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Wrasses that eat Polyclad Flatworms
6/20/18
Bionic flatworms? 12/12/07 Thanks for all the great info. It has been very helpful through the years. Now to the problem, I know what everyone says about elegance corals, but I have had one in my home tank now going on three years strong. It has almost tripled in size to about the size of a basketball. <Ah, good> I had a client come to view my tank and the first thing that he said was I want one of those. I explained to him that it is a very temperamental coral and that we should look to go a different direction. After about two weeks of going back and forth about this coral, we had decided that the best way to go was that he would get my healthy specimen and I would get a new one. <Generous of you> So I get the new elegance and put it into quarantine. It was doing very well for about two weeks and then one day I noticed what I thought were some type of flatworms in and around the mouths and tentacles. There is nothing noticeable on stony base of elegance or any other coral in quarantine. I have looked though the sections on your web site and the best answer that I could figure out was that I had some sort of flatworm infestation. I started a regimen of Salifert's Flatworm Exit in its own quarantine tank, but have not noticed any real improvement. They are about an eighth of an inch long, round, whitish in color and tend to form in small congregations like I said either by a mouth or in the tentacles. <Does read like flatworms...> I know the description is sort of vague but as I said the only thing that I could find a picture of would suggest some type of flatworm, the pics I tried to take didn't come out good enough to send. The elegance coral doesn't seem to be dying in any sort its exoskeleton is still very much intact, the body still expands during the day but the tentacles don't fill up and expand. I can still see these little critters almost like the Flatworm Exit isn't affecting them (up to 8x normal dosage). I did not know if there was a different direction that I should be going - maybe a different type of anti-parasitic, or maybe these aren't even flatworms. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance- Scott <Positions re these pests, their control is posted here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/pestflatwrmanthony.htm and the linked files above. Bob Fenner> Flatworms in my reef 11/9/07 Hello crew, <Matt> Long time reader, first time posting. I have an invasion of the rust brown flatworms. Sadly as of today I cannot get a good pic of these guys. Now for a bit of a background story. My tank is 46gl bowfront mixed reef about 8 months in with these specs: 75lbs live rock Prizm skimmer (seems to be doing a fairly good job, hope to upgrade when I get a sump in.) <Good> Canister with carbon. (temp until I get my sump in) T5 lighting 2 O. clowns 1 watchman goby Various inverts & corals (soft, LPS & some minor SPS) <Mmm, species?> Hope this is enough info,.. my test info will be given in a min after I explain why it's not so good :). So anyways in the past few months I have let my tank go and haven't been paying much attention to it. Due to this I would assume I'm getting spanked. I stopped water changes and only did top offs. Well now I'm back in full swing but I seem to have pick up some problems. My Alk has dropped quite a bit,.. the first testing showed it at 5. I now am slowly moving it back up, and it is sitting at 7 as of two days ago. The other test results are as such: nitrate 0 (this could be so low due to the soft corals and some algae?) <Yes> phosphates 0 (this could be so low due to the soft corals and some algae?) <Ditto> ph steady 8.2 salinity 1.024 temp 80 calcium 330 <A bit low as well> Alk 7 So I have been battling these flatworms for a few weeks now, and I wonder if I'm fighting hard enough. All I'm doing at this point is stepping up my water changes and I have changed the flow a bit to cover a broader area. On the next water change (tomorrow) I'm planning on trying to suck up as many as I see. Is there anything else I should be doing? <Mmm, yes, possibly> As of right now I don't really have that great of a nutrient export system except maybe for my forest of Xenia, but I am planning a small refuge in the future. Thanks for any help! Thanks, Matthew <Read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/pestflatwrmanthony.htm and the linked files above. Bob Fenner> Flatworm Question, reading on WWM 6/20/07 Hello WWM, <Halloooo!> I was wondering if you knew of any common saltwater fish that will actively eat flatworms off of soft corals, mushrooms, etc. Do the Halichoeres species accommodate that? <Some species, individuals do> Copperband b/fly?, peppermint shrimp? What is the best natural cure to rid a tank that has a minor and potentially overwhelming flatworm issue. Thanks for your response. Matt <Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/pestflatwrmanthony.htm and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>
Dugesias tigrina question
4/29/06 Hi I had a lab experiment with Dugesias tigrina. I cut
their heads off and two weeks later they regenerated. Now I brought
them home and am not sure how I can take care of them. Should I feed
them Chicken and egg yolks? How often should I change their water?
