HELP!!! How can I get rid of these Flatworms?

dancewithethan · 07/24/2015, 07:59 PM

I made a mistakes by not taking a proper steps of introducing a new coral into a tank and now I am paying for it. How can I get rid of these flatworms? I try using Salifert Flatworm eXit about 3 bottles in about three weeks now. It works on about 70% but the rest of the worm seem to have no effect on the medication. I also try to pull it out by hands as much as I could but I am losing a battle here. If nothing works, my plan is to take down the whole system and rebuild again. My tank has been running for almost two years now.

My tank is a 70 Gallons

Same pic

BryanS4 · 07/24/2015, 08:18 PM

A few different wrasses will tear those things up.

DopeCantWin · 07/24/2015, 08:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BryanS4

A few different wrasses will tear those things up.

I'm not aware of any wrasses guaranteed to eat them. They're a hit or miss thing, so you better want that wrasse to begin with.

ReefPharmer · 07/24/2015, 08:28 PM

i had those and got a mellanarus wrasse. Bye bye flatworms.

KingTriton1 · 07/24/2015, 08:30 PM

melanurus wrasse has good reports of success. Sixline wrasse are not highly regarded for this even though many recommend it imo.

KingTriton1 · 07/24/2015, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReefPharmer

i had those and got a mellanarus wrasse. Bye bye flatworms.

Nice timing lol

spsfreak25 · 07/24/2015, 08:31 PM

i have seen all yellow coris wrasse eat them. i have had several of the years and when i did have flat worms they wiped them out with in a month. another one that will eat flat worms is the blue stripe pipe fish. they are very small pipe fish but do wonders. they will also eat red bugs if you have acros

VahanM · 07/24/2015, 09:04 PM

I'm struggling with the same problem. I got a six line wrasse a month ago and he doesn't bother with them. I added a melanarus wrasse 1 week ago and I haven't seen him go after a single flatworm. I also have the Flatworm Exit medication but I'm hesitant to use it. I'll give the wrasses another month.

zeebies · 07/24/2015, 10:24 PM

Slow and steady, siphon some out every day. After doing this daily for about 2 weeks, mine disappeared, never to return - probably 2 years ago now. Feeding a little less helps, too.

Make a little siphon out of rigid airline tubing, attach that to some flex tubing and suck 'em out.

Flatworms are another reason to keep a QT up and running. Much easier to deal with pests in a small tank. Good luck.

kegogut · 07/24/2015, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VahanM

I'm struggling with the same problem. I got a six line wrasse a month ago and he doesn't bother with them. I added a melanarus wrasse 1 week ago and I haven't seen him go after a single flatworm. I also have the Flatworm Exit medication but I'm hesitant to use it. I'll give the wrasses another month.

Back off on feeding,when they get hungry they will munch the worms.

FullBoreReefer · 07/24/2015, 11:09 PM

Melanurus cleared my tank

PDR · 07/25/2015, 04:42 AM

Those look like the same flatworms I had. Are they reddish and really really tiny? Went through 2 bottles of flatworm exit. Trying a melanarus wrasse but I am worried that they are too small for him to eat.

swhobbie1 · 07/25/2015, 05:40 AM

Yellow coris wrasse worked in tank where they were not covering every inch of rock and glass. Dont see any flatworms now. Six line didnt eat enough to make dent. I never see the wrasse eating food I place in the tank .it only picks rock, sand. Had him for over a year and fat now but was skinny, almost dead when I got him.

swhobbie1 · 07/25/2015, 05:43 AM

Also I used fwe once, probably incorrectly but it killed off too much good stuff. Now plan is stock tank with predators of likely pests whenever possible.

mrkalel · 07/25/2015, 06:54 AM

Back in the day had an outbreak...my Sixline knocked them out...but had in the fuge and slowly disappeared...I they usually burn themselves out eventually

alb_56 · 07/25/2015, 07:35 AM

Do these worms actually harm anything?

Docdiggy · 07/25/2015, 08:02 AM

I have them in moderation. I have for awhile now. I've never seen them bother anything. I have a mixed reef fwiw.

ca1ore · 07/25/2015, 08:32 AM

Hard to tell from the picture what flatworm you have. I've had the red planaria worms reach plague proportions in my tank - essentially covering every square inch of rock and coral. Yuk! Other types seem to self regulate better. FWE works ok, but follow the instructions closely and repeat dosings are necessary to kill the worm eggs. Fish is a better solution IME; thoug can be hit or miss. Hoeven's is a good choice, though Dusky has worked better for me. Downside of the Dusky is that it gets large.

