I have flat worms

[Cjtabares]

Idk how long I have had them but there does not seem to be to many. What is the best way of getting them out? I have flat worm exit that I have been using to dip corals for the last 2 months, now I wish I had dipped from the start.

Should I syphon out as many of them as I can then use the flat worm exit?

I have also been thinking of trying a wrass again, any of them good at eating flat worms? I had 2 scotts fairy wrasses, one jumped and I traded the other one. I was thinking of going with something smaller this time

any suggestions would be great

oh and the fish I have now, if you wanted to suggest a wrass, are
2 O. Clowns
1 yellow headed jawfish
1 yashia goby
4 blue green cromis
1 yellow tang
1 clown tang
3 lyertail anthias

 

[Cheetos]

Try a Melanurus wrasse. We've had good luck with 2 of them that we had. Wiped out all the flatworms in my wifes tank. The first one ended up going carpet surfing and the second one met his demise by a huge emerald crab. So, if you go with one make sure you have either eggcrate or mesh over your tank.

 

[Takara]

I know people will flame this, but how many can you see in the tank? A lot or a handful?

 

[Cjtabares]

Thanks Mark I will look at the Melanurus

James Idk I would say 100 or so of them.

 

[Takara]

You could try FWE in the display, I know many people who used it with success. If you don't have a lot I don't think you'll have too much of a problem with toxins in the water.

 

[JohnK]

Are these the brownish photo synthetic kind? (sounds like it, but that's the first question to ask...)

Can you post a pic?

 

[Cjtabares]

I am on my phone because my computer is not working so I would not be able to get a good pic. The lights are out but they were a redish brown color

 

[JohnK]

Then they are probably the nisiance variety. I would consider FW exit before the infestation gets really bad. Beware though, if you see 100, you probably have 10,000

 

[Cjtabares]

Joy. I think I am going to try and syphon out as many as I can and use the FWE. After I still think I might add a melanurus wrass. Do you think the wrass would keep the population in check it the FWE miss some of them?

 

[JohnK]

Natural predetors can help, but I doubt that they will eradicate the problem. Worth a try though

 

[Cjtabares]

The flatworms don't hurt anything right? So I was thinking if the FWE kills a high percent of the flatworms, then I add the wrass, the wrass could keep the number of flat worms low even if it does not eat every single flatworm.

 

[Leroy]

Natural predetors can help, but I doubt that they will eradicate the problem. Worth a try though

Very true so +1 on that. If you can count ten then multiply that by to the 10th power. A new thread has started by Jessie using lamisole and doing multiple doses to eradicate any stragglers. I have a Melanurus and in order for it to do it's job I'd have to starve the tank but no guarentee. Corris wrasse as well. The only two problems with flat worm, don't want them covering the corals and not pleasant to look at, unsightly.

 

[Sherri]

I never treated my 180g and there are no more flatworms in that tank. The wrasse in there is a Scott's Fairy. I just added a melanurus wrasse to the 65g together with siphoning I think I will eliminate them from there. With 300+g to treat FWE or anything else just seems like too much. Plus, I have had so many FWs that the toxins from them dying would kill everything else! So I do the siphon/wrasse technique.

 

[Joel A]

The flatworms don't hurt anything right? So I was thinking if the FWE kills a high percent of the flatworms, then I add the wrass, the wrass could keep the number of flat worms low even if it does not eat every single flatworm.

this is a decent approach. How infested did you say you were? Many large reef systems live with flatworms.. think of 500+ gallon tanks where it's nearly impossible to eradicate them.. Atlantis Marine World in NY is a prime example... he has regular flatworms, and even AEFW but he has a huge tank, so they are pretty much impossible to wipe out.. so what he does to control them (Joe Yaiullo) is he actually takes a garden hose and sprays off his large acro colonies and rocks... it's essentially turkey basting, but on a larger scale . So i think that if your levels of flatworms are reasonably low, and you have some good wrasses to help you out, turkey basting is a great option to keep them under control... assuming you find some wrasses that will eat them that is.

I remember Mike Paletta talking at a conference a while back, and he specifically trained his wrasses to search for and eat flat worms.. he did it by keeping them in a breeder net for the first few weeks he had them in his tank, and feeding them only on flat worms he had caught from his tank... cool idea and it worked very well for him from my understanding, but not everyone has the room, equipment, or patience to QT a wrasse in a breeding net for a few weeks while teaching it to do tricks..

 

[Aquaman_68]

The brown planaria are usually due to a heavy organic level in the tank...(that is where they thrive) finding something to eradicate them is one area to address...but you also have to address the issue that made them thrive..Maintenance or the lack there of is a common culprit...old ro/di filters heavy feeding or an inadequate filteration system are three areas to look into...


HTH,
B

 

[ReeferMedic]

They also seem to thrive in lower flow areas of the tank. Try increasing/redirecting the flow a bit so there are no "dead spots", it should help along with what others have posted.

 

[Cjtabares]

Thanks for the help Jole

Brian I do a 10% water change weekly but I do feed to much and I am sure I have a high organic level, I have a lot of alage. I bought an oversized skimmer and started np biopellets and the alage is starting to go away. If I can remove the organics will this help eradicate them or just slow there spreading.

Edit: I feed the way I do for my anthias

 

[ReeferMedic]

Thanks for the help Jole

Brian I do a 10% water change weekly but I do feed to much and I am sure I have a high organic level, I have a lot of alage. I bought an oversized skimmer and started np biopellets and the alage is starting to go away. If I can remove the organics will this help eradicate them or just slow there spreading.

Decreasing organics will not eradicate them since they are largely photosynthetic, but it will help decrease their numbers.

 

[Aquaman_68]

Thanks for the help Jole

Brian I do a 10% water change weekly but I do feed to much and I am sure I have a high organic level, I have a lot of alage. I bought an oversized skimmer and started np biopellets and the alage is starting to go away. If I can remove the organics will this help eradicate them or just slow there spreading.

Edit: I feed the way I do for my anthias

In my experience when I had them in my tank it was when my tank was young...

They thrive heavy in a nutrient rich enviroment...(when I had an issue my organic level was 3.4 ppm..when I should have had it more like 1.4 ppm) long story as to why..... but the short of it was from using local nsw..

once I started doing water changes more frequently....(like 5 gals a day for close to three weeks & manually removing the ones I could with an ro tubing for a siphon) I would basically siphon the 5 gals I was going to replace) that is when I noticed them to start to tail off ....It was a better method than killing them in the tank & adding to the organic load & also adding chemicals to the tank that would cause biological side effects...

there is other ways to eradicate them...

HTH,
B

 

[tigerslacrosse4]

I have been having the same problem I don't run a skimmer or any kind of sump I'm still trying to get as many as I can out of the tank because its all of 8 and a half maby 9 gal of water in my tank and quite frankly I'm scared to kill them because of the toxins.