<Mmm, this is the world's largest free-living flatworm... Please
read here:
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2004-43,GGLD:en&q=Dugesias+tigrina
I am unfamiliar with the culture of this Platyhelminth. Bob
Fenner>
I Just Did Battle With A Giant Flatworm! Suspended spell and grammar checking fingers! 3/23/06 <Sounds like a great title for a campy sci-fi show!> Giant Flatworm~ Round One Carole~ Got A Good Chunk Of Him Ok so I do recall reading over the years, that these things grow as big as a dinner plate, and are bad bad news. <Mmm, mostly innocuous> I found one about the size of my palm over a year ago. I was just looking in the tank with a flashlight, doing my morning sneak peak at the tank. lights are out} and I see this thing partially sticking out from under a rock.. my heart starts racing. I start to think.. what is the best way to get this thing? <Siphon> This one is huge, thinner than a piece of paper, transparent.. but sort of a light greenish yellow. with specks all over it. So I go get a fine net and a steak knife and I stab this thing the best I can. <Where are the spaces between your sentences Carole? Argggghhhh> It started writhing and twisting. I only got about 3" of him.. the rest got away. <"What's worse than finding a palm-sized worm in your tank? Finding two half-palm sized pieces!"> So, then I am thinking. what makes them so bad? This thing has to have been in the tank for years. Hmmm. only real significant loss has been some snails and a few LPS. So I guess I need to start reading over what I can about them again, because I forget what the deal is. Do you know about them, or had experience with them? Thanks so much, Carole <Posted on WWM... and please fix your English before writing us. Bob Fenner> Wanted: Flatworms! -
03/11/2006 Hello, I am an senior undergraduate at University of
California Berkeley and I am looking to obtain tropical Platyhelminthes
species to track the regenerative potential in relation to their
phylogeny. I see that you reference a lot of different species on your
"flatworms, "Planaria, and marine aquariums" and I
wanted to know how I would go about obtaining some. It seems like these
are pests to many people with tropical fish tanks and that they are
simply throwing them away. Thanks, Jen <Mmm, send along contact
info. you want posted and we'll see if folks will send them your
way. Bob Fenner> Acro Flatworms, the dilemma - 03/09/2006 Guys, <And some ladies...> Quick question, thinking of the best way to eradicate the dreaded scourge of sps (I know I should have QT'd), now I have these monsters, of course I am blowing the Acros and destroying eggs, but as far as fish go, I read Tamarin, yellow wrasses and possum wrasses work. <Sometimes> Im looking for the most aggressive fish I can get to kill these things, any chance triggers might work too? <... won't likely stop at the Platyhelminths...> Any other fish you might recommend? My tanks is sps only so these blasted things are having a field day! Thanks <See WWM re... your input is archived. Bob Fenner> Worldfish content use - 01/23/2006 Dear Mr. Bob Fenner, <Christine> I would like to use the information about the flatworms found here in your website. I will use it to encode data about the group of species that I'm handling in the allfish project. I'm an encoder and would like to input the information you have to our database. Hoping for your response. Thank you. Christine Dar Research assistant (Jr. Encoder) <As you are a stated non-profit, I do grant you free use of my content. Thank you for your efforts. Bob Fenner> Getting rid of Flatworms 9/5/05 Hi Bob
and team.....one of my display tank systems ( 12 aquariums) got hit by
flatworms a while ago....I increased the flow, and made sure the water
quality was good...they abated a little, but still present. I have
emptied out the system, and plan to redecorate soon....Question is....I
have a few hundred kilos of good gravel, and I suspect they are still
living in it...I want to reuse the gravel...would be shame to throw it
away.....If I rinse the gravel well in freshwater....will it kill
them??....or should I soak in water treated with a dose of Formalin,
and then rinse really, really well before re-using?? regards JD.
