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View Full Version : Give me some advice on flatworms!


dburr
06/19/2003, 09:21 PM
I guess it was unadvoidable. But, I now have them. I think.
Redish to brown small jelly looking things.

The good part is that they SEEM to be contained in a 10 gallon tank with my SPS corals. I forgot (oops) to dip some corals from the last meeting. (I know some of you guys had them) It may be I had them all along and not noticed. But I still don't see any with the LPS and softies tank.

My 90 gallon tank is cycleing so I have a few days to try and get rid of them and transfer everything over.

Do I dip all the SPS in loguls solution? If so, how much and how long? What can I do with live LR that has the worms? Dip also? Sacrafice the rocks and dip them in freash water?
:eek2:
Any other ideas? Is it just a waste of time to even try to get them out?

Help, Dan

Mickey
06/19/2003, 09:22 PM
Get a hold of some Flatworm Exit which I think is made by Salifert. You can do a search on this board as a number of people have used it mostly with good results.

Good luck!

Mickey

dburr
06/19/2003, 09:24 PM
thanks Mickey

pncstod
06/19/2003, 10:56 PM
I was just reading a thread on yellow coris wrasses and it mentioned them as flatworm control.

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=203446

bdr127
06/19/2003, 11:33 PM
Here's a recent thread in the BRS forum about natural flatworm control:

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=203892

Bruce
06/20/2003, 09:41 AM
Hi Dan,

I would try to start flatworm free if I could. It will only get harder / riskier to remove them later. The biological controls are hit or miss (mostly miss) and the chemical control seems pretty risky too, but now would be a good time to try.


Good luck and let us know how it works out.


Bruce

bdr127
06/20/2003, 09:45 AM
I recently checked out a certain LFS in the area and was shocked at the infestation of the dreaded red flatworms in their coral tanks....

Just a word of warning, in general -- Before you buy/trade/sell anything, make sure you know if flatworms are involved. They are a real b1tch. ;)

minh_han
06/20/2003, 09:45 AM
Dan, you could try each rock in Lugols soln, or use the flatworm exit. There ahve been mixed results with both. I happen to have both, and I could bring it to the meeting for you if you'd like. I have a good bit of the Lugols, and a small bottle of the flatworm exit (expensive for such a small dropper full) that you could borrow.

pncstod
06/20/2003, 08:29 PM
Originally posted by bdr127
I recently checked out a certain LFS in the area and was shocked at the infestation of the dreaded red flatworms in their coral tanks....

I think I know the LFS you are talking about.............:smokin:

dburr
06/20/2003, 09:39 PM
I have lugols solution. How would I use that for a rock dip?

I looked for flatworm exit but couldn't find any. Is their a LFS that has it?

boomtown
06/20/2003, 10:01 PM
Flatworms are inevitable. There's no way you can ensure that you'll never get them. They come in on corals, rock, macro algaes, anything at all. They pose no threat except to aesthetics and usually end up fading in time just as suddenly as they appeared.

Due to the size of your tank, biological means are pretty much out since the tank is too small for active fish like wrasses. You might be able to get away with a 6 line but I think the tank is much too small.

HTH

minh_han
06/21/2003, 07:09 AM
Boomtown, from what I've read, red flatworms can be more than just a nuiscance. Their toxins when released at death can kill a tank.

Dan, I don't remember the dose for lugols for dipping, but I know it's been posted. In fact a person posted that in response to one of my questions. Also, I can bring my flatworm exit for you if you'd like. It was really hard to find online, and I couldn't find nearby LFS's that caried it. YOu could put a drop or two into frags that you receive at the meeting, and maybe take some with you for the tank. I also have greenex if you need some of that.

Oh, and I have some extra bottles of Potassium Iodide (KI) that I can sell at cost at the next meeting, if anyone wants some. It's supposed to help things like xenia grow well.

eifert
06/21/2003, 09:31 AM
what store has them? I'd like to stop by and see what they look like... I wonder if they would be suprised if I tried to buy some!

-Steve

Mickey
06/21/2003, 11:49 AM
Dan:

You can get Flatworm Exit at www.fishsupply.com for $13.99. I suggest you read the post by Flame*Angel on her experience.

