Flat worm... Help !!!

Piratefish

Piratefish

SPS Freak
:pooh: I got flat worm. Only seen 4 or 5 I have ordered flatworm exit. I just want some in put cause I have read here a lot of people have had this problem lately. I have water mixed up and ready, also have carbon on hand. Q how much should I use and should it go in the sump or the tank? Kill Kill Kill:death::death::death: the little bastards:grumble:

Any tips from the pros would be great.
 
Follow the directions in the package exactly. I believe it is one drop per gallon, but could be wrong.

I dont believe it matters where you add the FWExit. But I turned off my skimmer when I dosed it, just to make sure that it didnt pull any of the meds out. But I then ran it after doing the water change to help remove any organic toxics that the flat worms released.
 
I put the FE right by a powerhead, so that it would get blown all around the tank. As Biff said, they don't eat corals, but they reproduce like crazy, then smother everything. You're lucky you caught them before they got out of control.
 
At first I thought they were algae specks then I saw them move. There are only 4 or 5 that I have seen and I sucked them out. How much carbon should I put in a sock? And should it go in the tank or the sump? And should I turn off my algae scrubber?
 
Good luck with these suckers! I've had them ever since I've purchased and moved my 125 gallon reef. I've tried two separate dosings, both of which killed every visible flatworm, but twice they've come back!
 
Well I did it! I followed the directions on the box. I was really nervous. The funny thing is I didn't see many dead flatworms. I blew off all the rocks then added the drops 40 of them and waited nothing really happened so I added some more as directed. I did do a 15g water change after waiting the prescribed amount of time and add 2 lbs of carbon to the sump. Everyone is happy and things look good today:^:
 
Hopefully they're gone for good. I'd reccomend doing another dose in a week, even if you don't see any. I'm going to dose again today as I've got hundreds in my tank now. I'll then dose again in a week and hopefully they'll be gone for good. The flatworm exit works well, but it's not cheap! (I'm sure Salifert needs to make money on a rather niche product, therefore, I will fully support the product and the price. I can't imagine dealing with flatworms without it!)
 
The good thing is that it requires such a little amount to treat the tank. I used mine three times in my tank and then smitty used it in his tank. I still have over half the bottle left. I think it is well worth the price.
 
The directions said 4 drops for every 5 gal. I used 40 drops. Then added another 10 after 45 min. I guess I did not have very many in my tank. I did siphon out the 5 or 6 I saw before dosing.
 
Here's my weird flatworm story: What I had was definitely flatworms but they were not out of control. Got FlatwormXit and accidentally -way- overdosed the stuff. Did 50% water change. The next day they are still there. Overdosed my tank again with FlatwormXit, did the water change. Did three treatments in all and they are still there !
I talked to somebody knowledgeable and he said many flatworm species are benign meaning they are harmless. A week after the last treatment they are still around but not spreading and a month later they are just gone and they never came back and that was summer before last! But maybe in your case its better to be safe then sorry.
 
sen5241b said:
Here's my weird flatworm story: What I had was definitely flatworms but they were not out of control. Got FlatwormXit and accidentally -way- overdosed the stuff. Did 50% water change. The next day they are still there. Overdosed my tank again with FlatwormXit, did the water change. Did three treatments in all and they are still there !
I talked to somebody knowledgeable and he said many flatworm species are benign meaning they are harmless. A week after the last treatment they are still around but not spreading and a month later they are just gone and they never came back and that was summer before last! But maybe in your case its better to be safe then sorry.
Click to expand...

Yes many are benign as in they arent parasitic, but they problem lies in that they release toxins when they die and can over run a tank and block light from corals. SOme have built up a tolerance to Flatworm Exit. You got lucky in that they disapeared. For many people, they just reproduce and are a pest.
 
So I learned a tough lesson. I have bought several corals from people shutting down their tanks and did not dip them before putting them in my tank. Also that is why I am fighting aiptasia as well, they are not a problem but I am killing them as soon as I see them. Just one or two here and there. Peppermint shrimp are lazy.
School of hard knocks.
 
Peps are hit or miss on apstasia so you need plenty to go around. Plus if you are feeding often, they will eat what they scavange and might not be hungry for the apstasia.
 
Piratefish said:
Peppermint shrimp are lazy.
School of hard knocks.
Click to expand...

It's true. I bought a coral of a guy tearing down his tank a few months ago, and he had an aiptasia farm! The aiptasia was the reason he was getting rid of everything, it was the worst case I've ever seen!!

Since I was preparing for an outbreak on my coral, I kept it on the sandbed, away from everything else for a couple months or so, zapping any aiptasia with Aiptasia X as soon as they'd pop up. In the first week, I had killed 60+ of them off of the one baseball sized rock!! After a couple weeks within nothing new showing up, I moved them into their permanent locations in my tank, and bought half a dozen peppermints just for that area -- plopped them right down on that softball sized rock!

Of course, all the peppermints have long since taken up residence in the completely opposite side of the tank, and I have to continue to kill the Aiptasia on that one rock by hand every couple weeks. :grumble:
 

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