RGS2 · 07/25/2015, 08:44 AM

Both my Melanarus and Six Line eat them.

kainic · 07/25/2015, 09:13 AM

For me the solution was adding a Synchiropus picturatus.

dancewithethan · 07/25/2015, 09:52 AM

Thanks everyone for your input. I will give a Melanarus wrasse a try and synchiropus (spotted fish). I will also continue to siphon it out by hand. I will update the progress in a month or two.

Ethan M

triggreef · 07/25/2015, 12:56 PM

I used many wrasses to control but they can't get to the sump or frag tank or overflows. I ended up using flatworm exit after wrasses clear main tank, then siphon out room frag tank/sump. Then when I dose the f.w. exit I dosed about 25 percent extra. Then w waited until I saw every last one that I could see died. Then ran bunch of carbon. They have never come back and that was 8 months ago I believe. No losses from over dosing the f.e.

brett559 · 07/25/2015, 01:03 PM

Get a melanarus. It will eat them and it will be your new favorite fish.

PsymonStark · 07/26/2015, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alb_56

Do these worms actually harm anything?

Flat works killed off half my torch coral

cnreef · 07/26/2015, 04:42 PM

I've had these guys in my tanks before and they didn't harm anything. Their population was self limiting. They don't appear to be aefw or red planeria

07/24/2015, 07:59 PM	#1
dancewithethan Ethan M Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: San Rafael, California Posts: 673	HELP!!! How can I get rid of these Flatworms? I made a mistakes by not taking a proper steps of introducing a new coral into a tank and now I am paying for it. How can I get rid of these flatworms? I try using Salifert Flatworm eXit about 3 bottles in about three weeks now. It works on about 70% but the rest of the worm seem to have no effect on the medication. I also try to pull it out by hands as much as I could but I am losing a battle here. If nothing works, my plan is to take down the whole system and rebuild again. My tank has been running for almost two years now. My tank is a 70 Gallons Same pic __________________ Good things come to those who’re patiently wait - Ethan - Current Tank Info: Tank:~ 70 Gs Cadlight + 20 Gs sump\| Lights: 36" ATI Sunpower Dimmable T5x6 39W \| Skimmer: Octo\| Vortech M1 return\| GeoReef Cal Reactor \|2 MP10 VorTech + MaxSpect GyreXF150\|Neptune APEX Controller\|Skimz Bio Pellets\| Emperor Aquatics UV 18W Sterilizer

07/24/2015, 11:09 PM	#11
FullBoreReefer Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Wooster, OH Posts: 1,862	Melanurus cleared my tank __________________ 60x36x24 mixed reef. 40b sump. Regal 250int Varios. 4xHydra26HDs+t5s. 4xMp40wes. Apex2016.

07/25/2015, 06:54 AM	#15
mrkalel Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Long Island Posts: 614	Back in the day had an outbreak...my Sixline knocked them out...but had in the fuge and slowly disappeared...I they usually burn themselves out eventually __________________ Able to spend a ridiculous amount of time staring at a fish bowl... https://twitter.com/MrKal_El https://instagram.com/mrkal_el/ Current Tank Info: Oceanic 144 Gal Half-Circle Display / AGA 72 Gal Bow-Front Fuge / Oceanic 60 Gal Sump 3 / ReeFlo Hammerhead Return / AquaC EV-240 Skimmer w. Mag 18 / Basement Sump & Fuge / 4 Reefbreeders Supernova's

07/25/2015, 08:32 AM	#18
ca1ore Grizzled & Cynical Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Stamford, CT Posts: 17,319	Hard to tell from the picture what flatworm you have. I've had the red planaria worms reach plague proportions in my tank - essentially covering every square inch of rock and coral. Yuk! Other types seem to self regulate better. FWE works ok, but follow the instructions closely and repeat dosings are necessary to kill the worm eggs. Fish is a better solution IME; thoug can be hit or miss. Hoeven's is a good choice, though Dusky has worked better for me. Downside of the Dusky is that it gets large. __________________ Simon Got back into the hobby ..... planned to keep it simple ..... yeah, right ..... clearly I need a new plan! Pet peeve: anemones host clowns; clowns do not host anemones! Current Tank Info: 450 Reef; 120 refugium; 60 Frag Tank, 30 Introduction tank; multiple QTs

07/25/2015, 09:13 AM	#20
kainic Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Barcelona Posts: 169	For me the solution was adding a Synchiropus picturatus. __________________ >`) Sergi (´< "Every man can be, if he tries, sculptor of his own brain", Santiago Ramón y Cajal

07/24/2015, 08:18 PM	#2
BryanS4 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Hernando Beach, FL Posts: 944	A few different wrasses will tear those things up.

07/24/2015, 08:28 PM	#4
ReefPharmer Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: los angeles Posts: 1,836	i had those and got a mellanarus wrasse. Bye bye flatworms.