<Freshwater rinsing will likely "get rid of them", the
formalin addition definitely will... Do use gloves, with good
ventilation (outdoors is best) if you go the latter route. Cheers, Bob
Fenner> Flatworms in Marine Aquaria 9/1/05 Hello, <Salutations> I wish to thank you for all the wonderful information you've provided me in the past, it's saved me, my pets, and my wallet many times over. <Ah, good. Welcome> I'm writing today because I recently made a new purchase, just this past Friday of a beautiful Zebrasoma desjardinii. He's around 3 inches nose to vent. I've learned, albeit the hard way, to quarantine all new arrivals so I pulled out and cleaned my old 30 gallon tank. I've lost fish in QT before, probably because of water quality issues, so I decide to just bite the bullet and bought 30 lbs of live rock for the qt, and 20lbs of live aragonite sand. I installed an old sea clone skimmer, heater and a Rio powerhead. The desjardinii will be the last vertebrate addition to my 180 gallon reef tank that's been running for about 9 months. Trying to get to the point, sorry, anyway, today I noticed flatworms on the back top of the glass, spreading rapidly. The desjardinii seems fine, eating and grazing along the rocks and feeding well- is he in any danger from this? <Not likely> Also, when I move this guy, is there the possibility of transferring them to my reef? <Not if you're careful, use an intermediate pH-adjusted freshwater dip/bath> The flow in the reef is pretty strong- 4x800 gph powerheads with swirls and a 1500 gph return pump that's tee'd off to two returns, an Aquacontroller controls the powerheads to randomize the flow a little. I've seen a couple free swimming flatworms in my refugium from time to time, but I keep a school of Pseudanthias dispar in the main tank that seem to chase and devour anything that is free swimming. I had planned on putting the 30 lbs of liverock from the QT into the sump of my main display, but only if the flatworms won't spread into the main display- you think they would? <Very likely so... with this move> Water quality is pretty high- ph 8.29 at the end of the photoperiod, 8.17 in the morning, sg is 1.025, calcium is 370, dKH 11.2 non ph adjusted ORP is 358, I don't use ozone. No ammonia, no nitrite, nitrate is probably present, but I can't detect it. I do 2x50 gallon water changes every month with a 6 stage RO/DI unit- is the flatworm infestation in the QT tank related to the newness of the tank? <Yes> Should I be concerned for the Zebrasoma? <Mmm, no... not much re these worms> Would leaving the QT fallow after the fish is put in the display, and not introducing food cause the flatworms' numbers to be reduced to an acceptable level? <Likely so... but to zero?> How long would something like that take? <Months> Should I not use the rock in the QT, it's the only possible source. It would be a shame, but I'd rather lose the rock than have an infestation in my display. Anyway, sorry, this got a lot longer than I anticipated, I'm sure you get my point. Any information you can provide is greatly appreciated. I do have a small strip light on the QT, it's maybe 18watt NO, and they are concentrated around the center of the strip in the back top of the tank. The flatworms seem to be of the species Convolutriloba retrogemma, at least they are most similar in appearance, it's very difficult to tell. Thanks, Aaron <Most such "flatworm" infestations are transitory, not real trouble... should just be ignored. Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/flatworms.htm and the linked files above. Bob Fenner> Hydroids to Flatworms Hi Guys, I have a cluster of little brown pom-pom like things in my reef. Using the Google search on your site, I found out that they are "a fairly common nuisance hydroid, Myrionema". My question was answered. <Good> While I was on the Hydrozoans FAQ page I noticed a posting titled "Stranded Hydroid! Yikes! 4/7/05". Your staff answered the question and identified the animal as a hydroid. I had similar things in my tank growing on a finger leather coral. It turned out to be some kind of flatworm. It had the same tentacles in the posted picture. The worm would release the tentacle into the current and pull it back repeatedly. <Strange, interesting... have not heard of, seen this offered re flatworm behavior ever> The worms are very clear, so they almost disappear when they are spread out over the surface of the coral which makes it seem that the tentacle is coming from the coral itself. <Good plan, eh?