flatworm I.D. help

sirrus6 · #1 03/04/2007, 10:37 AM

Are these flatworms of the acropora eating variety?

Both photos below were taken of FW's on the glass (Nikon D80, 105mm Macro lens, manual focus). The second image has a millimeter-scale ruler superimposed.

Some info:

1) These FW's appear in my frag tank, but I cannot see any in my main tank, despite the fact that all of the frags came from the main tank. Some fish in the main tank: mandrin, mystery wrasse, peppermint wrasse.

2) The FW's appear to congregate on the glass and also on the eggcrate.

3) I can find no FW's on the corals (acropora and montipora), or the coral plugs (10x magnifying glass inspection). There are no "bite marks" on the acros, and they have normal polyp extension.

4) My frag tank is actually three interconnected 10G tanks with continual water flow circulating among them. The lighting is different for each tank. The tank lit by T5's has the most FW's by far. The tank lit by 10K MH (175 W) has some FW's, and the tank illuminated by 20K MH (175 W) has very few FW's.

Thanks

Ken

wentreefgirl · #2 03/04/2007, 10:50 AM

Those are red planaria. Not acgro eating. Flat worm exit will take care of them.

Dog boy Dave · #3 03/04/2007, 10:57 AM

It is hard to tell the variety by looking at the flatworms. There are thousands of different types of planaria. But, usually the flatworms on your glass are not harmful. You will not see the flatworms on your corals until after you see the symtoms of their presense. The most odvious will be the coral flesh will have a distinct blotchiness to it. You will know that the color isnt right the first time you see it. If you do a search there are some very good pictures posted that show the discoloration. Many wrasses eat flat worms. Hense they are a good way to eleminate the type that live on the rocks and the glass. Many wrasses will also eat the acro eating flatworms but the will not eliminate them as there are too many crevises and the aefw are so darn hard to see. Doesnt sound like you have anything to worry about yet. But trust me, (no body listens to this as they refuse to learn from my mistakes) if you dont quarantine your corals when you trade you will get them eventually.
Happy Reefing
DBD