07/24/2015, 08:30 PM	#5
KingTriton1 Moved On Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Baton Rouge, LA Posts: 642	melanurus wrasse has good reports of success. Sixline wrasse are not highly regarded for this even though many recommend it imo.

07/24/2015, 08:31 PM	#7
spsfreak25 I'm the real joker Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: worcester ma Posts: 187	i have seen all yellow coris wrasse eat them. i have had several of the years and when i did have flat worms they wiped them out with in a month. another one that will eat flat worms is the blue stripe pipe fish. they are very small pipe fish but do wonders. they will also eat red bugs if you have acros

07/24/2015, 09:04 PM	#8
VahanM Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: North Hollywood, CA Posts: 180	I'm struggling with the same problem. I got a six line wrasse a month ago and he doesn't bother with them. I added a melanarus wrasse 1 week ago and I haven't seen him go after a single flatworm. I also have the Flatworm Exit medication but I'm hesitant to use it. I'll give the wrasses another month.

07/24/2015, 10:24 PM	#9
zeebies Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: NE Coast Posts: 851	Slow and steady, siphon some out every day. After doing this daily for about 2 weeks, mine disappeared, never to return - probably 2 years ago now. Feeding a little less helps, too. Make a little siphon out of rigid airline tubing, attach that to some flex tubing and suck 'em out. Flatworms are another reason to keep a QT up and running. Much easier to deal with pests in a small tank. Good luck.

07/25/2015, 04:42 AM	#12
PDR Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Posts: 7	Those look like the same flatworms I had. Are they reddish and really really tiny? Went through 2 bottles of flatworm exit. Trying a melanarus wrasse but I am worried that they are too small for him to eat.

07/25/2015, 05:40 AM	#13
swhobbie1 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: USA Posts: 402	Yellow coris wrasse worked in tank where they were not covering every inch of rock and glass. Dont see any flatworms now. Six line didnt eat enough to make dent. I never see the wrasse eating food I place in the tank .it only picks rock, sand. Had him for over a year and fat now but was skinny, almost dead when I got him.

07/25/2015, 05:43 AM	#14
swhobbie1 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: USA Posts: 402	Also I used fwe once, probably incorrectly but it killed off too much good stuff. Now plan is stock tank with predators of likely pests whenever possible.

07/25/2015, 07:35 AM	#16
alb_56 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Nebraska Posts: 781	Do these worms actually harm anything?

07/25/2015, 08:02 AM	#17
Docdiggy Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Worcester MA Posts: 645	I have them in moderation. I have for awhile now. I've never seen them bother anything. I have a mixed reef fwiw.

07/25/2015, 08:44 AM	#19
RGS2 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2015 Posts: 139	Both my Melanarus and Six Line eat them.

07/25/2015, 09:52 AM	#21
dancewithethan Ethan M Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: San Rafael, California Posts: 673	Thanks everyone for your input. I will give a Melanarus wrasse a try and synchiropus (spotted fish). I will also continue to siphon it out by hand. I will update the progress in a month or two. Ethan M __________________ Good things come to those who’re patiently wait - Ethan - Current Tank Info: Tank:~ 70 Gs Cadlight + 20 Gs sump\| Lights: 36" ATI Sunpower Dimmable T5x6 39W \| Skimmer: Octo\| Vortech M1 return\| GeoReef Cal Reactor \|2 MP10 VorTech + MaxSpect GyreXF150\|Neptune APEX Controller\|Skimz Bio Pellets\| Emperor Aquatics UV 18W Sterilizer

07/25/2015, 12:56 PM	#22
triggreef Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: East Hampton, CT Posts: 2,917	I used many wrasses to control but they can't get to the sump or frag tank or overflows. I ended up using flatworm exit after wrasses clear main tank, then siphon out room frag tank/sump. Then when I dose the f.w. exit I dosed about 25 percent extra. Then w waited until I saw every last one that I could see died. Then ran bunch of carbon. They have never come back and that was 8 months ago I believe. No losses from over dosing the f.e. __________________ 200g DD Marineland. Acro and monti heavy with some birdsnest, LPS, and zoas. 125g FOWLR

07/25/2015, 01:03 PM	#23
brett559 In Memoriam Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Visalia, CA Posts: 1,790	Get a melanarus. It will eat them and it will be your new favorite fish.

07/26/2015, 04:42 PM	#25
cnreef Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Florida Posts: 398	I've had these guys in my tanks before and they didn't harm anything. Their population was self limiting. They don't appear to be aefw or red planeria __________________ Current tank: 29g mixed reef with 20g sump Current Tank Info: 1 B&W ocellaris, 1 azure damselfish, 1 starry blenny, rock boring urchin, pincushion urchin, 4 scarlet reef hermits, several snails