found some flatworms

[Ryancw]

bumping an old thread rather than starting a new one.

At some point in the last little while i suppose i've introduced the plague to my tank and let it get out of hand before deciding to take action. Before i give flatworm exit a go i've been siphoning daily into a bucket and topping up with new SW to reduce numbers and its working alright. I have 15-20 lbs of LR pretty heavily covered still and I'm curious if removing 2 or 3 rocks a day and dipping in RO water for a few minutes to kill them off and reintroducing the rock to the DT immediately will trigger a mini cycle large enough to affect the tank?? should i take my chances?

[Myka]

Originally Posted by Ryancw

I have 15-20 lbs of LR pretty heavily covered still and I'm curious if removing 2 or 3 rocks a day and dipping in RO water for a few minutes to kill them off and reintroducing the rock to the DT immediately will trigger a mini cycle large enough to affect the tank?? should i take my chances?

I'd suggest you just remove the rocks one by one into a 5-gallon pail of tank water and use a turkey baster to blast the flatworms off. They come off very easily as you've probably noticed. Since you only have 20 lbs of rock you could do this fairly easily and then in a few days (to make sure no mini cycle or anything) do a Flatworm Exit treatment. Make sure you have plenty of fresh saltwater mixed up and ready for a big water change/siphoning of dead worms during/after the FWE treatment.

It's a good idea to have some Prime or AmQuel on hand in case there is any ammonia spike. I also like to use those SeaChem Ammonia Alert badges. I have one in my sump at all times.

[Fishy!]

Going to drag this old thread up also. Have a Duncan frag I picked up a month ago, it was doing great but had a couple brown spots on it, didn't think anything of it. Fast forward tonight. Looked into tank and notice the Duncan doesn't seem so happy. I notice some brown spots on the actual polyp now and not just the branches. Quick google search leads me to the conclusion of flatworms. Scoop out a small container of water and adds a full package of one shot coral rx. Prob 5x the dosage I would guess. Give the coral a 3 min dip and a vigorous shake. Prob 50 flatworms fall off. Tiny ones mind you maybe the size of 2 grains of sugar. Dip it again and shake it. Grab the only other frag close(sumpodium) and dip it just to be safe. I have not notice any flatworms anywhere else in the tank or on any other corals. My question is how likely is it that they have spread to the rest of my tank and I don't see them?

[hfp75]

Flatworms are like rabbits. Once there are enough that you notice them, you have an infestation!!!!

I had a FW problem and used alot of FWE twice. On the second application I Overdosed the tank with the stuff and they were floating around all over. I was 3+ times the dose !!!!!!!

Had a Mini-cycle cause of it - real PITA!!!!

having said that they are gone and I have a watchful eye for them.

Only had them once and dont want them again - I paid a price - lost a few great corals and my tank, since the mini-cycle hasnt been the same.