Help, Flatworms

dwref

dwref

New Member
I have a 125 gallon reef tank, have found "Red Flat Worms" on my corals.
I have bought a couple of wrasse, but they are not doing the job. They have been in the tank for a little over a week. But it seems that you buy a fish to do a job, but once you feed the tank, they know they are going to get food.
I have also read a lot of theads, but they all seem to be a little old.
I was wondering if any one knows of a way to rid the tank of them.
I know that they put out a toxie waste after they die.
I have a very heavy load of soft coral, so doing a dip is really out of the question & I also know that "Flatworm Exit" may kill off my snails, crabs, etc.
I also have 8 or 9 fish in my tank.
Anybody with any ideas,
Please help!!!
I am also very limited on siploning, do to the large load of coral & live rock.
I am running a large SWC skimmer, with 2 Vortec power heads.
Also, I have 3 250 MH 20K lights.
This is a very established aquarium, up & running for over 3 years.
 
9supratt4

9supratt4

Active Member
I used Flatworm Exit on my 180 and all my shrimp, snails, corals, etc survived!! I recommend it. But be sure to follow the direction on the box perfectly!! And have a ton of carbon ready to go!!
 
raymond2688

raymond2688

Member
i just treated my tank today with flatworm exit.....great stuff within minutes they were dying. it is very important that you get as many out as you can first by way of syphon. my corals are fine but unfortunatly i did loose a blue reef chromis and my yellow tang may not make it the night it is in a biocube now. if i had to do it all over i would have taken out a couple fish first. I am really bumbed about my yellow tang. clown fish had no reaction fire goby was fine serpant star pep shrimp and coral banded are fine. all corals have opened back up and are fine. hope this helps
 
reeferrookie

reeferrookie

Member
All of these tried and true fish that eat flatworms are just a 50/50 shot when you buy them. FE works if you follow the directions and you may have to double up on the dosage. The only thing I ever lost while treating my tank was shrimp. I would remove them next time (hopefully there will not be one)
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
You MUST siphon out as much as possible. I would siphon for days, as much as possible, even if you have to move some corals. Soft corals are pretty resilient and can take a little bit of a beating. It's better than loosing them all together because the worms smother them, right?
Anyways, siphon, siphon, and siphon. Then use Flatworm Exit, but you absolutely must follow the directions word for word.
I would not double the dose or you could kill your fish and corals, etc. Not following the directions is what causes people to loose things in their tank.
Good luck. Flatworms suck
 
geoj

geoj

Active Member
I just found my first Red Menace last week.

My first though is to get a flat worm eating Nudibranch (Chelidonura varians) I always wanted a good excuse to have one.
Have any of you used one?
 
t316

t316

Active Member
Anybody got any pics of these boogers? And yes, I'm tired of looking up crap in the archives. Need some real life info. from this decade. I have read about flatworms, but been fortunate so far to never have them.
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
Originally Posted by T316
http:///forum/post/3217096
So what's the actual size...what am I looking for? Pencil eraser, smaller...

Mine looked just like that only red as well and they were about the size of a pencil eraser at the largest, most where about 1/2 -3/4 the size of the pencil eraser.
 
nissan577

nissan577

Active Member
i used this and it works like a charm!!!!
velvet sea slug-reef safe

Eats flatworms (Planaria), an eyesore to the marine aquarium that eventually becomes plague proportions. These flatworms will quickly cover all the live rock in the aquarium and spread rapidly throughout the aquarium. Nearly impossible to get rid of without using harmful chemicals in the reef aquarium that are detremental to fish and corals. According to Julian Sprung, The Reef Aquarium, Vol. 2, Velvet Nudibranch literally suck them up like a vacuum. Though some mandarins will eat flatworms, it's a hit and miss kind of thing. The only thing which works everytime is the velvet nudibranch. The only thing these creatures eat are flatworms and they will absolutely devour them.
 
geoj

geoj

Active Member
The large adults are about 1/8 of an inch long and 1/16 wide. The very small ones 1/16 long and 1/32 wide.
 
geoj

geoj

Active Member
Originally Posted by nissan577
http:///forum/post/3217102
i used this and it works like a charm!!!!
velvet sea slug-reef safe

Eats flatworms (Planaria), an eyesore to the marine aquarium that eventually becomes plague proportions. These flatworms will quickly cover all the live rock in the aquarium and spread rapidly throughout the aquarium. Nearly impossible to get rid of without using harmful chemicals in the reef aquarium that are detremental to fish and corals. According to Julian Sprung, The Reef Aquarium, Vol. 2, Velvet Nudibranch literally suck them up like a vacuum. Though some mandarins will eat flatworms, it's a hit and miss kind of thing. The only thing which works everytime is the velvet nudibranch. The only thing these creatures eat are flatworms and they will absolutely devour them.
I have read that there is a mimic nudibranch that does not eat flat worms that is sold as this same nudibranch so which is which.
 
trouble93

trouble93

Member
Originally Posted by nissan577
http:///forum/post/3217102
i used this and it works like a charm!!!!
velvet sea slug-reef safe

Eats flatworms (Planaria), an eyesore to the marine aquarium that eventually becomes plague proportions. These flatworms will quickly cover all the live rock in the aquarium and spread rapidly throughout the aquarium. Nearly impossible to get rid of without using harmful chemicals in the reef aquarium that are detremental to fish and corals. According to Julian Sprung, The Reef Aquarium, Vol. 2, Velvet Nudibranch literally suck them up like a vacuum. Though some mandarins will eat flatworms, it's a hit and miss kind of thing. The only thing which works everytime is the velvet nudibranch. The only thing these creatures eat are flatworms and they will absolutely devour them.
This sea slug will rid a tank of flat warms, but what about after they are all gone? This is all they eat. So just know it may die and it's poisonous but I'm not sure to what degree. So care should be taken.
 
cam78

cam78

Active Member
I used flat worm exit and it cleared my tank of them. I followed the directions PERFECTLY and nothing died. Good luck
 
dwref

dwref

New Member
I wanted to say "Thanks" to everyone who replied to my post.
But here is another question about these great little pests that we get.
My LFS told me, that if I put a light in only one area of the tank, the flat worms will go to it. That would make siphoning them out a whole lot easier?
Anybody ever heard of this???
Thanks
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
Originally Posted by dwref
http:///forum/post/3217442
I wanted to say "Thanks" to everyone who replied to my post.
But here is another question about these great little pests that we get.
My LFS told me, that if I put a light in only one area of the tank, the flat worms will go to it. That would make siphoning them out a whole lot easier?
Anybody ever heard of this???
Thanks
Never heard of this. However, it might be worth a shot. I'd be interested to see what others have to say about this.
 
reeferrookie

reeferrookie

Member
Originally Posted by dwref
http:///forum/post/3217442
I wanted to say "Thanks" to everyone who replied to my post.
But here is another question about these great little pests that we get.
My LFS told me, that if I put a light in only one area of the tank, the flat worms will go to it. That would make siphoning them out a whole lot easier?
Anybody ever heard of this???
Thanks
I heard of this also. When the lights go out for the night shine a small light in one of the corners of the tank. The flatworms are supposed to be attracted to the light. I'm not saying this works, but I have read a few posts on other forums that it did indeed work
 
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