ID Please

[elfloyd]

This is a new one for me... I've added nothing to the tank in a long time except for snails. My pod population is increasing and now I start to see these guys hanging on the glass with the pods and the snails.

Slow movers... about 1/4"... the snail is 3/8".

What do I have here?

Thanks,
Larry

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[KrisDeitz]

Flat worms

 

[elfloyd]

Not what I wanted to hear...

 

[KrisDeitz]

Get a wrasse it will clear them up

 

[elfloyd]

Yep...

"Rust Brown Flat Worms - The Rust Brown Flatworm is the most common flatworm found in home aquariums. It is rust, brown or tan in color with a red dot and will reach a size of about 1/4". They are oval and somewhat elongated with two tail-like appendages. It has been identified as Convolutriloba retrogemma and reproduces rapidly in nutrient rich marine aquariums. In high concentrations on a coral's surface, these flatworms can actually keep adequate light from reaching the corals, thereby "starving" the coral. Some believe that this flatworm also consumes the resident zooxanthellae on the coral's surface. This flatworm is normally found in areas of the aquarium with low water flow."

A six line wrasse is supposed to eat these... Guess mine doesn't or can't keep up. Fortunately I rehomed my corals months ago before the new build.

Any other options other than a WMD attack?

 

[hiimsean]

They don't appear to be AEFW, don't quote me on that, but they are unsightly and can cause problems. Like Kris said, if you can get a wrasse, of course only certain species will eat them. I have a melanurus wrasse eradicate my flat worm population within a few days.

I've found that Coral RX will kill them on frags. Eggs won't be affected though so you would need to manually remove them. Don't be too harsh in your removal methods because they will release ammonia and can wipe out our tank.

 

[jennm]

AKA Red Planaria. Others have described them pretty succinctly.

The best wrasse I've found for them is the Melanurus. Some yellow or green Coris will too, but I had no success with a six-lined wrasse. Melanurus is a flatworm eating MACHINE. As long as your tank is large enough to give one ample swimming space, that would be my recommendation.

On coral colonies that you are able to remove from the tank, a quick swirly in fresh RO for 5-10 seconds will kill them - they can't take the change in osmotic pressure and they die and drop off pretty much immediately. However, once they are in the tank it's hard to get rid of them without a natural control.

There are "chemical weapons" against them, about 10 years ago I used Flatworm eXit in my 120 that had a severe infestation, and I ended up losing 7 of 13 fish. It wasn't the eXit's fault, it was the sheer volume of dying flatworms and the toxins they were releasing as they died. I followed directions to the letter and had more supplementary filtration than recommended but my outcome was still disastrous (corals were fine but the fish ... I still mourn those losses). If you treat chemically, if at all possible, remove your fish to another tank beforehand, especially if you have a really severe infestation.

Jenn

 

[rgunn1]

My Melanurus cleared out my flatworm problem in a day. Problem is he has also nearly cleared out my entire clean up crew...


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[elfloyd]

I think I see a Wrasse in my future! I much prefer natural to chemical.