Flatworms

[sen5241b]

Yesterday I noticed these little rust brown/red worms that look like flatworms. I've seen no more than a half dozen so far. They are very tiny and too small to photograph with my 9 megapixel camera. I need a magnifying glass to really see their shape. This rough sketch shows their shape and color (actually a lighter brownish red). Any chance they are something else?

There are very few of them but they seem to be increasing. I have not seen any on corals,

Should I do flatworm exit now before they get worse? Some people have said their fish keep them under control. Also what else does FlatwormXit kill, other worms? I'm thinking if I see any increase beyond the half dozen I've seen now then I'll go for flatwormXit.

 

[Bifferwine]

You should definitely do it now. Yes, some fish will take care of them, but if you have enough that you're starting to see them, then your fish are not doing the job. If you let them go, they could wipe out your tank.

 

[dcantucson]

Very interesting conceptual drawing Sen. Was kinda scared at first. :shock: :lol:

 

[yote]

+1 Biff
Not all fish will eat flatworms.
But if your seeing em,nows the time to treat em.

 

[Reefrookie]

Looks like Red Planaria. I treated my tank twice and eventually got them under enough control till my 6 line took over control

 

[sen5241b]

Looks like Red Planaria. I treated my tank twice and eventually got them under enough control till my 6 line took over control

Interesting. My 6line died a month ago and now the flatworms. I have a lot of other interesting worms, featherdusters in my tank. Will FlatwormExit kill other stuff?

I'm going to try to do it this week. I figure with so few flatworms at this time and following the treatment with a 40% water change, toxins should not be a big problem.

 

[yote]

The flatworm exit shouldnt bother anything else.

 

[ltljoker]

looks kinda like the mysterious :pooh: worm

 

[sen5241b]

Very interesting conceptual drawing Sen. Was kinda scared at first. :shock: :lol:

You thought the drawing was .... You got a one track mind! :lol:

 

[d2mini]

All this stuff that looks like reddish brown algae in my tank was flatworms. Took at least two treatment to get rid of them. The first was the worst because as soon as the drops were put in the tank, thousands of them started dying and floating into the water. Siphoned out what I could but it was nearly impossible to get most of them. Everything made it though. Except for that star. I had just gotten him, too.

 

[winyfrog]

make sure you use flatworm exit from salifert. I have tried a few different brands and this is the one.!!

my sixline doesn't like to eat them :(

 

[d2mini]

LOL, ya as you can see my sixline was completely ignoring them too!

Flatworm exit is the stuff. It was instant flatworm holocaust in my tank. :shock:

 

[dcantucson]

Wow! Wouldn't that be great if they had something like that for aiptasia!

 

[winyfrog]

or for majano anemones...

 

[Melosu58]

Read this

Melevsreef.com - Flatworms | How to eliminate them!

 

[Reefrookie]

Interesting. Will FlatwormExit kill other stuff?

You will have a LOT more flatworms in your tank than you can think. When you use Flatworm Exit you will see what I'm talking about. Follow the directions very carefully and you should solve the problem if you are just starting to get an outbreak of worms. The first time I treated my tank I thought I solved the problem,only to see them back again in a two week period. The second treatment I increased the dose and they went away. I seen very few and the wrasse took care of them.
The only thing that I noticed with treatment was everything looked washed out and tired looking for about a week. That includes corals and fish. My dusters really looked like ---- also. I didn't loose anything , but I also ran more carbon than recommended.

GOOD LUCK

 

[sen5241b]

What is going on?!
So I put the stuff (FlatwormXit) in the tank ($31 for one very small bottle). For the next half hour I really don't see many flatworms at all. It looks like just a few are dead but there are still a good number crawling on the glass. As per the directions, "if after 45 mins you still see some alive then add 50% more" of the stuff. Twenty mins later they are still some alive so I go to add just a little bit more but I accidentally squirt a ton of the stuff into the tank. I'd guess I put a total of 5x the sugggested amount in. The worms are still crawling on the glass! After treatment most people report seeing a huge amount of dead worms and having to siphon them out. During the hour or so of treatment I never saw many of them at all. (Also, never at any time before or after treatment did I see them on my corals.) I proceeded with a 40% water change, put a new chemipure in and some Phosgaurd. I checked all fish and corals the next morning and they look healthy and unfazed.

What is going on? Do I have something that looks like flatworms but isn't? I read several forums on FlatwormeXit and never heard anyone say it didn't kill the flatworms. I'm going to to try to get a pic of them if possible but they are very tiny. Without a magnifying glass you can barely make out there color and shape.

I found a pic that matches what I have except mine are a brownish-rust-red color.

 

[yote]

That kinda looks like a chiton.I dont think it is,but it dont really look like a flatworm either.

 

[ccCapt]

Where you running your skimmer while doing the treatments? Did you have any carbon or any other kind of chemical media running?

 

[sen5241b]

Where you running your skimmer while doing the treatments? Did you have any carbon or any other kind of chemical media running?

Good question.

I took the carbon out during the treatment and although my cheapo $35 skimmer was running, I had removed the cup so I assume nothing was actually skimmed out. I can't believe any flatworm could have survived the amount of flatwormeXit I put in there.