major flatworm help needed.

karazy · 09/20/2009, 03:53 PM

here's the issue.

ive got flatworms.They are in my sump, fuge and main tank. Ive tried using flatworm exit twice. first time i put in the normal amount and turned on the carbon reactor in about 5 minutes.
i wake up and there are still some left. i decided after hearing some opinions that i didnt leave it in long enough or didnt add enough.
so the second time i try it i dose enough for my 40 gallon system, and wait half an hour. almost all die, but there are still some left. i siphon them out, but within ten minutes more appear.
so, half an hour after the first dose i for another 40 gallons. same result.
so, after an hour of starting dosing, i add another dose.
still some left. these fricken things are invincible. and ofcourse by the next day they are full tilt reproducing again.

so my question is, what can i do to completely kill every single flatworm?

HydroMan · 09/20/2009, 05:58 PM

You may never be able to free your tank of them. No matter how often I dosed FE or at what concentrations, I could never get rid of them. I tried two other options to control their numbers after I gave up on FE.

1. Increase your nutrient output or decrease the input.
2. Biological control.

Option 2 worked the best for me. A hungry melanurus wrasse in my 65 cleaned me out in a week. I'm sure they were still there, but I never saw them again.

Sisterlimonpot · 09/20/2009, 06:07 PM

I understand that you can dose a lot more than recommended with the FWE without any problems.

reefinder · 09/20/2009, 08:02 PM

buy a six line wrasse and a yellow coris wrasse turn of fuge and sump and clean them out don't run either for at least two to three weeks, just up your water changes and let the fish fwe do all the work. it will not kill total population but it will keep it at bay enough to not stress corals or yourself for that matter.

Keith A · 09/20/2009, 08:19 PM

I'm starting to see some flatworms in my tank too. I just bought a melanarus wrasse but he's in quarentine right now. I was told by the people at my LFS that the wrasse was the best way to go. Six lines may or may not eat them but there was a better chance that the melanarus would. I was also told that the flatworm exit would work but that the worms excrete something that is toxic to coral when they die (?) and you want to get them out ASAP. I'm not sure if that is true or not though. Has anyone else heard that?

Tadashi · 09/20/2009, 08:55 PM

From my experience Flatworm exit will not kill them all. I have done multiple treatments and still have them. The only way I have gotten rid of them in the past is:
1) Oomed - not sold anymore, killed all worms (bristles, spagetti, flatworms, ...), nasty stuff but worked

2) combo of having green target mandarin and 6-line wrasse - took a couple tries (trade backs to LFS).

All fish are hit or miss. No fish I know of has any higher chance that the others. Then again I have not seen anyone do a statistically rigorous test either. One sure way is to get a couple velvet nudibrachs (sold just about everywhere now). The problem with these is that they are suseptible to powerheads, overflows, and high currents. You will also need to clean out your sump and other attachments to ensure you are not inadvertantly creating a flatworm refugium.

Also, once you do get rid of all the flatworms the nudis will starve as they are specialized feeders and only eat flatworms. You also risk the chance of them starving before finding the last holdouts.

I had a 180-gal mature reef with the 6-line and mandarin. However, in a 75-gal both will compete for the same food (pods and flatworms if you are lucky). The 6-line may bully the mandarin so tread carefully before just tossing all possible flatworm eaters into the tank. I would only try the mandarin in a 40-gal that is mature (meaning you gave the tank time to build up the pod populations or you have added bottled pods) and a refugium.

What they excrete is their body fluids when they die. In high amounts this poisons the tank. Run carbon when you see mass die off of anything, let alone flatworms. They also suggest water change.

I have learned to live with the flatworms as long as their populations stay in check (meaning no more than copepods). This in cludes syphoning, nutrient export, and will get some nudibrachs if the population grows large enough to sustain the nudi to create a balance.

