brown/red flatworms

[TBoisvert]

Okay, I am really bummed. Mostly because of my stupidity! I bought rock off of a member here that I will not name on May 7th, 2005. Unfortunately, this member was very aware that there were red/brownish flatworms in the tank and did not inform me. I do realize now that I have done research on them and searches on the board that this person was well aware of the problem 7 days prior to selling me 40 lbs of rock. I realize that these are not the acro eating species (I hope not anyway!!!) I have found these on my rocks and sand only and have increased my flow to 100% with two Tunze 6100's (3100 gph approx).

Here is a pic of what I have found...

Do any of you think I should just treat with FW Exit? Will it alleviate the problem with this particular kind of FW?

Your help is much appreciated.

Tammie

 

[wrassefan]

That stinks Tammie. I don't know the types of flatworms but I know 6 lines wrasses eat some. I think corris wrasses do too....good luck

 

[amixam98]

You should let us know who it is so we won't buy from that member any more.

 

[~Flighty~]

Those really look like the problem ones. The FW exit works well and easily without many side effects. You must remove the FWs as they die though because they are very toxic. You can also try biological controls like a mandarin.

 

[this is me]

bummer!

 

[NateHanson]

Might be worth treating now, before the population explodes. That way their death upon treatment will be less likely to poison your tank.

 

[BigSmokeShowJOE]

bummer!
FW exit works well and easily without many side effects. You must remove the FWs as they die though because they are very toxic. then do a big whater change 50%+ to be on the safe side when thay die thay become very toxic .

 

[TBoisvert]

Okay, so I should use the FW exit and then remove them. How do I do that? I see that I should do a 50% water change, but how long after I use the FW exit? Where can I get the FW Exit? I really want to get rid of these things! I have quite a population of these suckers right now and want to get it under control.

Amixam98 - in all reality it was my own fault. I should have done my research. I really don't want to start a huge arguement on this board. I bought 40 lbs of LR on May 7, and the was fully aware of the problem and sold it to me anyway without informing me. I did a search on flatworms and found the posts between May 1 and May 30. I will, however, not be purchasing anything else from him. I am not sure if it is appropriate to just hang someone out on this board like that, but I will have no problem letting people know through pm. Right now I am so angry though, especially after ready the posts last nite that were posted only 1 week prior to my purchase of the rock. AAARRRRGGGGGHHH!

Now, back to the issue. How do I remove them? With a net?

 

[maurod]

Okay, so I should use the FW exit and then remove them. How do I do that? I see that I should do a 50% water change, but how long after I use the FW exit? Where can I get the FW Exit? I really want to get rid of these things! I have quite a population of these suckers right now and want to get it under control.

Amixam98 - in all reality it was my own fault. I should have done my research. I really don't want to start a huge arguement on this board. I bought 40 lbs of LR on May 7, and the was fully aware of the problem and sold it to me anyway without informing me. I did a search on flatworms and found the posts between May 1 and May 30. I will, however, not be purchasing anything else from him. I am not sure if it is appropriate to just hang someone out on this board like that, but I will have no problem letting people know through pm. Right now I am so angry though, especially after ready the posts last nite that were posted only 1 week prior to my purchase of the rock. AAARRRRGGGGGHHH!

Now, back to the issue. How do I remove them? With a net?

It's not a huge deal to do.
Just treat now. The best way to prevent toxicity is to siphon the dead worms as they float towards the surface of the tank. Also, do not forget to treat one more time in a week to kill any stragglers and newly hatched flatworms.
I did not notice any pod deaths or invert deaths after treating, even at 2 and 3x the recommended dosage.

I did notice I no longer have any of the digitate hydroids I used to have, which may not be a bad thing... http://melevsreef.com/id/digitate_hydroid.html

But I still have plenty of spaghetti worms!
M.

 

[~Flighty~]

You can siphen them out before you treat. Some people have made a clever little device with a small powerhead. You put a bit of tubing on the intake and a filter sock on the output. Then you can suck up the buggers without losing water. You can do this as you are treating too because they are easier to suck up as they die.

You can get FW exit at most sw fish stores and you might want to do a few treatments to get the ones who hide in the rocks.

 

[TBoisvert]

Thank you Maurod. I am trying to locate some FW Exit now and will start treatment. They are difficult to see until they are on the sand or glass. That is how I got such a good shot (crawling on glass).

 

[maurod]

Here is the link to Melev's flatworm removal technique.
http://melevsreef.com/flatworms.html
It's how I did my first treatment.

M.

 

[this is me]

Are these the same as the eating acro fw? are they easy to spot?

 

[NateHanson]

These are not the same as the acro-eating flatworms. These just reproduce quickly and become an eyesore. They're fairly small (a few mm long), and seem to show up first in low-flow areas on the sand-bed where rock makes a corner with the sandbed. If the population gets very large and crashes (either naturally or because of treatment with FWExit) the dying worms can poison the tank if they aren't effectively siphoned out.

Nate

 

[TBoisvert]

After much thought, I have decided to post who sold me the rock. This is not done out of anger, but I was really upset to know that this person sold it to me knowing FULL well of the problem. There are posts informing him before my purchase and posts of him trying to alleviate his own problem thereafter. I also know it came from his rock because I put the rock in my display and in my quarantine tank. Both are infested badly. I am 100% sure of it and am informing the board of this only because I am 100% sure. I also saw a post written on May 1, 2005 - from Piscevore informing Dong he had droves of flatworms, and then another on May 30, posted by Dong asking for FW Exit. I purchased his rock on May 7th, 7 days after he was informed of the infestation. It was Dong (dz6t) and I am letting people know because I have hundreds of these things and don't want it to happen to anyone else.

Tammie

 

[nitrofish]

I didn't want to say anything either, but dong,you really do have a bad infestation of flatworms. I could see hundreds of them when we did that mushroom trade. I didn't want to embarrass you, but this is very treatable.

 

[TBoisvert]

Well, my overflows are loaded with them. glass is covered with hundreds.... Well, I am going to start treating this problem and rid my tank of these little maggots.

 

[nitrofish]

flatworm exit works wonders,ive used it twice since reefkeeping. also a freshwater dip on new rocks and frags can usually shake most of them loose

 

[TBoisvert]

Jeff, I really wanted to avoid chemicals, but looks like I may have to use it. I have so many inverts, fish and corals in my 125 gallon. I was told by Lou at Tropic Isle to throw a dozen yellow tailed damsels in and they will eat them up. He used this technique with a bad infestation of them in his own tanks a year or so ago. Does anyone else know if this will work? I have placed 6 of them in my tank about an hour ago and and they are picking away at the rocks viciously.

I also have a mandarin and two scooter blennys as well. Any advice is well appreciated.

Thank you,

Tammie

 

[NateHanson]

Although there are a bunch of fish that eat them, I doubt biological controls could completely rid your tank of them. A subset of the population will always survive in crevices in the rock. I'd nuke 'em with FWE. It won't harm your inverts fish or corals, from what I've read.

Nate