Flatworms??

[jc_k]

I think I've got flatworms, but I've never actually seem them until now. Or atleast I think they are flatworms. I noticed them about a week ago but I thought they were copepods, but I am 90% percent sure they are flatworms. They aren't very big, I cant take a picture of them but they are noticeable in person, and their all over the glass! Their tiny and have a red tint to them.

I found this picture on Google, and it looks exactly like mine except mine are a little darker red/brown.
Are they dangerous? If so how do o et rid of them?

 

[declanisadog]

My mystery wrasse destroyed mine. HEre's a helpful link:

 

[jennm]

Yep, that's a flatworm. Is it white or reddish-brownish? Looks white-ish in the picture. The red ones tend to be more problematic, but as Benjamin pointed out, there are several kinds of wrasse that will make short work of them.

The down side is that some of those wrasses will also make short work of smaller clean up critters.

Jenn

 

[declanisadog]

JennM;1021396 wrote: Yep, that's a flatworm. Is it white or reddish-brownish? Looks white-ish in the picture. The red ones tend to be more problematic, but as Benjamin pointed out, there are several kinds of wrasse that will make short work of them.

The down side is that some of those wrasses will also make short work of smaller clean up critters.

Jenn

Very true. My mystery wrasse ate three peppermints before they hit the sand.

 

[dasianguy]

I had a fairly bad infestation of red flatworms recently in my 24 and 80 gallon. They started out as just a few here and there but eventually got to the point of covering much of my rock.. which was pretty ugly. Here's what I did to get rid of them (without losing any fish, corals, or inverts):

1. Dipped corals and rocks in Revive to get as many of them as I could out of the tank before treating the tank.

2. Used "Flatworm Solution" by "Precision Solutions" in the tank, which I got from my LFS for $25.

3. When I saw that flatworms were dead/dying and starting to float around, I siphoned out as many as I could (doing a fairly large water change). You want to get as many of the flatworms out of the tank as possible because they're pretty toxic when they die.

4. I ran an internal filter filled with lots of carbon to help remove toxins

Doing this mostly wiped out the flatworms. A small number of survivors showed up a few days later, so I simply dosed Flatworm Solution again (without dipping the corals/rocks) and they disappeared. I think as long as their numbers are not too large, the toxicity when they die isn't bad.

I was pretty impressed with Flatworm Solution. I feel like most of the research I did online recommended "Flatworm Exit" by Salifert.. but I couldn't find that in any of my LFS's... so I was fairly reluctant to try Flatworm Solution... but it worked great for me!

 

[jc_k]

Thanks for all the info guys. I stopped by shacs today and got some flatworm solution. I'm going to try it tommrow when I have some time and do a water change. Again, Thanks for the help guys. I'm still confused on where they came from as I haven't put any new coral in the tank for a while.

 

[camellia]

JC_k;1021417 wrote: Thanks for all the info guys. I stopped by shacs today and got some flatworm solution. I'm going to try it tommrow when I have some time and do a water change. Again, Thanks for the help guys. I'm still confused on where they came from as I haven't put any new coral in the tank for a while.

That is odd!

Have you put anything new in the tank?

 

[jc_k]

Camellia;1021495 wrote: That is odd!

Have you put anything new in the tank?

Actually, I got some new fish about a week ago, but I haven't added anything else in a couple months. Could they have somehow been on the fish?

 

[brandonmason]

JC_k;1021497 wrote: Actually, I got some new fish about a week ago, but I haven't added anything else in a couple months. Could they have somehow been on the fish?

Even though it sounds far fetched I have been in lfs and seen Flatworms on seahorses side. Remember that even if you dip all your corals, dips will do nothing to eggs

 

[jc_k]

BrandonMason;1021502 wrote: Even though it sounds far fetched I have been in lfs and seen Flatworms on seahorses side. Remember that even if you dip all your corals, dips will do nothing to eggs

You actually put this stuff in the tank, and it supposly kills all the flatwomrs instantly, I was told to just dose the tank again in a week or two to get rid of all the babies that may have been in eggs.

 

[tonymission]

Wish it was so easy ;x

 

[jc_k]

tonymission;1021646 wrote: Wish it was so easy ;x

Is it not ¿

 

[raz0945]

It will take a while for most people to see the babys, unless you are looking for them, they are so small, maybe 1-4 months. When I use flat worm exit I use it 3 times, 10 days apart. Make sure you use carbon (fresh each time) and do about 30% -40% water change. If you have any shrimp, if possible put them in a separate tanks. Hope it goes well!

 

[jc_k]

Raz0945;1021665 wrote: It will take a while for most people to see the babys, unless you are looking for them, they are so small, maybe 1-4 months. When I use flat worm exit I use it 3 times, 10 days apart. Make sure you use carbon (fresh each time) and do about 30% -40% water change. If you have any shrimp, if possible put them in a separate tanks. Hope it goes well!

Thanks! Most of them are gone since I ised the stuff,
But my coral was looking crappy until I did a water change after I put the solution in. Is that normal?

 

[raz0945]

Yes, and always do a water change and don't neglect your regular water change. The chemicals the flat worms put off is poison to your reef, the charcoal and water changes are important.

 

[jc_k]

Raz0945;1021751 wrote: Yes, and always do a water change and don't neglect your regular water change. The chemicals the flat worms put off is poison to your reef, the charcoal and water changes are important.

Ok. Thanks I'm going to put some more of the solution in the tank in a week or two. Can flatworms actually harm any of the coral?

 

[raz0945]

I once saw a tank that had thousands that covered the glass and corals, they put several wrasses and a mandarin to work. The next time I saw the tank it looked great and clear of flat worms so I bought 2 nice size corals. It took me treating my tank two times to get rid of the flat worms I brought home, I hate flat worms!