09/20/2009, 03:53 PM	#1
karazy Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 68	major flatworm help needed. here's the issue. ive got flatworms.They are in my sump, fuge and main tank. Ive tried using flatworm exit twice. first time i put in the normal amount and turned on the carbon reactor in about 5 minutes. i wake up and there are still some left. i decided after hearing some opinions that i didnt leave it in long enough or didnt add enough. so the second time i try it i dose enough for my 40 gallon system, and wait half an hour. almost all die, but there are still some left. i siphon them out, but within ten minutes more appear. so, half an hour after the first dose i for another 40 gallons. same result. so, after an hour of starting dosing, i add another dose. still some left. these fricken things are invincible. and ofcourse by the next day they are full tilt reproducing again. so my question is, what can i do to completely kill every single flatworm?

09/20/2009, 06:07 PM	#3
Sisterlimonpot R.C. Fraternity President Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Litchfeild Park AZ Posts: 11,490 Blog Entries: 2	I understand that you can dose a lot more than recommended with the FWE without any problems. __________________ Jimmy MASVC President Dishes are done man! Current Tank Info: 300 in progress

09/20/2009, 08:02 PM	#4
reefinder Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 455	buy a six line wrasse and a yellow coris wrasse turn of fuge and sump and clean them out don't run either for at least two to three weeks, just up your water changes and let the fish fwe do all the work. it will not kill total population but it will keep it at bay enough to not stress corals or yourself for that matter. __________________ May your power be on and corals be colorful

09/20/2009, 08:55 PM	#6
Tadashi Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2000 Location: Ft. Hood, TX, USA Posts: 2,252	From my experience Flatworm exit will not kill them all. I have done multiple treatments and still have them. The only way I have gotten rid of them in the past is: 1) Oomed - not sold anymore, killed all worms (bristles, spagetti, flatworms, ...), nasty stuff but worked 2) combo of having green target mandarin and 6-line wrasse - took a couple tries (trade backs to LFS). All fish are hit or miss. No fish I know of has any higher chance that the others. Then again I have not seen anyone do a statistically rigorous test either. One sure way is to get a couple velvet nudibrachs (sold just about everywhere now). The problem with these is that they are suseptible to powerheads, overflows, and high currents. You will also need to clean out your sump and other attachments to ensure you are not inadvertantly creating a flatworm refugium. Also, once you do get rid of all the flatworms the nudis will starve as they are specialized feeders and only eat flatworms. You also risk the chance of them starving before finding the last holdouts. I had a 180-gal mature reef with the 6-line and mandarin. However, in a 75-gal both will compete for the same food (pods and flatworms if you are lucky). The 6-line may bully the mandarin so tread carefully before just tossing all possible flatworm eaters into the tank. I would only try the mandarin in a 40-gal that is mature (meaning you gave the tank time to build up the pod populations or you have added bottled pods) and a refugium. What they excrete is their body fluids when they die. In high amounts this poisons the tank. Run carbon when you see mass die off of anything, let alone flatworms. They also suggest water change. I have learned to live with the flatworms as long as their populations stay in check (meaning no more than copepods). This in cludes syphoning, nutrient export, and will get some nudibrachs if the population grows large enough to sustain the nudi to create a balance. __________________ Honey, put down the bleach and step away from the tank. I promise we will spend more quality time together. Current Tank Info: 14-gal Oceanic BioCube (see homepage link for current status)

09/20/2009, 05:58 PM	#2
HydroMan Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: MN Posts: 50	You may never be able to free your tank of them. No matter how often I dosed FE or at what concentrations, I could never get rid of them. I tried two other options to control their numbers after I gave up on FE. 1. Increase your nutrient output or decrease the input. 2. Biological control. Option 2 worked the best for me. A hungry melanurus wrasse in my 65 cleaned me out in a week. I'm sure they were still there, but I never saw them again.

09/20/2009, 08:19 PM	#5
Keith A Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Omaha, NE Posts: 253	I'm starting to see some flatworms in my tank too. I just bought a melanarus wrasse but he's in quarentine right now. I was told by the people at my LFS that the wrasse was the best way to go. Six lines may or may not eat them but there was a better chance that the melanarus would. I was also told that the flatworm exit would work but that the worms excrete something that is toxic to coral when they die (?) and you want to get them out ASAP. I'm not sure if that is true or not though. Has anyone else heard that?