Holy flatworms! - Page 2

seapug · 03/04/2012, 10:50 PM

Flatworm exit works well. Just follow the instructions and be prepared to need more than one application.

cadency · 03/05/2012, 04:51 AM

eeek, gosh i remember when i had those what a nightmare!

StephLionfish · 03/05/2012, 05:26 AM

I feel your pain. I have a 55g that's absolutely COVERED in them. I have the green kinds with the red dots on their face/butt I don't know what end is which.
Good luck ridding them!

I don't really think they are that ugly. A nuisance, yes, but actually really interesting when you get up close.
Then again I feed my gorgeous bristleworms when many shriek when they see one.

zachfishman · 03/05/2012, 06:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cadency

eeek, gosh i remember when i had those what a nightmare!

Quote:

Originally Posted by StephLionfish

I feel your pain. I have a 55g that's absolutely COVERED in them. I have the green kinds with the red dots on their face/butt I don't know what end is which.
Good luck ridding them!

I don't really think they are that ugly. A nuisance, yes, but actually really interesting when you get up close.
Then again I feed my gorgeous bristleworms when many shriek when they see one.

Did either of you notice any detrimental effects from the toxins produced by the flatworms? I suppose if you run adequate carbon they're merely an aesthetic problem.

thereefranch · 03/05/2012, 07:59 AM

I have them in my sump. They like to sun bath on my Cheato. I don't have any in the main tank. I do have a Mystery Wrasse, so I'm guessing he may be ridding them from there. Had a sixline that loved them before that.

As far as ridding of them 100%, its pretty hard. Someone wrote "if you see 1, theres 10 hiding", and he is right.

I don't care much for chemicals. In my case, since they are on the Cheato, I occasionally pull the cheato out as a whole and submerse it in RO water for about 15-20 seconds. They die immediately due to drowning. Their membrane can not hold back fresh water. I then put the cheato back in the sump. Maybe it kills off 80-90% of them, but they will come back. The toxins they release are all in the fresh water dip.

They are also light driven. I can get a huge pile of them in one spot on my cheato if I shine a narrow flashlight in one place overnight. They flock to the spot. You can suck up thousands of them in one shot. Really, its a spine tingling sight to see them squirming all over each other.

Another trick I have done is put a small white plate on the top of the cheato, Shine the light on the plate, and in the morning you will have a ton u can easily take the plate out and wash off in the sink.

I have also put a FW eating nudibranch in the sump. They work real well and its very interesting to see them suck up the worms. I elected not to do this as it was hard to keep track of him and there are pumps that would chew him up easily (they have toxins too, probably from the FW they eat). The nudis have an insatiable appetite. They eat about 10 of them, then curl up for a bit and then go at it again. They may need the time to digest the toxins they eat before they can resume eating again, but they really can munch down on them!!

Hope this helps.

reef bini · 03/05/2012, 11:06 AM

OK question reefranch
I thought the fw dip would work well on the fw why only leave the chaeto in for 15 seconds? Will the chaeto die if you leave it in too long? If leaving it in for only a few seconds kills 90% wouldn't a few minutes kill all of them?

Thanks

thereefranch · 03/05/2012, 08:04 PM

Good question. My experience is that most of the FW on the cheato are on the top side for light. I expect some to be in the middle and bottom, but fewer than on the top.

When I dip the cheato, I dip it top - down into the bucket. The FW will die and fall off going to the bottom of the bucket. Since the cheato is somewhat dense like a sponge, I would expect it to take some wrinching of the cheato to get some of the salt water out and fresh water in. Sounds good, but sometimes I have had the cheato die off some (~10% maybe, not the whole thing) after letting it sit in fresh water for longer than a few minutes. Kinda like dead ends on hair. It can also disentigrate into really small pieces which shows stress. So wrinching it may cause damage and further that issue. Plus, you may loose some of the filtering power of the cheato for a period of time which wouldn't add to the waste perse', but it would require something else in the system to pick up the slack.