> I used Salifert Flatworm Exit in a bag of tank water and dipped the coral in it. After approximately 45 minutes the flatworm came off by creating a current in the bag with my finger. It was a clear, slightly cloudy flatworm. Even sitting on the bottom of the bag, it released the tentacle and pulled it back. The tentacle was a long single strand which had smaller lines coming off one side. I actually got a few of them using the dip. Each worm only had one strand - so if you see more than one - chances are that there are several worms. Great Site. <Thank you for this input. Will try to find the bit you reference and couple it with yours here> Dave Hyposalinity and flatworms Hey guys, <Hi there> had a quick question. I have a few frag tanks that have flatworms, these tanks do not have substrate, I don't like the idea of using chemicals, the flatworms are in the grates I use to hold the frags as well (the tanks are pretty large). I was wondering if I could blow the frags off, remove them, drain the tank, and fill it with freshwater to kill these blasted things. After an hour, I would drain it, rinse it, and refill with system saltwater and put the frags back, problem solved. But, I have heard that beneficial bacteria build up on surfaces, these would also be subject to death by hyposalinity, would I be looking at a potential Cyano outbreak if I did this? <Worth trying... and possible algal/Cyano troubles... have you already experimented with fish/crustacean predators here? Bob Fenner> Thanks for everything you guys do ID Flatworms 2/10/05 Thanks a lot for your time and for supplying an invaluable source for us reefers. <Always welcome> Now the groveling is out of the way I wonder if I could pick that wonderful marine brain of yours? My 50g reef has been set up 6wks and I have just started to add a few inverts, over the last week I have added 6 blue legged hermits, 1 red legged and 6 turbo snails, all seem very happy and active and are eating well, but as soon as I introduced the blues, while waiting for the first inhabitants of my reef to disperse. I noticed one of the blue legged isn't blue! <Arghhh... some rogue species do enter this way. Do be very careful> It is completely chalk white! After much searching over the net and through books- to no avail. <do look in Paul Humann's "Reef Creatures"> I came to the conclusion that this must be an albino! <Ahhh... well, hmmm. Just because you could not find a book that ID'ed the creature? Your pulling my leg, right? :)> But I have observed further and the white hermit has slightly different features, the right claw is about twice the size of the left one, and as the other crabs stroll around the white one sits in the sand with his shell buried at the front of the tank! he rarely walks far! he has shed once so I am assuming he is good and healthy- any ideas? <Many Diodenidae species> And is he reef safe? <Hard to say, but the large claw is a concern. Form Follows Function. That claw has a use/need> I do hope he will be ok, as I have gotten rather attached to the little guy! Also I have a few small, what appear to be sea slugs in the tank, they are about half the length of your little finger nail.. <Please do read, learn, and apply quarantine habits my friend. These risks and dangers will be eliminated> ...and just have that Nudibranch shape with the rounded head, and a kind of a lyre tail rear! <Chelidonura?> But after a bit of reading thought they might be flatworms! <Hmmm... similar general description, and preying on copepods if so, perhaps. A Small white variety that fits that descriptions is rather common in tanks> but cannot find reference to any flatworms (or anything similar) this colour- they are a kind of translucent white, sort of opaque- any ideas their? <Ah, yes... copepod eaters> And if they are a pest, any methods of removal or reef safe predators I can introduce? <They are harmless> Thanks a lot for your time, and the service you provide. Mark <Best of luck and life, Anthony> Flatworm control 2/10/05 Thank you for your swift reply, but I would just like to know a little more about these 100% water changes. Do you do this all at once? <Yes> I'm sure it wouldn't be too stressful as long as temperature and