It looks like i must have picked up some flatworms along my travels! ::hitsthefan:: If anyone has any suggestions on what to do that would be great. Should i even be concerned? Right now all my corals still look great and everything appears as normal. I have heard that they can go crazy and grow to great numbers and that is when they become a problem. I have seen some chemical treatments out there that claim to be reef safe. I also know that a sixline wrasse which i have is supposed to eat them. Any and all comments would be appreciated. :SURRENDER
You can try taking a piece of airline tubing and try getting out as many as you can with suction into a small container, this way you don’t remove too much water while removing them.
That is a good idea. I will try to manually remove as many of them as i can. I don’t really see alot of them but i know that looks can be deceiving sometimes. I have a number of monti plates and i don’t see any flatworms on the underside of them on the actual coral. Are flatworms something that are a definite doom and gloom or does it depend on the tank? I only see about 20 or so of them? My tank has alot more pods than flatworms or so it appears. Thanks
Matt, I don’t know anything about parasites, but I have heard that flat worm or red bugs can and do multiply very quickly. I’m sure someone will jump in here and give you some guidance. Meanwhile do research on the net. Sorry wish I can be more of help.
what do these flatworms look like?
They look like the pac man ghosts! Haha almost at least and they are like a transparent redish brown.
Matt, check out the link from our website, it might help.
http://delreefclub.org/index.php?option=com_weblinks&catid=52&Itemid=23
Thanks A. I will check these links out!
good luck i have seen the clear ones occasionally
Matt, i think you are overreacting. Unless you have a specific Acropora Sp. eating flat worm, that leaves and breeds on acropora, there is nothing to worry about. Flat worm blooms are normal occurrence in healthy reef tank and there is nothing to worry about.
I don’t think they are the the acro eating kind. Everything looks fine. If they are a normal part of healthy reef then i guess that is a good thing! Thanks very much for your input!
As long as there not acro eating flat worms your ok however make sure you keep tight tabs on them they can get way out of control very quickly and still suffocate SPS and other corals.
There are multiple types that occur in the reef tank and most are ok in moderation. Usually acro eating flat worms are not the easiest to see and you will usually see the coral start to deteriorate first.
Myself I treat for them if I see them, so they don’t get out of control and take over.
Bill how do you treat the worms when you see them? On the other hand, if i am understanding everyone correctly the kind of flatworms that i see in my tank are fine as long as they don’t mutiply out of control? Just want to clarify and then put the issue to bed. Thanks!
I'll start by sucking out as many as possible with a water change and then add flat worm exit. I've had them a couple times but never in my main system only in the frag tank.
That treatment works real well as long as you follow the directions.[quote=“mortyn02, post:13, topic:4570”]
Bill how do you treat the worms when you see them? On the other hand, if i am understanding everyone correctly the kind of flatworms that i see in my tank are fine as long as they don’t mutiply out of control? Just want to clarify and then put the issue to bed. Thanks![/quote]
i had about a hundred, usually concentrated in my overflows. jon gordon, gordonious, and a couple other members said reduce feeding.i did. no more are there. did nothing else. the pacman description is excellent
i had them too(the pac man ones), did not harm anything but my single fish i had in there died, so i stopped feeding the tank and now they are all gone.
[quote=“Rosti, post:10, topic:4570”]
Matt, i think you are overreacting. Unless you have a specific Acropora Sp. eating flat worm, that leaves and breeds on acropora, there is nothing to worry about. Flat worm blooms are normal occurrence in healthy reef tank and there is nothing to worry about.[/quote]
Yuuup… +1
except for over-reacting… there’s some scary critters out there :
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