are any flatworms reef safe??

oxkisses12ox · 01/20/2007, 08:06 PM

i really think some flatworms are beautiful and have amazing color... but i cannot seem to read anything good about them.... are there any that you can purchase that are reef safe? what do they do that they are not reef safe???

Fuegofish777 · 01/20/2007, 08:25 PM

I've never seen any for sale, but i had some in my tank a while back. nothing good to look at and i didnt notice any ill effects. they were on the rock but thats it. i still got rid of them because i wasnt goign to wait and find out what they would do. maybe the more common ones are all predatory, might explain the bad rep.

starmanres · 01/20/2007, 08:34 PM

There are different types of flatworms but the way to determine good from bad is color. Good flatworms are clear and bad ones aren't.

The problem with (usually red) flatworms are when they die. They release a chemical into your closed system that will hurt everything else.

Robert

CapitalO · 01/20/2007, 08:37 PM

I think you may be thinking of nudibranchs... generally flatworms arent all that pretty. Do a google image search for 'nudibranch'. But, to answer your question, yes there are reef safe flatworms. The most common flatworms that we find in tanks are considered pests because they reproduce rapidly and release toxins when they die

freebin · 01/20/2007, 08:39 PM

Thats an intersting concept...build a reef tank with everything nobody wants in thier tank. Flatworms,Aptasia, Damsel's, Hair Algea, Red Algea...Etc...

oxkisses12ox · 01/20/2007, 09:03 PM

WELL THATS WHAT I HAVE !!!

hAHA

oxkisses12ox · 01/20/2007, 09:04 PM

OMG!!! YOUR RIGHT !!! they are nidubranches!! NOT flatworms!! well can i get those??

freebin · 01/20/2007, 09:07 PM

Don't give up...the end result is worth the work!!!

CapitalO · 01/20/2007, 09:18 PM

Yea, I had a feeling

Yes and No. There are a wide variety of nudibranchs, the easiest ones to keep will eat zoas and sps among other coral.. plus they are really ugly.
The nice ones are really hard to keep alive.. most will only eat bryopsis algae and are extremely intolerant to stress and water changes (not to mention any aggressive coinhabitants). Ive seen them for sale at the lfs but never in very good condition. I believe the hardiest is known as the sea hare (still considered to be very difficult to keep), they grow to be quite large; although they are not nearly as pretty as some other species.

gudgreef · 01/20/2007, 09:36 PM

I've had a big sea hare for about 6 months now. Its such a voracious algae eater I have to throw chaeto from the sump in every week. Definitely not as pretty as some other nudibranches but very interesting in a sea cucumber kind of way!

greenbean36191 · 01/21/2007, 09:43 AM

I imagine the pretty flatworms you saw were polyclads, many of which mimic nudibranchs. They're all predators of other inverts though so wouldn't be reef safe. None of them are purposely sold in the hobby either. One drab colored species does make it into the hobby occasionally and feeds on snails.

There are also lots of pretty acoel flatworms, but again they aren't available in the hobby. Most would be reef safe though, at least to the point that they wouldn't cause noticable damage.

As far as nudibranchs go, ALL of them are carnivores, most with very specific diets. There are a few available in the hobby, but there are almost none that do well in reef tanks, and the few exceptions aren't very flashy.

Sea hares and lettuce slugs (neither are nudibranchs) do fairly well if given appropriate tanks. Most reef tanks don't fit that big very well. Again, neither is very flashy.

CapitalO · 01/21/2007, 12:22 PM

Thats what I meant to say

montanabay · 01/21/2007, 12:33 PM

I have had the "rust" brown flatworms in my tank, everything I've read is that the chemical crontrol is an over-reaction. They actually act as a clean up crew and although an eye sore they are harmless and I don't mind the low density since I only notice them when the pumps are off for spot feeding corals, the flatworms will crawl up the glass.

ALittleSalty · 01/21/2007, 12:58 PM

I am currently fighting a nice infestation of red flatworms. I siphon out around 60 plus a night. I am seriously thinking about using some Flatworm exit next week. It is cool to watch them split into two new ones though. Here is link I found to some interesting flatworms.

Flatworms

frederickk · 01/22/2007, 12:59 PM

Make sure you follow the instruction when you use it because the toxin can be fatal.

oxkisses12ox · 01/22/2007, 05:11 PM

yeah well...no nudibranches for me...i dont want to take the chance of getting a huge pest infestation!!! lol thanks though im glad i didnt try to buy a flatworm!!!

01/20/2007, 08:06 PM	#1
oxkisses12ox Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Key West Posts: 353	are any flatworms reef safe?? i really think some flatworms are beautiful and have amazing color... but i cannot seem to read anything good about them.... are there any that you can purchase that are reef safe? what do they do that they are not reef safe??? __________________ 14 Gallon Biocube Plate Coral 2 serpent stars 2 hermits and 4 snails 1 cleaner shrimp 2 false clowns 1 horseshoe crab water : nirates nitrite amonia = 0 PH 8.2 temp 79 calc 400 Current Tank Info: 14 gallon biocube

01/20/2007, 08:34 PM	#3
starmanres Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma Posts: 587	There are different types of flatworms but the way to determine good from bad is color. Good flatworms are clear and bad ones aren't. The problem with (usually red) flatworms are when they die. They release a chemical into your closed system that will hurt everything else. Robert __________________ "I know funny... I'm a clownfish!" Current Tank Info: 120 g RR Acrylic tank