salinity were kept very close... <Correct> ...but I never thought it was a good idea to do such a large change at once. <Hmmm... do consider how many of our inverts come from intertidal region which get exposed to baking sun, rain, etc for many hours> Do you do multiple changes over the course of the week? <Once weekly mate> I am very interested. I rely on the water changes to maintain simplicity in my nanos, as I feel the salt mix provides most of the necessary elements so long as I am diligent with my changes. <Very much agreed :)> I am quite intrigued. Please enlighten me. Thank you, Chris <Kindly, Anthony> - Dealing with Flatworms - I have an aquarium store in Arizona. I specialize mainly in reef aquariums. I have a 300 gallon coral display tank with many LPS and softy corals for sale. I also have a 110 gallon clam display aquarium. I am noticing everyday more and more nuisance flatworm. I heard that Melafix will get rid of them, is this true. <I've never heard of this and would suggest, that if you're considering a chemical solution, to pursue the Salifert Flatworm Exit product. Have had many folks say this product does work very well and causes no problems for reef inhabitants. Make sure your skimmer is clean an you have a water change ready to go... when the flatworms exit, they really exit.> I want to get rid of them before they multiply to much and cover and kill my corals. Please respond back as soon as you can, Thank You, Matt All Aquatics allaquatics.net <Cheers, J -- > Acoel Flatworms 2/9/05 Sorry that I'm asking you about flatworms because I know the issue is covered well on your site. But, I think my case is kind of unique. I have a 12 gallon nano-cube which contains invertebrates but no fish and I do not plan on having fish. I recently finished cycling and have a couple of mushrooms, a small star polyp frag, and a couple others. I'm taking my time on this one. <Ah, good to hear> Sometime during the cycling however, I got a mega infestation of red brown flatworms and they're all over the glass, the rocks, etc. <Do try to prevent these from even entering the tank by strictly quarantining all new livestock in a bare-bottomed QT in advance> I understand they thrive in high nutrient levels (i.e. a cycling tank). My question is, since I can't add a mandarin or other fish which preys upon them, how should I rid myself of these buggers? <Strong water flow and large frequent water changes. I normally do weekly 100% water changes on my nano (have done so with small reefs for over ten years). Superb water quality, no supplements needed usually, fast coral growth, etc> I'm afraid to scrape the algae off my front glass because I don't want to kill any and pollute my water with their poisons. <Not that big of a deal. Use airline tubing for a slow siphon instead if you like> So basically I haven't been able to see my tank for a while, and I have no idea what to do with these things. I've been waiting patiently for them to naturally wane but it's not happening. Should I transfer the livestock to my other reef tank and then go through a week or so without lights to kill them? <It really is not likely to work> They have symbiotic algae do they not? Please help. Thank you SO much. Chris <No worries... one month of large weekly water changes while siphoning them out and strong water flow will do the trick. Anthony> Starting aquarium for Nudibranchs or flatworms 9/24/04 I have a fish only tanks for a number of years. I am now interested in starting a species specific tank for Nudibranchs or flatworms. any web sites, books, articles, recommendations would be helpful. thanks mark <hmmm... both are rather challenging. The Opisthobranchs for their oft-obligate diet on inconvenient (to us) prey... and flatworms for much of the same (largely predatory too). There are some great Nudibranchs that can be cultured though... temperate and tropical... carnivorous and herbivorous. Check out some the fine ID books at Behrens seachallengers.com... and be sure to visit the seaslugforum.com on the Web. I have an article on culturing Berghia Nudibranchs in the January issue of reefkeeping.com if it interests you. Best regards, Anthony>
