I have a dilemma!

Patow · 05/14/2009, 08:55 AM

I have 4 fish in my quarantine tank that are ready to be moved to my display tank today. 2 clown fish, and 2 fire fish. They have been in quarantine for 4 weeks now, and absolutely no signs of disease or other issues.

However, I was looking at my display tank last night and I noticed that I have flatworms. I saw a few on my glass, and I believe they are red planaria. Currently I only have a Yellow Watchman Goby, a pistol shrimp and many snails and crabs in the display tank. I noticed a few flatworms in my refugium as well.

I have a Diamond Watchman Goby that is arriving today, and needs to go into the quarantine tank. So I really need to get the other 4 fish out of the quarantine so I don't have to start all over when I add the new goby.

I'm debating two remedies for the flatworms.

1) I could go the natural route and pick up a Six Line Wrasse today, and add him to the quarantine with the goby. I'd have to go ahead and add my other fish to the display, and then wait another 4 weeks (or longer) to add the wrasse and goby. My concern is that the flatworms may get out of control during that time. I suppose if it does, I could dose Flatworm Exit, and hope it doesn't hurt any livestock. It may turn out that the Wrasse doesn't eat them at all either, in which case I'm back to Flatworm Exit as well.

2) I could bite the bullet today and use Flatworm Exit, and try to get rid of the flatworms. I could then just add my new fish to the quarantine (possibly a wrasse as well for good measure since I want one anyway), and wait another 4 weeks to add all 6 fish. I only have a 29 gallon quarantine, so this may be quite the load (although they are small fish).

If you were in this situation, what would you do? I'm also open to other suggestions that I may not have thought of.

Thanks!

Dave

spw4949 · 05/14/2009, 10:10 AM

Do you have corals or is it a FOWLR?

Patow · 05/14/2009, 10:12 AM

I have a few small corals, SPS, LPS and Zoas. Nothing significant, and most are still frags.

Dave

thegrun · 05/14/2009, 10:41 AM

I would do the Flatworm Exit treatment (you can do it in an hour) and then move the fish over. I had to treat my tank with flatworm exit once and didn't lose anything. Read the thread on the use of Flatworm Exit, it was helpful. If you don't have time to treat, I would go ahead and move the fish from qt to DT and then treat. My six line wrasse couldn't keep up with the flatworms, so I don't think that is the way to go and by the time he went through qt, the flatworms will be out of control.

dudley moray · 05/15/2009, 11:16 AM

where do you get flatworm exit in canada ?

FlyNpLeCosToMuS · 05/15/2009, 12:44 PM

I wouldn't use the chemicals at all. I am having a similar problem with a photosynthetic flatworm. There is a really interesting nudi that eats them specifically and are relativley cheap, common name velvet. You could also buy the wrass and just treat it in a ten gallon with Cu, then move it over without having to wait that long. But I personally would always stay as far away from chemical as I possibly could. Good luck!

Jcrash · 05/19/2009, 05:52 AM

I used flatworm exit but I felt bad because my snails would take a beating also. It didn't completely get rid of the flatworms either so I just decided to leave it alone and let them proliferate thinking there would be a threshold in my nano. Sure enough, tank is flatworm free. Now only if I can get rid of this red algae...

username in use · 05/19/2009, 05:58 AM

THe wrasse will be hit or miss, it may not help at all, mine was useless for flatworms, but, he looks awesome and is still a favorite.

