flatworms?

xabxam

xabxam

Member
I used to have flatworm's,they at my blue ricordea's,and wre begining to eat my hairy mushrooms when I got rid of them.
 
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thomas712

Guest

Originally posted by Asbury030
how do u get rid of them?
Thats a laugh, you almost can't.
They are immortal and reproduce better than bunnies. Not all of them are bad and in small populations can be like any other type of diversity in the tank.
There are several theories on how to get rid of them, most only serve to control them, for a short while.
You could use some sea salt that has a 95DKH like I did, but that tends to kill all of your snails and other inverts, so DON'T DO IT.
Look for a product called saliferts flatworm exit. Many have had succes in controlling or eliminating them with this product.
As ususall our good friend Kip has has some experience in using this product. I have a bottle myself but after my salt fiasco I didn't need to use it.
It is best to have a canister filter and tons ( I mean tons) of carbon around. You will need it after the flatworms start to die and release their toxins.
Lookup the posts about flatworms by Kipass for further reference.
THOMAS
 
doris

doris

Member
I have an overdose of them in my 60 gal refugium right now. I put in a velvet nudibranch this weekend and if I don't see a considerable reduction withing the next week or two, I'm gonna do what my LFS suggested. That being...shine a small concentrated beam of light into the tank when all lights are out to which the flatworms will congretate to; then net them up or suck them up with a baster. Sounds simple but I kind of like trying the nudibranch thing first. He is eathing them as exhibited and viewed as he is moving up along the glass and as long as he lives (I've read they are very short lived in a closed system) and keeps eating the flatworms, he's got the job.
 
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thomas712

Guest

Originally posted by waterfaller1
Don't mean to butt in
Carole you can butt in anytime with your experience, thats what we are all about :)
THOmas
 
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thomas712

Guest
Natural predation may help but is somewhat unpredictable. Dragonets and Leopard wrasses have been used with varying degrees of success. Chelidonura species of sea slugs also known as the Greek Goddes - have also been cited as excellent natural predators, but acquiring an effective species is difficult for many livestock resellers, as collectors often lump various nudibranchs into an assorted category. The result is that numerous species of sea slugs unsuitable for captivity get imported in an effort to acquire just one that eats your species of flatworm.
In the meantime you can try to manually siphon them, I've done it but it is a PITA. You can sit and watch because many times you will find that they simply drop in population by themselfs (I'll be looking forward to Waterfaller telling me that she has found some more, hope not but expecting it). (someday).
They also tend to hate heavy water flow and can then be sucked up by your canister, overflow or other mechanical means. Heavy skimming is said to also be albe to help control them.
Asbury - If you have flatworms can you take a pic or describe them? color, dots, stripes?
Thomas
 
doris

doris

Member

Originally posted by Asbury030
so nudibranch eat flatworms?
Yes, this particular species, velvet nudibranch, does. That is why they say they are short lived in a tank...because when the flatworm supply is dimished, it dies of starvation.
 
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