Acoel flatworms - red/rust-brown "Planaria" 8/26/04 Your Book of Coral Propagation states that these aren't predators, <well... they are not predators on corals> however, One of my fish has been digging into the sand in my tank and has uncovered something, which on the glass looks exactly to the tip like http://www.wetwebmedia.com/WormPIX/FlatwormPIX/flatworm_city_id.JPG . <hmmm... the Acoel flatworms of notoriety do not live in substrates but rather live on them> My problem isn't the terrible infestation of them but rather my corals. I have 3 Colt Corals which have fallen very very ill (Barely pink color now, formerly orangish, hanging over on their rocks, flat on the reef) I think it is the Planaria because the corals have spots at the base of them that resemble the Planaria on the front glass/sand floor. <the only way these flatworms can be of any harm is if they live in great numbers upon the coral and physically shade the coral from light. You likely need to look for another culprit here> My question is, is there any way at all to save my corals, I wish I had a picture to better describe my problem. <the issue is much bugger here, I suspect. And even if the worms were to blame... they could have been avoided with a proper quarantine of all new livestock. Please do read up and practice this for all new acquisitions> They only seem to be attacking the colt corals. Mushroom corals around them are thriving, as well as Hermit crabs, fish, snails, etc. Thanks in advance for any assistance. <do consider a series of large water changes in the meantime (25% or greater... 2-3 times in the next 2 weeks) to stimulate the coral and dilute possible water quality issues. Best of luck, Anthony> Flatworm Treatment for a Refugium? Hi gang: << Hi there. >> In my fishless refugium, I'm currently marveling at the reproductive powers of the rust red planarian. I've read the usual suggestions about predators (mandarin gobies, dragon wrasses, leopard wrasses). And upping the flow isn't an option because I'd either chop the fauna to bits with a powerhead... or run the 'current' through the tank too quickly for the little critters to reproduce with a more powerful return pump. Ideally I'm hoping to find is something which would go for the planarians while being either uninterested-in or incapable-of catching the amphipods and copepods that are the refugiums reason-for-being. << Well that is tough. >> Can you think of any kind of 'magic bullet' in terms of an crab/shrimp/crustacean (even if it's a generally non-reef safe creature like an arrow crab) that might work in this segregated area? I'm even willing to try a 'best guess' and report back on the results. . . << In that case. Cut the lights for about 4 days. Your algae won't like it, but will recover. The Planaria on the other hand... the really don't like it. Otherwise I too would recommend a wrasse. >> Chuck << Blundell >> Flatworms Exit stage left Hi all! Just finished a round with flatworms and Exit which seemed to work pretty good. My tank was severely infested with them, to the point that the sand on the bottom was turning red ( had the red flatworms, worst of all). I tried everything else but wasn't making a dent in the population so I had to go the chemical route. Just have a couple questions. I followed the directions on the exit to a T. I even purchased a Marineland Magnum 350 and used it as a vacuum to clean the critters out after they started dying and did a 25% water change. All reef inhabitants seem to be doing fine except the anemone (seems hung over). I still see some worms crawling around so I was wondering if I should do a second treatment before the live ones start reproducing again? << This is iffy, and I would say don't treat the tank until you have reason to. So, I say wait. >> And, if I do, how long should I wait before doing another treatment? Second, I noticed another critter crawling on the glass during the first treatment. The best I can describe it is that it was white/clear, about the same length as the flatworms and had many feet and antennae on both ends, almost resembling a centipede. Is this some sort of plankton? I couldn't readily find anything in the forums. << Hard to say, but I'll bet it is beneficial. >> Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. James << Blundell >> Flatworm solution I was interested to see if
you or any of your readers have used a new product for flatworms called
PraziPro. It is distributed by Hikari. I have not applied it yet, as I
would like to hear from anyone that may have used it in a reef system.
