Pest Treatment

[osprey440]

Today I noticed some red flatworms in my tank. I counted only about 10 but I don't want it to get out of control. I also have an infestation of red acro bugs but I have never treated or cared because I don't have any acropora corals. However, I will be upgrading this 16g to a 55g. In the 55g I would like to add a lot of SPS, so I need to treat for the red acro bugs. I am going to do an interceptor treatment right before the upgrade but will this also kill the red flatworms? If not, what should I do to get rid of them?

 

[snakeblitz33]

interceptor will kill em', but make sure you follow the directions off RC for the treatment.
A lot of people are having some pretty good success with Bayer Advanced Insect Killer if you are having trouble finding interceptor from a vet.
If you don't have SPS corals in your 16g, then more than likely the red bugs have died off after a week or so of no SPS in the tank.
Flat worms on the other hand should be treated. In your new tank you may want to add a six line wrasse - a six line will pick at flat worms and keep the tank pretty well pest free.

 

[osprey440]

Thanks for the response.
So I was wrong about the 10 or so red flatworms ... there were hundreds! I only saw about 10 of them but I noticed my button polyps weren't doing that well so I dipped them in some coral revive. As I was doing this hundreds of flatworms started dying off and it was a very small colony. After that I ordered the Salifert flatworm exit and have done two treatments so far. There are no more visibly in the tank and I will be performing one more treatment to make sure. It works great.
Snake, I had a question about six line wrasses. I have thought about getting one for my new 55g setup but I have heard that they can become very aggressive and may kill fish. What is your opinion on this? I would like a peaceful tank.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Buy most of your peaceful fish first and then a small six line wrasse and a tang relatively close together.
Yes, i said tang.

 

[osprey440]

A Tang! In a 55g ... What kind of tang could i get for a 55g? A Tomini? And I'm assuming the tang is to keep the six line peaceful.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Tangs are just fun to watch man. They are great for algae control. Buy a small yellow tang or a kole tang or any bristletooth tang. The sixline will be fine without a tang. Lol

 

[osprey440]

I'll think about it ...