Flatworms...are these o.k.

Gunsnroses · 06/29/2014, 09:34 PM

Or do I need to get rid of them?
About a week ago I saw a few of these in my refugium. Now they are all over the glass and rocks in the fuge.
Are these like the hydroids, will they die back over time or do I need to start removing them before they get out of control?

And sorry about the finger. It was the only way I could get my phone to focus that close. Lol

Gunsnroses · 06/29/2014, 09:38 PM

RyanSweatt2004 · 06/30/2014, 10:01 AM

A few predators like melenarus wrasse or springeri dotty backs will usually take care of them. Six line wrasses can and will eat them as well but I've had less success with them. You definitely want to get them under control before they hit plague proportions. Be very carful with treating them as well. When they die they release toxins that in high enough amounts can kill fish. Not to scare you but I've worked on a 220 gallon tank with thousands of these flat worms where they died off in large amounts and killed almost every fish.

Spar · 06/30/2014, 10:48 AM

i had an infestation of them early on in my tank-days. i chose to treat via Fish instead of Flatworm Exit. I put in 2 Yellow Coris Wrasses and within a couple months I never saw flatworms again. You could see them cruising the tank picking them off one-by-one.

i never saw them causing issues with corals, although I know they can. my issue was they were ugly and ruined the view of the tank (on glass).

cloak · 06/30/2014, 03:28 PM

I would try and get rid of them as well, but before you go and use chemicals on the tank, you might want to use some airline tubing and try and siphon out as many as you can for a week or so. FWIW, this is how I beat them. Every now & then you might find a staggler or two, but the population is nowhere near what it used to be. GL.

Paul B · 06/30/2014, 04:57 PM

I also had thousands of them. I didn't bother them and they didn't bother me. After a month or so they got bored and disappeared with no damage to anything.

maddmaxx · 06/30/2014, 05:00 PM

lol if you know what they are, you should know they arent desired...

Gunsnroses · 06/30/2014, 05:16 PM

So far, the majority of them are in my remote fuge. I have a few in my sump. But none, that I can see, in my display tank.
I do have a sixline and I know he eats pods. Hopefully he is picking the flatworms off as well.
I will try to siphon some of the ones in the fuge out this weekend.

maddmaxx · 06/30/2014, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gunsnroses

So far, the majority of them are in my remote fuge. I have a few in my sump. But none, that I can see, in my display tank.
I do have a sixline and I know he eats pods. Hopefully he is picking the flatworms off as well.
I will try to siphon some of the ones in the fuge out this weekend.

if your not seeing them in the display. good chance your sixline has been snacking...

06/29/2014, 09:38 PM	#2
Gunsnroses Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Pleasant View TN Posts: 421	__________________ He who gets frustrated with freshwater tank, Never owned a Reef tank Current Tank Info: 180 gallon RR-75 gallon sump-50 gallon Refugium-RO Diablo DCS 200 Skimmer-Diablo 10500 and 5500 return pumps-Spectrapure MaxCap 90gpd

06/30/2014, 10:48 AM	#4
Spar Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Plano, TX Posts: 2,517	i had an infestation of them early on in my tank-days. i chose to treat via Fish instead of Flatworm Exit. I put in 2 Yellow Coris Wrasses and within a couple months I never saw flatworms again. You could see them cruising the tank picking them off one-by-one. i never saw them causing issues with corals, although I know they can. my issue was they were ugly and ruined the view of the tank (on glass). __________________ 450g Mixed SPS/LPS Reef (MH/T5/VHO)

06/30/2014, 04:57 PM	#6
Paul B Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 15,549	I also had thousands of them. I didn't bother them and they didn't bother me. After a month or so they got bored and disappeared with no damage to anything. __________________ I used to get shocked when I put my hand in my tank. Then the electric eel went dead. Current Tank Info: 100 gal reef set up in 1971

06/30/2014, 05:00 PM	#7
maddmaxx Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Jersey Shore Posts: 3,003	lol if you know what they are, you should know they arent desired... __________________ One Life One Shot Current Tank Info: 40B Mixed reef

06/30/2014, 05:16 PM	#8
Gunsnroses Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Pleasant View TN Posts: 421	So far, the majority of them are in my remote fuge. I have a few in my sump. But none, that I can see, in my display tank. I do have a sixline and I know he eats pods. Hopefully he is picking the flatworms off as well. I will try to siphon some of the ones in the fuge out this weekend. __________________ He who gets frustrated with freshwater tank, Never owned a Reef tank Current Tank Info: 180 gallon RR-75 gallon sump-50 gallon Refugium-RO Diablo DCS 200 Skimmer-Diablo 10500 and 5500 return pumps-Spectrapure MaxCap 90gpd

06/30/2014, 10:01 AM	#3
RyanSweatt2004 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: maine Posts: 590	A few predators like melenarus wrasse or springeri dotty backs will usually take care of them. Six line wrasses can and will eat them as well but I've had less success with them. You definitely want to get them under control before they hit plague proportions. Be very carful with treating them as well. When they die they release toxins that in high enough amounts can kill fish. Not to scare you but I've worked on a 220 gallon tank with thousands of these flat worms where they died off in large amounts and killed almost every fish.

06/30/2014, 03:28 PM	#5
cloak Moved On Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Stockton, CA Posts: 14,854	I would try and get rid of them as well, but before you go and use chemicals on the tank, you might want to use some airline tubing and try and siphon out as many as you can for a week or so. FWIW, this is how I beat them. Every now & then you might find a staggler or two, but the population is nowhere near what it used to be. GL.