have a flatworm problem!

[fairladyZ]

So i recently noticed i have flatworms! YAY! Not really, never saw them then the next minute they are everywhere i look on the glass, i can't tell or see them on the rocks or in the sand but i can definitely see them on the glass, usually in pockets all over on every side. Easily a couple hundred at first quick glancing around on the glass. At first the couple i saw were clear with a red spot in the middle but as i look and see more there are more that are reddish brown. Some short and stubby some long and skinny.

So i've been searching and reading, I really want to stay away from flatworm exit as i don't like the idea of putting chemicals in the tank, Also affraid of the mass die off causing an issue.

I've read up on siphoning them out and i most likely will start working on this but who knows if i can get all of them.

I've read up on fish and nudibraunch's that will eat them. I really want a mandarin goby but with the tank only being 3 months old i'm afraid i wouldn't be able to sustain one. And if i could then who knows if it will even go after them? Mandarin is definitely top 2 of fish that i want in the tank eventually.

Melanarus wrasse i love the looks of them and seem like really neat fish but after all the reading and searching it seems really hit or miss. I have about 18 hermits, 6 nassarius snails, 3 turbos, 4 asteria snails, 3 peppermint shrimps and i don't want to loose ANY of them! they've been with me from the start and the melanarus wrasse seems like a great fish but i'm just not sure if i could trust him. Especially since i still would like to add a cleaner shrimp or 2 later on and a little bit more of a CUC.

6-line seems like a good fish but kind of same boat, seems like they are hit or miss on eating the worms, and have read they can be pretty big A-holes. Not to mention i don't think they are all that good looking of a fish.

No damsel's!

So any advice or any feedback on going the melanarus route? My only fish currently is in QT and it's a lawnmower blenny, SO the other thing that worries me about melanarus is a little to aggressive of a fish to fast?

Thanks everyone

[Shaummy]

Are you sure they are the type of flatworm that is actually bad? I've had them in my tank...small white ones, and never had an issue.

I think the red ones are bad, not sure that they all are...check that out before going forward..

[fairladyZ]

here are some pics, i cleaned the glass a little bit ago so there aren't near as many on it now but there are still some. i can't tell if they are red, brown, grey or what!

[Craigdillman]

Red ones are the safe ones they dont cause any problems only are ugly, the white ones can be Acro eating flatworms those are the nasty ones (only if you have acro) if not they dont bother soft corals.

As for flatwom exit it works great!!! its reef save and if you follow the directions it will be fine. Suck all the worms out you can see for 3-4 days in a row till you think they are all gone then read the direction and dose the tank and suck them out as they die, start running carbon and you will have no problem. i used it about 4 months ago when i had them (after not dipping a new frag) had zero problems. Corals and fish all were fine

[Craigdillman]

I was skeptical at first but now i would use it again in a heart beat if i had too. They wont go away on their own they just keep multiplying until they take over the only way to completely rid the tank of them is to kill them. Some say wrasse or mandrin can control them but i have a mandrin and a wrasse both controlled them but they still multiply like rabbits

[justthewife]

I have heard dragon face pipe fish will eat them but they are kind of delicate. I wanted to get some just because I like them but still up in the air about their care. They are not aggressive at all and come from the sea horse family. They are a bit hardier than sea horses though from what I have read but someone told me they only eat live things.

[crsswift70]

Well, mine just went away on their own. I've had two separate outbreaks. I did siphon some out and i did water changes, but they have just disappeared with no medication or change in animals.

[kb3777]

Sailfert makes a good product, Flatworm Exit. I've used in the past to get rid of those pests.

[xrayjeeper83]

I just killed an outbreak last week. I sucked out as many as I could see every other day, sucked them into a bad that was in the sump.

After I spent a week sucking them out and tossing em. I used flatworm exit and haven't seen one since. Just follow instructions on the bottle. Only thing I did different was instead of carbon, I just did a massive water change instead

[FPSPOLICE]

Originally Posted by kb3777

Sailfert makes a good product, Flatworm Exit. I've used in the past to get rid of those pests.

flat worm exit is not 100% safe in battleing flatworms. and if you do not use the product correctly you can kill your entire tank.

flat worms release toxins in the water when they die, useing flatworm Exit will kills multiple flatworms in a short time , if you do not filter the dead worms out or the ones you cant see in your tank their toxins will crash the tank.


6 line wrasse's will eat flat worms. best bet .

[cloak]

Check these out.

http://www.melevsreef.com/flatworms.html

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2009/4/aafeature2

HTH.

[kentek]

I bought a sixline wrasse at petco and he cleaned out those worms. Never seen them again.

[Michigan Mike]

I wouldn't worry, those kind and red planaria are way over exaggerated IMO.
I suppose if you feed heavy the numbers could get high but they don't hurt anything (unless you somehow kill them all by accident) , there are worst pests out there....I o not consider them a pest, more like free fish food.

Melanarus wrasse = good choice, let it binge on them! Small tank= sixline.

If you use carbon after using flatworm exit you will be fine, many people use up to 3x the dose and let it stew for much longer than the directions state.

[fairladyZ]

thanks everyone for the feed back. Ya i haven't seen them really being a pest i would just like to get them under control before they get real bad.

I really want to stay away from the flatworm exit even though alot of people have used it with success and no issues.

I would love a melanarus wrasse and i would let him binge on them but i'm worried he'll binge on the other inverts in the tank aswell!

[Michigan Mike]

Polyclad flatworms suck! Lol amazing how quickly they can suck a Astraea snail out of it's shell.

[nbgen12]

Melanarus wrasse will definitely eat some. Although he may also have a taste for snails if its anything like mine lol.

I would do a search on 6 line wrasses then decide if your really want to put satans spawn in your tank. They are aggressive as all get out from what ive seen.

Mine also went away as i fed less heavily and did more water changes to get nutrient levels down.

[Koral_Keeper]

Originally Posted by nbgen12

Mine also went away as i fed less heavily and did more water changes to get nutrient levels down.

+1 on this.

I siphoned about a quart of water out daily, pulling out as many fw as I could with each siphoning and replaced with fresh salt water. That, plus weekly 5 gal water changes in my 30 gal and within 3 to 4 weeks fw disappeared. I haven't seen one since.

[fairladyZ]

Well I do 10% water changes every week. And vacuum the sand bed every time aswell. I do probably over feed as I throw in a couple pinches of mysis every couple days for my cuc. They act starving and my tank is really clean other than some cyano. I've heard 6 lines are mean and read melanarus will probably easy my cuc so I dunno what to do other than siphon. Or hope a Mandarin will take care of them and get one of those

[mistfall]

+ 1 to the melanurus wrasse Mine wiped them out

He wiped out my hermits too, though But he spared the snails!