anyone have these before

[vincent92]

Good or bad? Anything I should worry about? Would guess I have about 10-15 of them threw out my whole tank. Jelly-like movement. No shell. Nudibranch maybe?

 

[vincent92]

Looks like its only after algae, hasn't done harm to corals or fish.

 

[vincent92]

Kind of like them lol

 

[SKAREEF]

Looks like a flat worm.
http://www.reefsmagazine.com/forum/reefs-magazine/145120-pest-free-reefkeeping-iii-flatworms.html

 

[vincent92]

Really? I know that's bad!!! But still doesn't explain why I only see them eating algae and not my corals

 

[SKAREEF]

This may cause a big debate. But I believe that not all flat worms are bad.

 

[vincent92]

So i read about it and thanks for the help identifying this. Should I be worried? I know a sixline wrasse would love to fest on them although I haven't seen the harm in them for the past month. I should just be safe rather than sorry huh? Again thank you

 

[vincent92]

Yea I saw that the article link you posted that not all are bad but it looks almost exactly similar but these have three dots in the center of its body

 

[SKAREEF]

I don't think you need to worry unless they explode in numbers. But yes, it is always better to be safe then sorry. Especially with flatworms. A six line would be a good plan.

 

[vincent92]

Thank a million for the info and opinion, now I will make my search for a six line!

 

[tatuaje08]

Ygpm

 

[Tschupe]

A six line is not a guaranteed flatworm eater. Other wrasses are if your tank is big enough to handle them. Flatworm exit will not kill all of them. It'll just kill the majority for now. But they will come back. There are worse pests you could have.

 

[Soccernut]

I would get rid of them quickly with a turkey baster, they multiply and then start to cover your corals which prevents them from getting light.

 

[zrogst]

I've found the clear flatworms to be harmless - they either feed off algae of the subsequent pod explosion after an algae bloom and seem to hit a max population pretty quickly. I've had them in several tanks and have never seen them on corals or out-competing pods for space.

 

[DgenR8]

Good or bad? Anything I should worry about? Would guess I have about 10-15 of them threw out my whole tank. Jelly-like movement. No shell. Nudibranch maybe?

That's a white flatworm, and an excellent picture of one, I might add.

This may cause a big debate. But I believe that not all flat worms are bad.

The white ones (as pictured above) will eat the much more annoying red flat worms. Their diet is pretty specific as I remember, and once their food source is gone, so are they.
There are MANY different flatworms out there. The basic white and red will be dealt with by most aquarists at some point. They're ugly, but as long as you keep the population in check, they are relatively harmless.
There are others that will eat corals, and unlike the red or white variety, they camouflage themselves to look like what they're eating.
I don't doubt for a second that there are varieties of flatworm out there that could be in our tanks without ever bothering us or what we keep. We just don't know about them because they don't bother us.

Thank a million for the info and opinion, now I will make my search for a six line!

You may find better luck with a Melanarus Wrasse, but ornamental shrimp and hermit crabs may be on his lunch menu.

 

[vincent92]

Thanks everyone

 

[82ndengineer]

If the white ones eat the reds I'll take them if you can catch a few!

 

[vincent92]

Idk whether they do eat red ones or not... but I have an extreme amount of corals that are untouched so maybe they aren't the worst ones to have. And they are super easy to catch as most I see are in my refugium

 

[vincent92]

But In the past day & today Ive only seen two.. I think I got rid of 6. They seem to not be reproducing. They havent ever been in my main tank, just the refug eating algae off the glass.. weird huh