things on glass
- Thread starter alix2.0
- Start date
reefreak29
Active Member
flatworms
bang guy
Moderator
Are they red?
I'll assume they are. They might be a species of flatworm that eats the slime from mushroom corals. If so, shake them out on a seperate container of saltwater. Hard enough so they fall off the mushrooms but not hard enough to dislodge the mushroom itself.
Flatworm exit is good too but I don't like to treat the entire tank because of the damage it does to sandbeds. I treat the corals before they go into my tank.
I'll assume they are. They might be a species of flatworm that eats the slime from mushroom corals. If so, shake them out on a seperate container of saltwater. Hard enough so they fall off the mushrooms but not hard enough to dislodge the mushroom itself.
Flatworm exit is good too but I don't like to treat the entire tank because of the damage it does to sandbeds. I treat the corals before they go into my tank.
alix2.0
Active Member
Originally Posted by Bang Guy
http:///forum/post/2658293
Are they red?
I'll assume they are. They might be a species of flatworm that eats the slime from mushroom corals. If so, shake them out on a seperate container of saltwater. Hard enough so they fall off the mushrooms but not hard enough to dislodge the mushroom itself.
Flatworm exit is good too but I don't like to treat the entire tank because of the damage it does to sandbeds. I treat the corals before they go into my tank.
are they harmful? i have mushrooms, but these are on the glass. will it help if i give my shrooms a RODI or iodine dip?
http:///forum/post/2658293
Are they red?
I'll assume they are. They might be a species of flatworm that eats the slime from mushroom corals. If so, shake them out on a seperate container of saltwater. Hard enough so they fall off the mushrooms but not hard enough to dislodge the mushroom itself.
Flatworm exit is good too but I don't like to treat the entire tank because of the damage it does to sandbeds. I treat the corals before they go into my tank.
are they harmful? i have mushrooms, but these are on the glass. will it help if i give my shrooms a RODI or iodine dip?
bang guy
Moderator
Originally Posted by alix2.0
http:///forum/post/2658306
are they harmful? i have mushrooms, but these are on the glass. will it help if i give my shrooms a RODI or iodine dip?
Not really. If you don't see them on your Mushrooms then my ID is wrong. They are not directly harmful but if they become overpopulated they can be unsightly as well as block the light needed for photosynthesis.
http:///forum/post/2658306
are they harmful? i have mushrooms, but these are on the glass. will it help if i give my shrooms a RODI or iodine dip?
Not really. If you don't see them on your Mushrooms then my ID is wrong. They are not directly harmful but if they become overpopulated they can be unsightly as well as block the light needed for photosynthesis.
rs1831
Active Member
Originally Posted by alix2.0
http:///forum/post/2658838
sixlines will, in not sure but i think fourlines will too, maybe some others too.
do they get any bigger? right now theyre microscopic.
Thanks Alix.
http:///forum/post/2658838
sixlines will, in not sure but i think fourlines will too, maybe some others too.
do they get any bigger? right now theyre microscopic.
Thanks Alix.
reefreak29
Active Member
Hey Alix You Wouldnt Be Able To Get A Pic Would You?
spanko
Active Member
Flatworms (Red Planaria): How to eliminate them from your reef – by Marc Levenson
A small representation of Red Planaria before they were erradicated
Small reddish-rust colored creatures may already be in your tank. Or you may buy a coral and they'll appear as hitchhikers later. They may appear on the glass/acrylic, on the substrate, or on live rock. Due to their extremely thin bodies, they are called flatworms correctly. They appear almost two-dimensional, barely a flap of skin or perhaps a 'dangling chad'. They can move through the tank, elongating the front part of their body like a sail filling with wind, latch on to the nearby surface and pull the rest of it's body forward.
They feed on small foods like rotifers, phytoplankton and such, and will grow out of control unchecked. Creating a mat with their bodies, they can smother corals or parts of the substrate. If they get to the point of overpopulating the tank, there is the possibility that they may die suddenly all at once, and the toxin they release at death can cause further deaths and even wipe out a tank entirely. Some predators exist, but results vary. Six Line Wrasses, Leopard Wrasses, Target Mandarins and even Blue Damsels reportedly eat these flatworms, as does one Nudibranch (Chelidonura varians), but some have opted for a different approach when these methods prove ineffective.
Salifert came out with a product over a year ago called Flatworm eXit, a poison that only affects flatworms and is reef-safe. Let me add the qualifier that if your tank is heavily infested, Flatworm eXit will not be the cause if you lose livestock. The issue is that if many flatworms die at once, their toxins reach lethal levels quickly and this, not the product, can lead to deaths in your tank. Feel free to ask others about their results before using this product. When I used it, the only item in my tank that appeared distressed was my Hawaiian Featherduster. Its feathers were shriveled up and wilted and it looked very badly during the treatment, but afterwards it opened up completely. SPS, LPS, soft corals and fish were completely unaffected, as were snails, starfish, crabs and pods. My infestation was low because I regularly siphoned out all I could see each week, before I ever dosed my tank.
What I recommend is that you remove as a many as you can before you treat the tank. This is what I used, the Flatworm Vacuum™
I put the bag in my sump, and sucked out all the flatworms I could reach and see. Starting the siphon was easy by putting the end of the rigid tubing in the flow of a powerhead. I siphoned out as many as I could find every day until virtually none were in sight. The less you have, the less toxins will be released when you treat. If you don't use a sump, you can put the bag in a bucket in front of the tank, and after the procedure, you might decide to pour the water back in your tank. If the water looks cloudy or reddish, it would be better to dispose of it and replace lost tank water with new saltwater.
