View Full Version : flatworms
Dragonlady
03-05-2008, 04:34 AM
I'm almost positive it's flatworms i have in my tank. any suggestions? please help.
brown/red or white ones?
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii254/Keri1980/flatworm.jpg
this is a (slightly squished) one I found (one of many, many more to come)
Dragonlady
03-05-2008, 04:47 AM
red ones
Flatworms only seem to really take over in tanks that have a nutrient abundance. Cut out the nutrients, and the population should diminish to a size that you can deal with. Which means a whole lotta siphoning them out!
Dragonlady
03-05-2008, 04:52 AM
thanks, i have started that and i have taken out some of my live rocks that's infested with the flatworms. i hope this will help.
fencer
03-05-2008, 04:57 AM
see the six line wrasse thread
^ Ya they can do a good cleanup! If I were you, I'd remove every single rock out of the tank, suck up all the worms I can see in the tank. Then use a turkey baster to blow the worms off the rock (in a different container), then put the rocks back in. Should nearly decimate the population, at which time you could possibly add a Six Line Wrasse or try to get your hands on some Salifert Flatworm Exit.
tang daddy
03-05-2008, 04:43 PM
as myka said remove as many as you can another wrasse that's a resident FW eater is the yellow canary wrasse!
Increased flow and SALIFERT Flatworm Exit works too. :wink:
Reefer Rob
03-05-2008, 05:27 PM
If you have fish you have enough nutrients for flatworms. To starve them out you'd have to remove all your fish. I've heard rumors that they can crash on their own, I've never seen it.
Flatworm Exit was a disaster for me, but if you're more careful than I was it should work OK. Basically multiply the number of flatworms you can see by a couple of hundred to get the true amount in your system.
I've heard that you can shine a light on the front of your tank over night the flatworms will congregate there, making it easier to siphon in the morning. I found this out after I treated with FW Exit, so I haven't tried it myself.
Six Line Wrasse didn't work for me. Cute little guy though.
fkshiu
03-05-2008, 06:21 PM
My six-line has been completely useless against flatworms. Trying a yellow coris wrasse now.
The flatworms aren't hurting anything (yet), but there are a lot of them congregating in the shadowed areas and they sure are an eyesore in the tank.
fencer
03-05-2008, 06:56 PM
You know. I haven't read anything that says they do damage to corals. Yes when they get out of control they are unsightly. I truly believe that it is a nutrient problem. I have seen green chromis go after these worms too. AEFW are the ones to watch out for.
Seriak
03-05-2008, 07:03 PM
I eventually got fed up years ago and used greenex and it worked and I don't recall losing any livestock.
Reefer Rob
03-05-2008, 07:33 PM
I truly believe that it is a nutrient problem.
The nutrient requirements of flatworms are similar to that of corals. Try to starve them out and it would be hard to say what would die first, the flatworms or your corals.
Look on the bright side. If you can grow a good crop of flatworms you have an environment that will most likely grow great corals!
tang daddy
03-05-2008, 08:17 PM
Regular FW don't harm corals but they get out of control in plague proportions and you'll find them pearching every where on the lr sometimes they go onto corals sheding the coral of light that's when it becomes a problem. FWE works but only at a high dose keep in mind that when a mass amont of these FW die they can pollute your tank quickly, Hence a 50% WC needed after the use of FWE also carbon filtration to remove FWE so leave them in your tank if you don't care. But also realize that when you want to rid them you'll spend more $$!
CLINT
03-05-2008, 08:22 PM
Ive had major problems with zoos since I got them.They irritate or eat them till they dissapear.I would just let them take care of themselves but decided I liked my zoos too much.Clint
SeaHorse_Fanatic
03-06-2008, 12:11 AM
I find certain wrasses great for eating flatworms. Yellow, leopard & six-line.
Ya Dude
03-06-2008, 12:42 AM
I had thousands then introduced 2 scooter blennies.The worms were all gone by 3 weeks.My whole sand bed was covered and after I couldnt even spot one
The nutrient requirements of flatworms are similar to that of corals. Try to starve them out and it would be hard to say what would die first, the flatworms or your corals.
This is what everyone says...but I have never seen FW in plague proportions in tanks that aren't also in nutrient overload. JME.
