Got some nuisances! Here's my plan.....

[jbird0420]

Just last week I noticed some brown flat worms, sunbathing in the sandbed of my 90g. I looked a lil closer and there hangin in the rocks. Plus I have noticed a crap load of bristle worms lately. All seemed to appear after my Xmas Wrasse passed away (RIP Jethro) a few weeks back. Today I dipped 4 Lrg rocks in a 5g bucket with Reef dip and the amount of dead bodies and color of the water. Wow!

My plan is to QT all my livestock in a 29g, while the 90g is treated. I going to double does the treatment in the 90. So, no livestock, just the Live Rock and Sand will be the only remains of that tank for a week. I plan on letting the system run for 3 days with no water changes. Day 3 do a 25% water change, followed by another 25% on day 5. Keep all livestock in the 29g and monitor the 90g. I believe this will be very affective in removing the flat worms and hopefully some Bristle Worms as well. What do you guys think??

Thanks for looking!

 

[jbird0420]

Flatworm Exit is what I'm going to use to treat the tank.
Originally Posted by Jbird0420
http:///forum/post/2927109
Just last week I noticed some brown flat worms, sunbathing in the sandbed of my 90g. I looked a lil closer and there hangin in the rocks. Plus I have noticed a crap load of bristle worms lately. All seemed to appear after my Xmas Wrasse passed away (RIP Jethro) a few weeks back. Today I dipped 4 Lrg rocks in a 5g bucket with Reef dip and the amount of dead bodies and color of the water. Wow!

My plan is to QT all my livestock in a 29g, while the 90g is treated. I going to double does the treatment in the 90. So, no livestock, just the Live Rock and Sand will be the only remains of that tank for a week. I plan on letting the system run for 3 days with no water changes. Day 3 do a 25% water change, followed by another 25% on day 5. Keep all livestock in the 29g and monitor the 90g. I believe this will be very affective in removing the flat worms and hopefully some Bristle Worms as well. What do you guys think??

Thanks for looking!

 

[jackri]

Not for sure but wouldn't a coral banded shrimp or cleaner shrimp keep them at bay?

 

[snakeblitz33]

six line wrasses will take care of flat worms and small molluscs.
flatworm exit is good, but it will nuke your tank if your not careful.

 

[mr_x]

a wrasse is the answer for the flatworms. reducing your feeding is the answer for your massive bristleworm population.

 

[jbird0420]

I have a Coral Banded Shrimp. He must be on an extended vaca, cause he's not putting a dent in the population.
Originally Posted by jackri
http:///forum/post/2927116
Not for sure but wouldn't a coral banded shrimp or cleaner shrimp keep them at bay?

 

[jbird0420]

I had a wrasse that died recently, I think he was helping control the population. But it still exists, so that's why I want to try FW Exit. I've been reading multiple posts on it and I think what I'm going to do will hopefully eradicate the problem.
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33
http:///forum/post/2927136
six line wrasses will take care of flat worms and small molluscs.
flatworm exit is good, but it will nuke your tank if your not careful.

 

[jbird0420]

I feed once daily. All food is consumed by the fish within a min or 2.. I would like another wrasse. Either a 6 line or Fairy Wrasse.
Originally Posted by Mr_X
http:///forum/post/2927208
a wrasse is the answer for the flatworms. reducing your feeding is the answer for your massive bristleworm population.

 

[maxsmart]

Originally Posted by Mr_X
http:///forum/post/2927208
a wrasse is the answer for the flatworms. reducing your feeding is the answer for your massive bristleworm population.
I have a hospital tank which I don't put ANY food into, and it is covered with bristle worms, so that might not do the trick... I've read that Arrow Crabs do a nice job on bristle worms, Sixline Wrasses also are known to eat baby bristles, though I didn't witness this when I had one.

 

[mr_x]

hmm. bristleworms don't need to eat food? their bodies grow longer and fatter without the need for nutrients? they multiply without any food source?
i think you are missing something.

