What is on my candy canes?

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cmaxwell39

Guest
I got a new candy cane yesterday and when I fed them tonight I noticed a bunch of little, well I don't know what they are. They are about an eighth of an inch or less long, about half as wide as they are long and pretty much flat. When they move they go from ovaled to almost round and then back to ovaled. They are clear to brown in color. I tried to get a pic but could not get the camera to focus on them. They are just too small. Any ideas? Thanks.
 
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cmaxwell39

Guest
They look similiar to those but not identical. Are Flatworms bad?
 
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cmaxwell39

Guest
They are either red or brown flatworms. I am sure they are not the feeder tentacles. They were moving along the outer edge of the flesh not coming from the middle. What has been everyone's expierence with flatworm exit?
 
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cmaxwell39

Guest
Looking a little closer I am pretty sure they are not red flatworms but probably brown flatworms. Are these all right or should I try to get rid of them as well?
 

maxsmart

Member
I wish I had treated mine the first day I saw them. Now I have what is often described as a "plague" of them. They are generally harmless but spread until they cover every surface, which looks terrible. My blennies won't wat food that lands on them, they aparently taste terrible.
Sixlines snack on them, but won't control a plague. Now what I do is use airline tubing (running into my sump through a nylon stocking filter) to siphon them off rocks. I did this aggressively for a while, and actually started decreasing the population - but then went on vacation, came back to entire tank covered again.
They produce toxins when killed, so if you use flatworm exit (a medicine) you risk blinding or killing the fish from the toxins, the only hope is to use activated charcoal filters to absorb it to keep the levels minimum. The other solution is to buy a velvet nudibranch, which is a slug that eats only flatworms.
I first saw these things on a piece of liverock, watched the population grow like an idiot (thought they were a type of plant life, since they attached themselves in neat rows on the rock) when what I should have done was sucked them all out.
Good luck!
 

pondy

Member
how does this flat worm get around? I have noticed a little critter in my tank that almost looks like a flat worm but its head expands like a jellyfish and it looks like it moves from the head. ANy Ideas?
 

maxsmart

Member
Originally Posted by pondy
how does this flat worm get around? I have noticed a little critter in my tank that almost looks like a flat worm but its head expands like a jellyfish and it looks like it moves from the head. ANy Ideas?
They crawl like any worm. They tend to hide at night and come out on the live rock to eat phytoplankton during the day.
 
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