05/14/2009, 08:55 AM	#1
Patow Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Ottawa, Canada Posts: 181	I have a dilemma! I have 4 fish in my quarantine tank that are ready to be moved to my display tank today. 2 clown fish, and 2 fire fish. They have been in quarantine for 4 weeks now, and absolutely no signs of disease or other issues. However, I was looking at my display tank last night and I noticed that I have flatworms. I saw a few on my glass, and I believe they are red planaria. Currently I only have a Yellow Watchman Goby, a pistol shrimp and many snails and crabs in the display tank. I noticed a few flatworms in my refugium as well. I have a Diamond Watchman Goby that is arriving today, and needs to go into the quarantine tank. So I really need to get the other 4 fish out of the quarantine so I don't have to start all over when I add the new goby. I'm debating two remedies for the flatworms. 1) I could go the natural route and pick up a Six Line Wrasse today, and add him to the quarantine with the goby. I'd have to go ahead and add my other fish to the display, and then wait another 4 weeks (or longer) to add the wrasse and goby. My concern is that the flatworms may get out of control during that time. I suppose if it does, I could dose Flatworm Exit, and hope it doesn't hurt any livestock. It may turn out that the Wrasse doesn't eat them at all either, in which case I'm back to Flatworm Exit as well. 2) I could bite the bullet today and use Flatworm Exit, and try to get rid of the flatworms. I could then just add my new fish to the quarantine (possibly a wrasse as well for good measure since I want one anyway), and wait another 4 weeks to add all 6 fish. I only have a 29 gallon quarantine, so this may be quite the load (although they are small fish). If you were in this situation, what would you do? I'm also open to other suggestions that I may not have thought of. Thanks! Dave

05/14/2009, 10:10 AM	#2
spw4949 Registered Member. Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Albany, N.Y. Posts: 1,594	Do you have corals or is it a FOWLR? __________________ Steve Current Tank Info: 46 gal bowfront, mixed reef, 2x250W current outer orbit w/4x39W T5 ,10 gal fuge....38 gallon aggressive FOWLR, 10 gallon sump.

05/15/2009, 11:16 AM	#5
dudley moray sisternofuselessknowledge Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: orillia ontario Posts: 795	where do you get flatworm exit in canada ? __________________ We urge hobbyists to develop a good 'BS' detector that will allow you to question information presented to you without any experimental evidence to support it. chris Current Tank Info: 90 gal south pacific biotope 40 gal sump/fuge ,65 gal rebuilding

05/19/2009, 05:52 AM	#7
Jcrash Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: South Bay, California Posts: 10	I used flatworm exit but I felt bad because my snails would take a beating also. It didn't completely get rid of the flatworms either so I just decided to leave it alone and let them proliferate thinking there would be a threshold in my nano. Sure enough, tank is flatworm free. Now only if I can get rid of this red algae... __________________ If you want to see what children can do, you must stop giving them things. -Norman Douglas Current Tank Info: 12g Nanocube DX

05/19/2009, 05:58 AM	#8
username in use Sciencing Daily Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 6,560	THe wrasse will be hit or miss, it may not help at all, mine was useless for flatworms, but, he looks awesome and is still a favorite. __________________ Joshua "With fronds like these, who needs anemones?" - Albert Einstein Current Tank Info: multiple nano's sprinkled around the house

05/14/2009, 10:12 AM	#3
Patow Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Ottawa, Canada Posts: 181	I have a few small corals, SPS, LPS and Zoas. Nothing significant, and most are still frags. Dave

05/14/2009, 10:41 AM	#4
thegrun Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Garden Grove, Ca Posts: 17,023	I would do the Flatworm Exit treatment (you can do it in an hour) and then move the fish over. I had to treat my tank with flatworm exit once and didn't lose anything. Read the thread on the use of Flatworm Exit, it was helpful. If you don't have time to treat, I would go ahead and move the fish from qt to DT and then treat. My six line wrasse couldn't keep up with the flatworms, so I don't think that is the way to go and by the time he went through qt, the flatworms will be out of control.

05/15/2009, 12:44 PM	#6
FlyNpLeCosToMuS Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Tucson Posts: 64	I wouldn't use the chemicals at all. I am having a similar problem with a photosynthetic flatworm. There is a really interesting nudi that eats them specifically and are relativley cheap, common name velvet. You could also buy the wrass and just treat it in a ten gallon with Cu, then move it over without having to wait that long. But I personally would always stay as far away from chemical as I possibly could. Good luck!