If you only have a few it may not be worth it. The treatment will likely kill small brittle stars but most others things should be okay.

Be sure to have lots of carbon on hand and start running it 30 minutes or so after you treat the tank. Also, siphon off as many flatworms as you can before treatment and after treatment when they start floating in the water.

Good luck.
Mickey

boomtown
06/21/2003, 02:31 PM
Their toxins when released at death can kill a tank.

Exactly! And causing a mass death at one time is just what you are doing with chemicals. Why do you think they say you need to do a water change immediately after using the stuff?

Again, flatworms cause no harm except to the looks of the tank. When they die they do release a chemical and if enough of them die at the same time it ould cause harm. But, if you're just leaving them to rise and fall on their own and something happens that suddenly makes them all die at once, I think you have bigger problems to worry about since whatever made them all die at once is probably doing the same to your corals.

On another note, I just realized just how tiny a ten gallon tank is. There's no reason why the original poster couldn't just siphon them out. Do it a few times in a row and I bet you get the vast majority of them. You don't even have to change the water. Just siphon them off with some pantyhose on the end of the tube and collect the water in a bucket that just dump back in, although a water change never hurts.

Good luck.

Bruce
06/21/2003, 03:29 PM
Originally posted by boomtown

Again, flatworms cause no harm except to the looks of the tank.


But aren't we mostly (only) interested in the look of the tank?:mixed:

Flatworms can be a plague in some tanks. I don't know if it is a certain species of flatworm or the conditions in the tank that allow it to occur. In plague situations, the worms make the tank an eye-sore to the owner. If I were in that situation, and had exhausted other possibilities, I would go ahead and "nuke" the tank. It's not like I was enjoying it anyhow.

My personal experience is more along the lines of JP, I mean Boomtown's. I can live with them. When the flatworms in my tanks are starting to cover the mushrooms a bit too much, it's time for the siphon / water change.

Bruce

minh_han
06/21/2003, 04:18 PM
I also understand that there are different types of flatworms, and only a few of them are more than a nuiscance. The rust colored flatworms are the worst of them I understand. Apparently they can also grow to such an extent that they smother corals and other things. Knock on wood, I have only seen one red flatworm in my tank in the 5 months that it's been running. I have had some of the white/translucent flatworms, but they have never been a problem. And actually, I haven't even seen those for the past month or so.

By the way, boomtown, can you bring that rock of pink zoos to the meeting? I'll pay you there.

dburr
06/21/2003, 05:06 PM
OK, some of you don't understand.
I had a 100 gallon tank that I broke down. My 90 is cycling and I have 2 tanks running. A 55 gallon which has my fish, softies and LPS. My 10 gallon has just my SPS. I can not for the life of me see ANY flatworms in the 55.

So, I tried Lugol's in a cup with flatworms I siphoned out of the tank and it seemed to kill them.

The bottle says 40 drops per gallon of tank water. I thinking of mixing up a batch in a bucket, drip the corals and the 2 big rocks there on and puting them back in the 10 gallon. (I will make sure none are in the empty tank before I put them back in). After a few hours I can do a 30-50% water change.

Sound good?

Dan

Mickey
06/21/2003, 07:16 PM
If you are sure they are confined to one or two rocks and/or corals and none are hiding in or on the sand then treating in a bucket may work. In that case I suggest using 150-200% of the dose in the bucket. It will take 15-20 minutes to work and you will see all the flatworms start moving around. As they die they will float free in the water and you can siphon them out. then if you rinse the rock and/or corals in another clean bucket with fresh water you can probably put them back in the tank. Sometimes you may need another dose, depends on how tough your flatworms are.

I do agree with Boomtown however, if there aren't too many leave them alone. Of course if you move things back to a larger tank the populations may explode, but then again they may not. This treatment should be a last resort.

Mickey

Mickey
06/21/2003, 07:18 PM
Sorry I got confused. One of those "senior" moments.

Mickey

dburr
06/21/2003, 10:40 PM
I think it'll work. Tommorow:D

Thanks everyone!:cool: