg.html)
are these flat worms I have never had them. Its about the only thing I have never had. How do I get rid of them!!!!

[bowkry]

http://i586.photobucket.com/albums/ss305/bowkry/IMG_00942_zps7ad96810.jpg (http://s586.photobucket.com/user/bowkry/media/IMG_00942_zps7ad96810.jpg.html)

[Reef_Geek]

I've had these before in a tank waaaay back around 99 or 00. Yes, they are a type of Planarian. They are photosynthetic and really annoying in that way... because they just kept feeding off the light and multiplying. I don't recall finding a solution... before I stripped down the tank cus I was finishing school and moving.

They were in a small 10 gal tank where I housed a mantis shrimp, so I didn't try too many options against them.

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

A yellow or canary wrasse will eat them up.

[Reef_Geek]

Here's someone's journal about getting rid of them

http://blog.aquanerd.com/2012/04/the-battle-with-red-planaria-flatworms.html

[bowkry]

them being photosynthetic makes sense because they are only on the light side of the rock but there is a lot. I kinda wanted a new fish so I am going looking for a wrasse tomorrow

[Reefer Rob]

I hate the little buggers. If you can get your hands on some flatworm exit it works well. They give off a toxic substance when they die, so you have to be REALLY careful. They can kill everything in your tank if there is too many when you treat. I'd almost be temped to remove your fish if you treat.

[spit.fire]

Siphon as many of them out every time you do a water change before you use flatworm exit

[jonn46]

I bought a melanurus wrasse couple of months ago and my FWs are all but gone. They use to be everywhere but now it takes me awhile of looking to find one.
He is the perfect citizen as well, never bothering anybody just swims around hunting all the time.

[Reefer Rob]

If you trade frags, please make sure you make it known that you "control" flatworms biologically, and there's a chance they are bringing home more than a coral :cry: I would never want to deal with flatworms again, they are so toxic!

[bowkry]

I am going to get that flat worm killing med, and a wrasse
will treat rock in separate tank first syphon out as many as I can than I will treat my hole tank

[jonn46]

Actually once my wrasse has them down to where I don't think there any left or I can't see any then I will use FW Exit on the tank. I am hoping this way i won't have to worry as much about the toxin from the dying FWs.

[Reefer Rob]

If you have a Wrass that will eat them that is a great plan. I thought I had most of them out by siphoning all the ones I could see every day for a week... I was wrong.

[jonn46]

i don't think you could ever get most out by siphoning them. Have you ever taken a piece of coral out and given it a freshwater dip. Lol what looked like ten FWs turns out to be 200. Btw in case you didn't know the freshwater dip works well.

[bowkry]

been syphoning 2 filter socks full,
got a target mandarin started eating them rite away,
and got 6 line I just wanted him I always like them hope he eats them too.
I am going to keep syphoning hey its a good way to keep my rock clean, then I will set up a quarantine tank and treat chunks of rock alone with flat worm exit , hen I will treat the whole tank when I cant find more.
this is just my idea any one has any better ideas I am open to them, ripping my tank apart isn't what I really want to do

[Craigdillman]

Look up flatworm exit I used it in my 30 gallon worked perfect

for 2 days prior I suctioned out all the FWs I could see
then on the 3rd day I dosed flatworm exit and followed all the directions and as they were dying sucked them out, Did a 30% water change on the tank and started new carbon

[asylumdown]

Taking the rocks out one by one to dip them sounds to me like an awful lot of work that increases your chances of the product failing overall. Those little buggers can move fast when they put their minds to it, and you'll never get the worms that are on surfaces that you can't remove (overflows, return lines, sand, glass, etc.).

I know there are horror stories out there, but there's also thousands of successful applications. I've used it twice in a full blown SPS reef and the only negative effect was the loss of a single acans colony that caught and ate too many dying flatworms. I'm sure I could have mitigated that by actually siphoning some of the worms off first, but I had grossly underestimated the number that were in the tank.

The first treatment didn't get them all (there were literally millions of them), so a few months later when I noticed the first 10 worms I dosed again. The only side effect to that treatment was that I no longer have any flatworms.

Obviously not saying you should or shouldn't use the product, but when you have a system wide infestation, I think you either need to treat the system, or go with another method of control.

[bowkry]

ya I bought it so I am going to use it but I am just trying to get the numbers down first

[asylumdown]

Good idea. The only thing I regret about the first treatment was not videotaping it. It looked like my tank was on fire. They seem to stick together with practically invisible strands of mucous as they die, so when you have lots of them they come off the rocks in huge sheets that wave about in the current. It was spectacular and terrifying. Having that many definitely increases the chances of things going south, so kudos to you for doing it properly.

[Reefer Rob]

Sensitive fish will be effected. My White Cheek Tank went into convulsions and died instantly, and my Regal Tang quickly developed skin sores. Corals and hardy fish were not effected. The LPS seemed to almost like it. It's good your being careful. Wouldn't it be easier to trap and remove any sensitive fish rather than tear apart your whole reef?

[JmeJReefer]

In the same boat. It's a slow and tedious process.

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