what the he!! are these?!?!

[Doc]

I have noticed that these things are spreading all over my rocks and sand. Any idea what they are?

They are almost square. they are brownish / reddish and they are pissing me off. Also, ideas about getting rid of them. Thanks in advance.

-Doc

 

[Bifferwine]

Wow, what wonderfully focused pics you have provided us to ensure that this ID goes as easily and as smoothly as possible!!!

:D

But seriously, I can't tell from your pics. If I had to guess I'd say flatworms.

 

[yote]

Those my friend are know as flat worms,and you got one hell of population of em.
I would say to use some flat worm exit,but with many,it would kill everything in your tank.
Some my advice is to try to find a wrasse that will eat them.Something along the lines of a coris wrasse.It'd also be a good idea to siphon out as many of em as you can.Cause when they die,they release toxins.

 

[Bifferwine]

How on earth did you let it get that bad???

Yote is right that certain wrasses will eat them, but with how many you've got in there, you'd need a school of wrasses. I think it's just too much for one fish to handle. Maybe a combination of flatworm exit, manual removal and a wrasse.

 

[yote]

Go with manual removal first.like I posted up top,they release toxins when they die.That many dying at once will probably kill everything you got in the tank.

 

[Doc]

hmmm. How to respond.... Oh yeah... Shit!

I gave never seen a flat worm before and never had an outbreak. Thanks foe the ID. I guess I will start siphoning them out to start. Dammit

-doc

 

[daugherty]

sixlines eat them i think

 

[Bifferwine]

Sixlines and mandarins may eat them, but not all individuals do. Many of the other wrasses may also.

 

[Piggy]

I would not get a six line mine does not eat them. I had them really bad like you. I suctioned mine out for weeks. I finally ended up using flatworm exit. Before I did I suctioned out as many as I could. So I followed the directions. They said it takes up to a half hour to start to dye but mine started as soon as I put it in. You could see them comming out of the LR from all directions. I started suctioning them out and put charcoal in. I had so many that they were floating all over hanging by strings like. I was freaking because they were dying faster then I could get them out. To make a long story short. All my coals and fish made it withno problem. I did retreat my tank a second time to get any that got away but got none. I haven't seen any since. So if I do I'm going to treat my tank right away. I took it as a lesson learned.

 

[Alexander]

so here is my question. if doc never had a problem with it before, why the outbreak. how did they just explode out of nowhere?

 

[RyanG]

The shark shat them out? Maybe

 

[yote]

Flat worm populations depend on their food source.The more nutrients they have,the more they breed.

 

[Alexander]

boy doc wouldnt have any nutrients with a shark in there :)

 

[Doc]

the flatworms are in the reef tank. The reason they got so bad was that I didnt know what they were. I just assumed they were a weird algae. I figured they would just go away. Oops

-Doc