They travel quite fast when you move the cheato. So I have the fresh water ready and try to do it rather quickly without making a mess..... wife tasers me.

The die off that can happen will ultimately show up somewhere else in another form. You won't really ever get all of the FW unless you go hitler on the whole sump, so 90% die off with minimal stress to the cheato is pretty good. Takes maybe 4 months or so for them to re-populate to a large amount in my sump. Different lighting or other conditions could plus or minus that.

Here is a left side pic of my sump so you can see my cheato and get an idea of what I'm working with and imagine how I would do it. The balls of cheato on the right are out of the tumbler. They grow really thick like a scrubbing pad for dishes and they grow darker.

Garage1217 · 03/05/2012, 10:13 PM

I went through tons of $ and treatments using flatworm exit for red planaria flatworms and some other white variety of flatworm and while it killed them off, they always came back. Even after weekly treatments over a month and a half! Biggest waste of cash EVER. Pick up the right 6-Line or Springer Damsel and they will be wiped out faster than you can imagine. I got a winner of a 6 line in my last system and within 2 days, I could not find a single flatworm and the whole time I had that tank after the 6 line purchase, I never saw or found a single one! The guy was a serious predator.

reef bini · 03/06/2012, 08:29 AM

oops

reef bini · 03/06/2012, 08:31 AM

Thanks
I am gonna try the freshwater dip it makes the most sense. I was thinking that all along just like a fish it must work well. Plus I already put a sixline in the tank so hopefully it will get it under control shortly!!

Appreciate all your input let you know how it works out.......nice sump/skimmer btw!!!

StephLionfish · 03/06/2012, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zachfishman

Did either of you notice any detrimental effects from the toxins produced by the flatworms? I suppose if you run adequate carbon they're merely an aesthetic problem.

I don't run carbon and all of my fish and inverts are fine. But, I don't try to kill the FW's.

I have a few pieces of some really nice rock with a lot of life on it. Sponges, dusters, tunicates, etc etc. I'm not sure if I want to try to get the FW's off the rock so I can reuse it, or just toss the rock. Decisions, decisions..

03/04/2012, 10:50 PM	#26
seapug Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: 4980 ft. Posts: 7,954 Blog Entries: 1	Flatworm exit works well. Just follow the instructions and be prepared to need more than one application. __________________ insert clever saying here. Current Tank Info: 200 gallon custom Marineland DD peninsular tank. LPS dominated mixed reef. Previous 90 gallon mixed reef TOTM April 2009.

03/05/2012, 05:26 AM	#28
StephLionfish Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Tennessee Posts: 1,836	I feel your pain. I have a 55g that's absolutely COVERED in them. I have the green kinds with the red dots on their face/butt I don't know what end is which. Good luck ridding them! I don't really think they are that ugly. A nuisance, yes, but actually really interesting when you get up close. Then again I feed my gorgeous bristleworms when many shriek when they see one. __________________ The most intelligent people ask the most questions.

03/05/2012, 10:13 PM	#33
Garage1217 GET OFF MY LAWN Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Globally Posts: 5,863	I went through tons of $ and treatments using flatworm exit for red planaria flatworms and some other white variety of flatworm and while it killed them off, they always came back. Even after weekly treatments over a month and a half! Biggest waste of cash EVER. Pick up the right 6-Line or Springer Damsel and they will be wiped out faster than you can imagine. I got a winner of a 6 line in my last system and within 2 days, I could not find a single flatworm and the whole time I had that tank after the 6 line purchase, I never saw or found a single one! The guy was a serious predator. __________________ No great genius has ever existed without some touch of madness ~ Aristotle If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it? ~ Albert Einstein I'm just as bent as ever. Hellishly so ~ Captain Jack Sparrow Current Tank Info: Systems and goodies by Lee-Mar / Coralvue / Neptune Systems / Jager / Spectrapure / Cree / Meanwell + more!