01/20/2007, 09:03 PM	#6
oxkisses12ox Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Key West Posts: 353	WELL THATS WHAT I HAVE !!! hAHA __________________ 14 Gallon Biocube Plate Coral 2 serpent stars 2 hermits and 4 snails 1 cleaner shrimp 2 false clowns 1 horseshoe crab water : nirates nitrite amonia = 0 PH 8.2 temp 79 calc 400 Current Tank Info: 14 gallon biocube

01/20/2007, 09:04 PM	#7
oxkisses12ox Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Key West Posts: 353	OMG!!! YOUR RIGHT !!! they are nidubranches!! NOT flatworms!! well can i get those?? __________________ 14 Gallon Biocube Plate Coral 2 serpent stars 2 hermits and 4 snails 1 cleaner shrimp 2 false clowns 1 horseshoe crab water : nirates nitrite amonia = 0 PH 8.2 temp 79 calc 400 Current Tank Info: 14 gallon biocube

01/20/2007, 09:36 PM	#10
gudgreef Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: LaVale MD Posts: 69	I've had a big sea hare for about 6 months now. Its such a voracious algae eater I have to throw chaeto from the sump in every week. Definitely not as pretty as some other nudibranches but very interesting in a sea cucumber kind of way! __________________ goonga galoonga

01/20/2007, 08:25 PM	#2
Fuegofish777 Registered Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: S. California Posts: 1,191	I've never seen any for sale, but i had some in my tank a while back. nothing good to look at and i didnt notice any ill effects. they were on the rock but thats it. i still got rid of them because i wasnt goign to wait and find out what they would do. maybe the more common ones are all predatory, might explain the bad rep.

01/20/2007, 08:37 PM	#4
CapitalO Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Charleston, SC Posts: 312	I think you may be thinking of nudibranchs... generally flatworms arent all that pretty. Do a google image search for 'nudibranch'. But, to answer your question, yes there are reef safe flatworms. The most common flatworms that we find in tanks are considered pests because they reproduce rapidly and release toxins when they die

01/20/2007, 08:39 PM	#5
freebin Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: SD Posts: 38	Thats an intersting concept...build a reef tank with everything nobody wants in thier tank. Flatworms,Aptasia, Damsel's, Hair Algea, Red Algea...Etc...

01/20/2007, 09:07 PM	#8
freebin Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: SD Posts: 38	Don't give up...the end result is worth the work!!!

01/20/2007, 09:18 PM	#9
CapitalO Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Charleston, SC Posts: 312	Yea, I had a feeling Yes and No. There are a wide variety of nudibranchs, the easiest ones to keep will eat zoas and sps among other coral.. plus they are really ugly. The nice ones are really hard to keep alive.. most will only eat bryopsis algae and are extremely intolerant to stress and water changes (not to mention any aggressive coinhabitants). Ive seen them for sale at the lfs but never in very good condition. I believe the hardiest is known as the sea hare (still considered to be very difficult to keep), they grow to be quite large; although they are not nearly as pretty as some other species.

01/21/2007, 09:43 AM	#11
greenbean36191 Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Ft. Lauderdale Posts: 10,598	I imagine the pretty flatworms you saw were polyclads, many of which mimic nudibranchs. They're all predators of other inverts though so wouldn't be reef safe. None of them are purposely sold in the hobby either. One drab colored species does make it into the hobby occasionally and feeds on snails. There are also lots of pretty acoel flatworms, but again they aren't available in the hobby. Most would be reef safe though, at least to the point that they wouldn't cause noticable damage. As far as nudibranchs go, ALL of them are carnivores, most with very specific diets. There are a few available in the hobby, but there are almost none that do well in reef tanks, and the few exceptions aren't very flashy. Sea hares and lettuce slugs (neither are nudibranchs) do fairly well if given appropriate tanks. Most reef tanks don't fit that big very well. Again, neither is very flashy. __________________ Some say the sun rises in the East. Some say it rises in the West. The truth must be somewhere in the middle. Current Tank Info: tore them down to move and haven't had the time or money to set them back up

01/21/2007, 12:22 PM	#12
CapitalO Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Charleston, SC Posts: 312	Thats what I meant to say

01/21/2007, 12:33 PM	#13
montanabay Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Berkeley, CA Posts: 465	I have had the "rust" brown flatworms in my tank, everything I've read is that the chemical crontrol is an over-reaction. They actually act as a clean up crew and although an eye sore they are harmless and I don't mind the low density since I only notice them when the pumps are off for spot feeding corals, the flatworms will crawl up the glass.

01/21/2007, 12:58 PM	#14
ALittleSalty Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Lafayette, IN Posts: 119	I am currently fighting a nice infestation of red flatworms. I siphon out around 60 plus a night. I am seriously thinking about using some Flatworm exit next week. It is cool to watch them split into two new ones though. Here is link I found to some interesting flatworms. Flatworms

01/22/2007, 12:59 PM	#15
frederickk Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 2,712	Make sure you follow the instruction when you use it because the toxin can be fatal.

01/22/2007, 05:11 PM	#16
oxkisses12ox Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Key West Posts: 353	yeah well...no nudibranches for me...i dont want to take the chance of getting a huge pest infestation!!! lol thanks though im glad i didnt try to buy a flatworm!!! __________________ 14 Gallon Biocube Plate Coral 2 serpent stars 2 hermits and 4 snails 1 cleaner shrimp 2 false clowns 1 horseshoe crab water : nirates nitrite amonia = 0 PH 8.2 temp 79 calc 400 Current Tank Info: 14 gallon biocube