The day I was ready to treat my tank with Flatworm eXit, I made up 20g of new saltwater for a water change. I also hooked up a canister filter filled with GAC (granulaed activated carbon), and tested it to make sure it was ready to run.
I dosed the tank with approx 60 drops of the chemical (1 drop per gallon), and the flatworms started to come out into the open, and died. They would die on a string, and similar to webbing, multiples would die on that thread. I used my vacuum system to suck out all that I could see. After the first hour, I added 30 more drops and continued to observe the tank and siphon any dead or dying flatworms. My skimmer was always on, but the bubbles were depressed due the treatment, and it took a couple of hours before it began skimming again. />
After 1 hour 20 minutes, I turned on the canister filter filled with carbon to pull out impurities and toxins.
The skimmer did work later, and pulled out some stuff, but nothing like some of the horror stories detailed on ReefCentral.com. I did a 20g water change (55g reef plus sump), and they were gone.
It is recommended to repeat the procedure one week later, but forgot and never did treat the tank again.
About a month later I saw a few in my tank, but I've not seen one in a long time now. I do have two Mandarins, a Six Line Wrasse, and a Blue Damsel to work on any possible flatworms if they do reappear.
Some people take precautions when adding new livestock to their tank, always doing a Flatworm eXit dip for 15 minutes prior to adding the coral to their display to prevent spreading these creatures.
A small representation of Red Planaria before they were erradicated
Small reddish-rust colored creatures may already be in your tank. Or you may buy a coral and they'll appear as hitchhikers later. They may appear on the glass/acrylic, on the substrate, or on live rock. Due to their extremely thin bodies, they are called flatworms correctly. They appear almost two-dimensional, barely a flap of skin or perhaps a 'dangling chad'. They can move through the tank, elongating the front part of their body like a sail filling with wind, latch on to the nearby surface and pull the rest of it's body forward.
They feed on small foods like rotifers, phytoplankton and such, and will grow out of control unchecked. Creating a mat with their bodies, they can smother corals or parts of the substrate. If they get to the point of overpopulating the tank, there is the possibility that they may die suddenly all at once, and the toxin they release at death can cause further deaths and even wipe out a tank entirely. Some predators exist, but results vary. Six Line Wrasses, Leopard Wrasses, Target Mandarins and even Blue Damsels reportedly eat these flatworms, as does one Nudibranch (Chelidonura varians), but some have opted for a different approach when these methods prove ineffective.
Salifert came out with a product over a year ago called Flatworm eXit, a poison that only affects flatworms and is reef-safe. Let me add the qualifier that if your tank is heavily infested, Flatworm eXit will not be the cause if you lose livestock. The issue is that if many flatworms die at once, their toxins reach lethal levels quickly and this, not the product, can lead to deaths in your tank. Feel free to ask others about their results before using this product. When I used it, the only item in my tank that appeared distressed was my Hawaiian Featherduster. Its feathers were shriveled up and wilted and it looked very badly during the treatment, but afterwards it opened up completely. SPS, LPS, soft corals and fish were completely unaffected, as were snails, starfish, crabs and pods. My infestation was low because I regularly siphoned out all I could see each week, before I ever dosed my tank.
What I recommend is that you remove as a many as you can before you treat the tank. This is what I used, the Flatworm Vacuum™
I put the bag in my sump, and sucked out all the flatworms I could reach and see. Starting the siphon was easy by putting the end of the rigid tubing in the flow of a powerhead. I siphoned out as many as I could find every day until virtually none were in sight. The less you have, the less toxins will be released when you treat. If you don't use a sump, you can put the bag in a bucket in front of the tank, and after the procedure, you might decide to pour the water back in your tank. If the water looks cloudy or reddish, it would be better to dispose of it and replace lost tank water with new saltwater.
The day I was ready to treat my tank with Flatworm eXit, I made up 20g of new saltwater for a water change. I also hooked up a canister filter filled with GAC (granulaed activated carbon), and tested it to make sure it was ready to run.
I dosed the tank with approx 60 drops of the chemical (1 drop per gallon), and the flatworms started to come out into the open, and died. They would die on a string, and similar to webbing, multiples would die on that thread. I used my vacuum system to suck out all that I could see. After the first hour, I added 30 more drops and continued to observe the tank and siphon any dead or dying flatworms. My skimmer was always on, but the bubbles were depressed due the treatment, and it took a couple of hours before it began skimming again. />
After 1 hour 20 minutes, I turned on the canister filter filled with carbon to pull out impurities and toxins.
The skimmer did work later, and pulled out some stuff, but nothing like some of the horror stories detailed on ReefCentral.com. I did a 20g water change (55g reef plus sump), and they were gone.
It is recommended to repeat the procedure one week later, but forgot and never did treat the tank again.
About a month later I saw a few in my tank, but I've not seen one in a long time now. I do have two Mandarins, a Six Line Wrasse, and a Blue Damsel to work on any possible flatworms if they do reappear.
Some people take precautions when adding new livestock to their tank, always doing a Flatworm eXit dip for 15 minutes prior to adding the coral to their display to prevent spreading these creatures.
alix2.0
Active Member
Originally Posted by reefreak29
http:///forum/post/2659163
Hey Alix You Wouldnt Be Able To Get A Pic Would You?
no way. theyre soooooo tiny, my camera would never see them. sorry.
http:///forum/post/2659163
Hey Alix You Wouldnt Be Able To Get A Pic Would You?
no way. theyre soooooo tiny, my camera would never see them. sorry.