so after about two years of avoiding pest, the time of tribulation has come, first i fought zoo-eating nudibranchs; hot water dips do the trick so well, i promise. but now i have stupid red flatworms, planaria, jerks. So ive discovered that basically you either wait for them to wane (not looking likely), increase current ( i added another powerhead to no avail) get a nudibranch that eats them, or use medication. My tank is 30 gallons and heavily skimmed everything else is a-ok. any opinions, experiences welcome. thank you.
ahhhhh...flatworms
- Thread starter alans22
- Start date
AllenFord_SC
New member
Sound s like you have all the info you need! The nudibranch is a good idea until the flatworms are gone, but then what? I have read lots of people saying that Flatworm Exit is a great product. Thankfully, I have never had to deal with them, knock on wood, so I can't tell you for sure if that product works. Good luck
Me No Nemo
Premium Member
Flatworm Exit works great, but make sure you siphon out the dead ones as the product works. GL
FWE will do the trick, have used it a few times. sometimes it is hard to find, however I just got some from www.reefgeek.com. I have been treating a 55 gallon that I have at the school where my wife teaches. Have already done 2 treatments and need to do a third to finish them off.
It will search for live foods in the form of small crustaceans such as pyramidellid snails (clam parasites), urchins, and commensal flatworms. Six Line Wrasse are also known to feed on unwanted pests on live rock, such as bristleworms. http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=375
Read it for yourself. I also have owned one and they are constantly on the hunt for food.
Read it for yourself. I also have owned one and they are constantly on the hunt for food.
Paintbug
New member
if you plan on using a nudibranch to eat them, then once gone sell him back the LFS, that probablly wont work either. the nudibranch will not get every single one before it starves, and just because you dont see one doesnt mean theres not one there. if theres one left there will be hundreds soon.
wrasses are hit or miss as well. some will eat flatworms as a part of their diet, others may snack on them and not control the population, and some wrasses wont eat them at all.
FWE will kill them all, it may take a few doses, but it works. the main consern with FWE is, once you kill a large amont of flatworms, they release toxins into the tank. this means you need to be ready to syphon them out ASAP, or your tank could crash.
wrasses are hit or miss as well. some will eat flatworms as a part of their diet, others may snack on them and not control the population, and some wrasses wont eat them at all.
FWE will kill them all, it may take a few doses, but it works. the main consern with FWE is, once you kill a large amont of flatworms, they release toxins into the tank. this means you need to be ready to syphon them out ASAP, or your tank could crash.
thanks everyone, im worried a six line wrasse would be to agressive for my tank all i have are two citron clown gobys that live quite happily. how would i go about siphoning such tiny things without draining my tank, i know this is a dumb question but ive never had to deal with any parasites until now.
Rogger Castells
New member
you can use a turkey baster
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