Flatworms

FWIW ... used Flatworm Exit yesterday, followed directions to the letter (was actually light on the carbon).... had them primarily in one corner of 180 gal tank... it wiped out >95% of them with no downside that I can detect. Pods still scurrying around at night. Plan a second treatment next week (higher dosage) to hopefully knock out the remainder.
 
That’s key. If you don’t follow with the second/third treatment then they can repopulate.

I had a resurgence after a couple months because I didn’t follow with the second dosage.


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You are probably right on a "3rd treatment". Did a second treatment (150% dose) Monday afternoon, and checking the glass this afternoon ... saw two. Siphoned them off, and will keep an eye on it, but probably heading for another round at some point.
 
The only way I found to beat them was to nuke every rock and coral with a crazy high dose of FW Exit in a bucket of tank water for an hour, and then transfer to a new larger tank!
Good excuse to upgrade.
I lost all my tiny serpent stars, but it was worth it.
 
The only way I found to beat them was to nuke every rock and coral with a crazy high dose of FW Exit in a bucket of tank water for an hour, and then transfer to a new larger tank!
Good excuse to upgrade.
I lost all my tiny serpent stars, but it was worth it.

This brings up interesting idea. It's known that fw exit alone is safe but the toxins of the dying fw's is what can put your livestock at risk. So why not either remove all fish or live rock, treat for fw's and then after the big water change place them back in the tank? Of course this may not be that easy for some tanks such as those with difficult to catch fish or huge amounts of live rock with encrusted coral, etc. But I think it could be very doable for my tank which I will be treating sometime in near future.
 
This brings up interesting idea. It's known that fw exit alone is safe but the toxins of the dying fw's is what can put your livestock at risk. So why not either remove all fish or live rock, treat for fw's and then after the big water change place them back in the tank? Of course this may not be that easy for some tanks such as those with difficult to catch fish or huge amounts of live rock with encrusted coral, etc. But I think it could be very doable for my tank which I will be treating sometime in near future.

It's kind of a coral and rock dip. If you let your stuff sit in there long enough, the dead flatworms will stay in the bucket. Swish them around a bit before you take them out.

Following the directions on the bottle never got them all for me.
 
Quick update ... After the second treatment, in a few days, number of flatworms "on the glass" started growing again (up to 16), so instead of doing a third Mega Flatworm Exit treatment, went out and got a Target Mandarin. Since the Mandarin's arrival, now see "one or two" on the glass at most on a given day.

IMHO, I think there is a point of diminishing return on the large doses, as the worms start dying almost immediately with std. dose, and that those that survive probably do by never coming in contact with the Exit. If you want 100%, probably have to go with the "dip", as described above. I also don't think a Mandarin can handle a major outbreak, but may be able to keep a small population "in check". Time will tell.
 
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