03/06/2012, 08:29 AM	#34
reef bini Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 49	oops Last edited by reef bini; 03/06/2012 at 08:35 AM.

03/05/2012, 04:51 AM	#27
cadency Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 7	eeek, gosh i remember when i had those what a nightmare!

03/05/2012, 07:59 AM	#30
thereefranch Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Cypress, Texas Posts: 24	I have them in my sump. They like to sun bath on my Cheato. I don't have any in the main tank. I do have a Mystery Wrasse, so I'm guessing he may be ridding them from there. Had a sixline that loved them before that. As far as ridding of them 100%, its pretty hard. Someone wrote "if you see 1, theres 10 hiding", and he is right. I don't care much for chemicals. In my case, since they are on the Cheato, I occasionally pull the cheato out as a whole and submerse it in RO water for about 15-20 seconds. They die immediately due to drowning. Their membrane can not hold back fresh water. I then put the cheato back in the sump. Maybe it kills off 80-90% of them, but they will come back. The toxins they release are all in the fresh water dip. They are also light driven. I can get a huge pile of them in one spot on my cheato if I shine a narrow flashlight in one place overnight. They flock to the spot. You can suck up thousands of them in one shot. Really, its a spine tingling sight to see them squirming all over each other. Another trick I have done is put a small white plate on the top of the cheato, Shine the light on the plate, and in the morning you will have a ton u can easily take the plate out and wash off in the sink. I have also put a FW eating nudibranch in the sump. They work real well and its very interesting to see them suck up the worms. I elected not to do this as it was hard to keep track of him and there are pumps that would chew him up easily (they have toxins too, probably from the FW they eat). The nudis have an insatiable appetite. They eat about 10 of them, then curl up for a bit and then go at it again. They may need the time to digest the toxins they eat before they can resume eating again, but they really can munch down on them!! Hope this helps.

03/05/2012, 11:06 AM	#31
reef bini Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 49	OK question reefranch I thought the fw dip would work well on the fw why only leave the chaeto in for 15 seconds? Will the chaeto die if you leave it in too long? If leaving it in for only a few seconds kills 90% wouldn't a few minutes kill all of them? Thanks

03/05/2012, 08:04 PM	#32
thereefranch Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Cypress, Texas Posts: 24	Good question. My experience is that most of the FW on the cheato are on the top side for light. I expect some to be in the middle and bottom, but fewer than on the top. When I dip the cheato, I dip it top - down into the bucket. The FW will die and fall off going to the bottom of the bucket. Since the cheato is somewhat dense like a sponge, I would expect it to take some wrinching of the cheato to get some of the salt water out and fresh water in. Sounds good, but sometimes I have had the cheato die off some (~10% maybe, not the whole thing) after letting it sit in fresh water for longer than a few minutes. Kinda like dead ends on hair. It can also disentigrate into really small pieces which shows stress. So wrinching it may cause damage and further that issue. Plus, you may loose some of the filtering power of the cheato for a period of time which wouldn't add to the waste perse', but it would require something else in the system to pick up the slack. They travel quite fast when you move the cheato. So I have the fresh water ready and try to do it rather quickly without making a mess..... wife tasers me. The die off that can happen will ultimately show up somewhere else in another form. You won't really ever get all of the FW unless you go hitler on the whole sump, so 90% die off with minimal stress to the cheato is pretty good. Takes maybe 4 months or so for them to re-populate to a large amount in my sump. Different lighting or other conditions could plus or minus that. Here is a left side pic of my sump so you can see my cheato and get an idea of what I'm working with and imagine how I would do it. The balls of cheato on the right are out of the tumbler. They grow really thick like a scrubbing pad for dishes and they grow darker.

03/06/2012, 08:31 AM	#35
reef bini Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 49	Thanks I am gonna try the freshwater dip it makes the most sense. I was thinking that all along just like a fish it must work well. Plus I already put a sixline in the tank so hopefully it will get it under control shortly!! Appreciate all your input let you know how it works out.......nice sump/skimmer btw!!!