Reefer Rob
03-06-2008, 03:56 AM
This is what everyone says...but I have never seen FW in plague proportions in tanks that aren't also in nutrient overload. JME.
My tank isn't in "nutrient overload". Far from it. The only tanks I've seen that are cleaner are Zeovit tanks.
I,m with Rob on this one. Although they do indeed thrive on dirtier tanks, once they get a foothold, its hard to contorl them with nutrient removal alone.
My 225 that I fought them in was very low in organics. It was bare bottom, ran a huge beckett skimmer and a large alage turf scrubber. I have heard of the scooters eating them. Even the common yellow tail damsel. My mandarin & three wrasses did eat them, but could not control the population without help.
I read about all the "natural" ways of reducing them. Trying those in my large tank, allowed them to reproduce at will. :lol: A long battle using tons of skimming, sucking them out, & Flaworm Exit use, finally got rid of them.
Its a fight I would not wish to do again. Thats my experience with them. Everything I now add, has "exit" added to their acclimation process.
I've noticed a decline in numbers over the last couple of days, could be the scooter then!
i recently got home to discover a huge outbreak (neighbour broke feeder, so fed herself...FAR too much). ive been siphoning out what i can, and my new sixline seems to be getting some of them, but seems to only stick to the smaller ones.
do you notice that they seem to accumulate in the same spots? i have maybe 2 or 3 spots where they all are. other than that they are nowhere. makes siphoning easy!!
Delphinus
03-07-2008, 06:35 AM
On the advice of Seahorse_Fanatic I picked up a yellow canary wrasse (Halichoeres chrysus) when I noticed flatworms in my tank around Christmas time. Within a month there wasn't a flatworm to be found in the tank.
And, it's a very pretty fish. :cool:
Also called a yellow coris wrasse but it's not related to the Coris family of wrasses (which get huge).
Did it bother any of your other inverts? (shrimp or dusters?)
Delphinus
03-07-2008, 06:42 AM
Nope, and I have a fair number of shrimp (2 cleaners and at least 1 peppermint) and dusters in this particular tank. Although come to think of it, I think they're fan worms, not feather dusters. At any rate, been a model reef citizen. I'm sure he's taking down the 'pod population but really all fish will to some degree. I'm not sure I would want a mandarin sharing the tank unless it was a large tank with a decent pod loading to begin with. Other than that though, what a great fish. I think he sleeps in the sand though.. I'd be a little cautious about a BB tank. Sometime around 9pm, an hour and a half before lights-out, he literally disappears. I've never been able to figure out where he's bunking down for the night.
Nope, and I have a fair number of shrimp (2 cleaners and at least 1 peppermint) and dusters in this particular tank. Although come to think of it, I think they're fan worms, not feather dusters. At any rate, been a model reef citizen. I'm sure he's taking down the 'pod population but really all fish will to some degree. I'm not sure I would want a mandarin sharing the tank unless it was a large tank with a decent pod loading to begin with. Other than that though, what a great fish. I think he sleeps in the sand though.. I'd be a little cautious about a BB tank. Sometime around 9pm, an hour and a half before lights-out, he literally disappears. I've never been able to figure out where he's bunking down for the night.
Hey thanks for the info! Something to consider :)
I,m with Rob on this one. Although they do indeed thrive on dirtier tanks, once they get a foothold, its hard to control them with nutrient removal alone.
I wasn't saying that you could kill them with nutrient control. I just think that tanks in nutrient overload are much more susceptible to flatworm plagues. I do however think that you can manually control the population if you're willing to rip the tank apart completely. Most people want an easy solution though.
On the advice of Seahorse_Fanatic I picked up a yellow canary wrasse (Halichoeres chrysus) when I noticed flatworms in my tank around Christmas time. Within a month there wasn't a flatworm to be found in the tank.
And, it's a very pretty fish. :cool:
Also called a yellow coris wrasse but it's not related to the Coris family of wrasses (which get huge).
Picked one up today :) He's very different looking, I like the way they move. He decided it was bedtime and went sand diving. :)
Update March 28 08: I had a bit of a cyano outbreak, gone now, but I think the yellow wrasse has worked his magic - I can't find ANY!
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