 

[jtt]

Originally Posted by Mr_X
http:///forum/post/2929156
hmm. bristleworms don't need to eat food? their bodies grow longer and fatter without the need for nutrients? they multiply without any food source?
i think you are missing something.

 

[jbird0420]

Mr X...Will Flatworm X help wipe out my Bristle worm population as well?

I got some big suckers in there! I have one in there 10"+ and he wreaks havoc on my open brain coral when it's feeding night. One morning I woke up and the Brain coral was dragged approx 4" in the sand bed. At that time there was a feeding container over him with holes. So, something snuck through one of the holes in the feeding container and tried to drag this brain coral into the rocks. You could see the mark in the sand where the coral was dragged from. So, in essence I'm hunting for this nasty beast!
Originally Posted by Mr_X
http:///forum/post/2929156
hmm. bristleworms don't need to eat food? their bodies grow longer and fatter without the need for nutrients? they multiply without any food source?
i think you are missing something.

 

[mr_x]

no...flatworm exit will not help with the bristleworm population, unless of course the mass die-off of the flatworms nukes your tank, which certainly can happen.
if you have tons of bristleworms, it's because you feed heavy. there is plenty of food for them to thrive. cut back on the feeding and their population will decrease.
the worm that dragged your brain coral was not an ordinary bristleworm. google eunicid worm.

 

[maxsmart]

Originally Posted by Mr_X
http:///forum/post/2929156
hmm. bristleworms don't need to eat food? their bodies grow longer and fatter without the need for nutrients? they multiply without any food source?
i think you are missing something.
I haven't put a scrap of food into that tank in almost a year, yet the substrate is full of bristles. I didn't say they didn't eat, they just don't require an external food source - they aparently can survive and thrive off natural food sources within the tank. So, reducing fish-food might not do the trick.

 

[mr_x]

your theory is impossible. unless you had a years worth of food in the tank, they would be dying off.
they cannot eat their own crap for long before they stop getting nutrition from it.
how do you explain this phenomenon? bristleworms "don't require an external food source"?

 

[jbird0420]

After I treat the tank. I'm gonna put in a couple of wrasses. That should cut down on the worm population. What's a cool fairy wrasse? I was going to take my yellow coris wrasse from my 225g and put him in the 90g. Was thinking of getting another wrasse and intro them together.

 

[mr_x]

some say you'll have problems, but i've kept 2 different wrasses in a large tank before without issue. they actually hung out together.
i like the whipfin fairy. nice looking and cheap.

 

[brettd]

Flatworm Exit is a great product! I had a terrible infestation of flat worms myself. I nuked them several times before I realized what to do. The last time I doubled the suggested strength and then 4 days later I treated it again the same way. The first treatment will not get all of them - there will be some in the sand, some will not have hatched yet, maybe one or two in a very low current area. My tank is now, and has been for flatworm free for over 5 months. Make sure you siphon off all that you can and have some bags of carbon to put in your sump to remove the toxins from the death of the flatworms. One little note: At that strength level, you WILL get rid of several bristle worms too as I encountered this myself.

 

[mr_x]

i had a terrible infestation of flatworms too. i added a mandarin and a fairy wrasse, and within a month or so, they all disappeared. my tank has been flatworm free for about a year now. as a matter of fact, 6 months ago i had a power outage that killed the mandarin and wrasse. still no flatworms.
flatworms are ambush predators that eat pods. if you can manage the pod population, you'll manage the flatworm population safely.

 

[jbird0420]

It's like anything else..Multiple tangs, angels, wrasses, etc..It can be a hit or miss. I have Lunare and yellow Coris wrasse in my 225g FO. They do fine together. Ill look into the whipfin fairy wrasse. Thanks Mr.X!!

Originally Posted by Mr_X
http:///forum/post/2930859
some say you'll have problems, but i've kept 2 different wrasses in a large tank before without issue. they actually hung out together.
i like the whipfin fairy. nice looking and cheap.