Question about flatworms and Flatworm Exit

dc4 · #1 09-21-2011, 07:03 PM

So, the last few days my elegance coral was looking about 1/2 closed and I didnt really think anything of it but last night when I got home from work, I noticed a few brown spots on it. I did a quick search which brought me to believe that they were flatworms. I did a fresh water dip and saw about 10-15 little brown things floating in the water. When I put the elegance back into the tank, it stayed shriveled which I was expecting and is about 1/3 fully open this morning but with no more brown spots.

Now to my question, I do not notice any other corals with any spots and no noticable spots on the live rock but due to the elegance having flatworms on it, would it mean that there are flatworms hiding everywhere? If so, would it be safe to use Flatworm Exit as a procautionary measure just to prevent an outbreak?

Seamazter · #2 09-21-2011, 08:42 PM

If you have them in one spot they are everywhere, under rocks on the glass and on other corals.
If you do use flatworm exit, be sure to siphon, the dead flat worms create poison when they die, and the dead bodies may increase you bio-load.

lockrookie · #3 09-21-2011, 09:17 PM

yes be cautious with flatwork exit i know a guy that wiped out his whole system addingit to his display tank.. was not a good day be sure to have alot of premade water for a water change anddo alot of water changes. after / durring treatment if there are alot the toxins could wipe everything out.

dc4 · #4 09-21-2011, 09:26 PM

I wonder if my 2 mandarins are keeping them in check, there have been posts on other forums that they may eat the flatworms as an appetizer...

Myka · #5 09-21-2011, 09:39 PM

How big is your tank? Adding a mandarin or a wrasse could help keep your tank flatworm free. Not all wrasses eat flatworms though, you would have to research. Don't buy a 6-line jerk though...they are the devil.

I wouldn't dose the tank as a prophylactic treatment, but I would have the Flatworm eXit to have on hand to dip new corals.

dc4 · #6 09-21-2011, 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Myka

How big is your tank? Adding a mandarin or a wrasse could help keep your tank flatworm free. Not all wrasses eat flatworms though, you would have to research. Don't buy a 6-line jerk though...they are the devil.

I wouldn't dose the tank as a prophylactic treatment, but I would have the Flatworm eXit to have on hand to dip new corals.

I already have a male and female mandarin in my 72g bow. Hoping that the male will dine on the flatworms as he is yet to be trained to eat frozen.

I already had a yellow tail damsel and that was enough attitude to last the rest of my reefing days so no more fishes that need to flex their muscles for me.

I guess Ill take the wait and see approach, I dont wanna crash the tank a month after upgrading...

Myka · #7 09-21-2011, 11:09 PM

Nah, leave it alone. Just start dipping incoming corals. Consider it a lesson learned (well hopefully you learned lol).

scherzo · #8 09-22-2011, 05:07 AM

Sometimes you can have a tank running for awhile and not see them and if your tank parameters go out of whack they can just pop up everywhere.

I had them in a small system once and used FWE and it stressed the tank like crazy. I had some fish and coral loss. The population was extremely high and the water volume was small (about 40-50 gallons). They were everywhere!

When I started my new tank I fresh water dipped everything and they still showed up a few months later. I then slowly added fish, scooter blenny, lawnmower blenny, 6 line, and mandarin. They slowly brought the population down. I kept all tank parameters in check.

After about a year they were still around but only on 2 or 3 of my large pieces of rock. They were near the bottom of the tank and I didn't want to disturb the tank to fresh water dip the rocks. I ran FWE and was diligent about squirting around and in the rocks. This time my water volume is greater (about 140 gallons of water volume) and had a much smaller population. I had no coral loss or fish loss. Ran carbon, and did a few good sized water changes. And I now have not seen one flat worm for at least 8 months.

I will now dip everything with FWE before I add anything.

I think if you have a low enough population you should be ok to run FWE as a precaution. I personally would just wait to see if any show up. You can leave a flashlight on the glass at night and they should be attracted to the light. If you see any there in the morning then you know you still have them.