<< I have not used it, but I'm not a fan of medications
anyway. >> I have a 180 gal. reef with soft corals, leathers,
etc. that I have had for a while (2 yrs.) and would hate to see any
harm done to them. << If you have a flatworm problem, I would
suggest other remedies such as wrasse and water motion. I wouldn't
chance any product that is aimed to kill flatworms. >> Thank you,
<< Adam B. >> Pest control-flatworms and the like Hi, I have a 72 gal saltwater FOWLR set up. It is 6 months old and doing good, except for a few things. One is I had an unbelievable abundance of amphipods a few months ago. It looked like the entire sand bed and the live rock was constantly moving, their were so many. And then came the flatworms. They are the little white ones, round at the head and then taper back into two little "legs". These things multiplied and grew and now I have hundreds of flatworms and no amphipods. You could see the worms eating the pods, so I'm sure they definitely had something to do with it. The only fish I have are one ocellaris clown and a longhorn cow. And yes, I will be getting a bigger tank when the cow grows up, but right now, he's only three inches long. My concern is, I had planned on getting a good amount of pods, to hopefully be able to add a mandarin to the tank. I have been reading that mandarin's have no interest in flatworms. << I don't agree with that. In fact I have a hard time advising anyone to buy a mandarin, but sometimes do advise this when they are battling flatworms (Planaria). However, there are better fish to control flatworms, which I'll get to. >> Too bad. I am interested right now though, in finding a "peaceful" predator to naturally eradicate these alien creatures from my tank. Any ideas would help. << Okay, I recommend a wrasse. Some people find good luck with six line wrasse, or a dragon wrasse. I haven't personally tried either of those, but did have success in my tank using a Puddingwife wrasse. Another option (as hard as this is to believe) is that many people have reported success using the common yellow tailed blue damsel. >> I have also a question concerning those little "internal refugiums" that can be suctioned to the inside of your tank. Would one of those be suitable to help sustain an amphipod reserve for a future mandarin? << Absolutely. Any type of refugium would be of help. I of course would recommend a large sump type of refugium, but any refugium would help. >> Also, I have recently noticed tiny little worms crawling up the side of my tank. They are about an inch long and so thin they look like a scratch in the tank until they start moving. They also tend to curl up their tails and in defense, will curl into a little ball. I had a Bristleworm when I first got this tank, but that was about 6 inches long and very fat. Do you have any ideas what these may be? Are they harmful, and do they have any natural predators as well? << I don't know what they are, but I certainly wouldn't worry about them. If something eats them, fine, if not, fine. I wouldn't look for a predator because as your tank matures everything will take care of itself. >> Hopefully you can help. Thanks again for the info. << Adam Blundell >> Mushroom Questions Dear Anthony, Thanks a ton, looked up your
book "reef invertebrates" as well that I had purchased some
time ago. I had a Mandarin fish for about 2 years in my tank but it
died when I moved home, I was a problem transporting fish I had to hold
all the corals and fish in tubs for a night an there was a metal leach
in one of them which killed all the corals overnight and that took all
the fish too in that one, which included the Mandarin. << Sad to
hear. >> I may consider a Mandarin if the skimming does not work.
<< Something to consider, but I still recommend wrasse first.
>> I am worried because I have a lot of leathers and Xenia in my
tank. I do not want the flats to spread to them as well. << Yes
flatworms can be quite troublesome. Try cutting the light for 3 days.
Yes, cut the light for three days. The corals will be fine with that,
and it can really help to rid flatworms. >> Kind Regards, Bruce
<< Adam Blundell >> Blasting Flatworms (5/23/04) Hey Guys, I thought you might like to hear about a discovery I made. I have had a flat worm problem for about 3 mos. I didn't want to use chemicals and the protein skimming wasn't cutting it. I read in your book about water flow so I added 2 cheap power heads and everyday after work I blasted them with a turkey baster, in the last 3 days they have been reduced significantly. It also gives me a little, OK a lot, of pleasure to see them flying off! Valerie <Thanks for sharing. Good to hear that a chemical-free approach is working for you. We'll post for the edification of others. Steve Allen.> Ridding Acoel flatworms 4/8/04 I was wondering if you might be able to help me rid of my on going flatworm problem; I've noticed Acoel flatworms in my tank for over 3 months now, and well they're becoming more of a problem. <no worries... they wax and wane (in great numbers albeit at times) on their own naturally. Still... improved water flow and more aggressive skimming help this along. Their control is documented in our archives if you care to browse/read more> I believe they are laying eggs of some sort in mass numbers all over my glass, and I'm ready to take action against these annoying creatures. <no egg laying by Acoels my friend... simple fission> I'm sending along a picture of what the eggs look like that I drew on MS paint, hopefully you'll get the point.. lol. <excellent drawing... and the eggs sound like clearly something else... perhaps Cnidarian larvae of some kind. Do you also have an Aiptasia anemone bloom in the tank? That would explain the buds/"eggs" on the glass and be consistent with a suspected nutrient or water flow problem in the tank that has allowed/supported the flatworms> I plan on using Salifert Flatworm Exit soon. <yikes! Please do resist using any such chemical in the reef aquarium. You must know that such products are not discriminating between desirable and undesirable micro-organisms. And beyond perhaps crippling your bio-diversity, you are in fact treating a symptom and not the problem: not enough or not the right kind of water flow... 20X turnover would be nice> For a little description of the egg; They have a bunch of little arms that move with the water kind of like an anemone. <may well be... kind regards, Anthony> Tank not able to support coral life 3/4/04 Good morning, I will try to keep this short and thank you in advance for your assistance. <Good morning Paul. Adam here, glad to be of assistance.> Background My 120 gallon reef tank ran for a few years with success, supporting softies, LPSs, SPS, bugs, fish etc. until a dreaded flatworm crash that killed just about my entire tank. Unfortunately, I did not have a skimmer that was able to deal with the toxins from the millions of dying flatworms and consequential events. <Was this crash incidental or induced (Oomed, Flatworm exit, quinine drugs)? If it was induced, you have the combined issue of the flatworm toxins, the rotting flesh and the medication. This can be quite a stressful combination! Powerful skimming, water changes and carbon can help ameliorate these problems.> So, I tore down the tank treated everything with Melafix and set it up again - that was about 8 months ago. New sand and water but same live rock (if I can still call it "live"). I did not get a new skimmer at that time - BIG mistake. My tank has run for the 8 months being able to support only fish with little evidence of life otherwise. I would buy snails, a frag or two, bugs, and everything would die. Algae everywhere (hair and Cyano), despite my attempts at growing macros, poly filters, etc. <Why Melafix? This is an "herbal" (read: questionable) treatment for fish disease, and my impression is that it is really only meant for FW. Your ongoing problems probably have many causes. Lack of good skimming may be contributing, but you probably also did significant damage to the life on your rock.> Today I have a new LifeReef skimmer that has been up and running for about 6 weeks. Since then, I have seen dramatic improvement - worms, virtually eliminated the Cyano, great reduction in algae, and even some zoos I didn't know I had are coming back. My parameters are (Salifert): 1025 salinity, 8.2-8.4 ph, 10 DKH, 78 temp, phosphates undetectable, nitrates undetectable, calcium 300. I am working on getting my calcium up. Lighting consists of two 175 watt 14K halides with two 96 watt actinics. My circulation is via sea swirl and closed loop. <The skimmer is a nice addition, and it sounds like a nice set-up. It is a good sign that things are recovering.> Problem/Question I purchased a few frags on Saturday (Acros, Hydno, cap, torch, xenia, zoos). As of this morning I have lost the Acros, cap. The Hydno and torch do not look good. The zoos look fine. With the exception of my calcium, my parameters seem good. Can you tell me, is it possible that I have left over effects from the whole flatworm thing? The Melafix?, Can their be some pathogens or bacterial problems? Toxins? <Could be some combination of all of the above. You have moved right into some of the most finicky corals. Acros, torch, Hydnophora and xenia are all very sensitive to a wide variety of water quality issues. Zoanthids (zoo's is an improper contraction... If anything "Zo's" would be less confusing with Zooxanthellae which begins "zoo". Sorry for the pet peeve rant.). You can rule out pathogens. Coral pathogens are extremely rare, selective in what they infect and generally opportunistic on already stressed animals. Toxins are a possibility and could be from your previous treatments or the flatworms.> At this point I am very frustrated and confused. Would a UV sterilizer help? Thanks again and sorry for the length but I figured you needed to understand the whole story. <No worries about the length, the more details, the more likely we will find a solution. UV will not help since this is not a pathogen. The lack of life shows that at very least your tank has to be built back to "maturity". It could take a long time to accomplish this since most of the life was killed off. You may be best served by replacing all or at least a large portion of your rock to get back on track.> Paul <Best Regards. Adam>
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