Can I squish flat worms?

B

Bri Guy

New member
I have a couple in my sump and want to take care of the problem before its a .... well problem, so can I squish them or will that cause more to grow? I know bristles can reproduce when cut in half and aiptasia can reproduce when mangled, so how about the flat worms are they as bad, or should I just manually remove them?

I think they are red planeria they are smaller than a pencil led and up close look like a verrrrry small ball with a long cape, and they are red.

So far ive only seen like 10 and squished 1, but it got me thinking, any advice?
 
In small numbers it should be alright, but keep in mind that a lot of flatworms are toxic, so killing them off in that manner may cause some potential problems for the tank.

A better idea would be to use a small pipette to manually remove them.
 
Ill try and keep up with them for awhile, it seems they are present but not infested (yet) if it gets bad yes, Ive read a little bit on the Flatworm exit, and would try that if it becomes a problem.

I just wanted to make sure that when I squish them they don't turn into 100, like squishing a bubble algae ball (bad news ive heard)

So smashing the little buggers wont hurt (except in large #s) huh?
 
I would not smash them, I would do like RCS suggested if you don't want to use the Flatworm Exit. Who knows what might be released if you smash them.
 
Quote: Don't smash them without knowing what side effects they may cause. :

im trying, I smashed 1 then it got me thinking, "hold on buddy, you don't know what your doin"

So im checking it out before I go and do any more harm, but ya the pipette could get them faster than my finger anyways.
Thankx
 
I heard thru the Talking Reef Copepod Show that FWE my wipe out other beneficial pods and "stuff" you may want to just sit back and watch... perhaps just wait...

I found them in my sump 10 months ago. but I just waited... You see, when I got first started, a certain local retailer that used to work at animal adventure in the beginning told me that bristle worms are bad. I wen home and sanitized my reef, and sifted my gravel... Got Em' All mind you...


Along with a few corals and inverts too.

Mine are there, but I haven't seen one in 8 months... And beleive me I look.

My philos... Their in everyones tank, you just don't see them, and they are present at a sustainable level not to be a pest. If you don't see any damage, don't try to put out the fire so to speak... Carefully diagnose your problems with the scientific method...

Besides, next year the in thing to do will be setting up a flat worm propagation farm to feed something....Or that there's something good about them - when you squish them... :D

Instead, Go rent the movie Medicine Man, with Sean Conery.... and take notes.

J

Now if they cover everything, and you have to scrape the glass to see....

Brian has cooties...Brian has cooties...Brian has cooties...Brian has cooties...Brian has cooties...Brian has cooties...Brian has cooties...Brian has cooties...Brian has cooties...Brian has cooties...
 
I had Cooties. They were on EVERYTHING! My tank looked like a solid reddish rusty brown carpet they were that thick.


They were beginning to migrate onto glass.. That's when I decided to nuke em!

I spihoned daily for a soild week all that I could see. And then I sent the rest to flat worm heaven with the assistance of FWE.

Now, if they had not reacehd plague proportions, I probably would have welcomed the added diversity into my eco system. BUT, those SOB's wouldnt stop splitting!!
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8229019#post8229019 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Bri Guy
Quote: Don't smash them without knowing what side effects they may cause. :
Click to expand...


The effect is you get red poo on your finger Bri... :D


J
 
No Jason flatworms (planaria) are toxic. The body fluids are.
Thats why when you use FE it's recommended to siphen as many as you can before using it because when they die if theres alot of them it can poison the tank.
It's also why predators like 6 line wrasse can only eat a few at a time is what Ive read.
Even if you don't use FE sometimes they will die on there own all at once and it could be a problem especially if not running carbon.
That is when you have alot though. I doubt a few would do anything.

Bri what is in your sump? A freshwater dip would kill them also but along with the good stuff like pods you want to.

kass
 
Oh no! I squished some!:eek1:




Last year...


FWE will also Kill you pods... so, do what your gonna do... no one can stop you...


You know, I was adding my additives in that chamber where I had them... I wonder if that killed them... hypo salinity, alk, kalk, and pH stuff... then Turbo calcium...


J
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8229193#post8229193 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jmkarcz
when I got first started, a certain local retailer that used to work at animal adventure in the beginning told me that bristle worms are bad. I wen home and sanitized my reef, and sifted my gravel... Got Em' All mind you...


Click to expand...

Hehe I remember that guy ..... . .. .... ......:rolleye1:
 
kill pods?!

who told you that nasty lie?

FWE did not kill my pods. I has plenty in the fuge before. and still had plenty after treatment.

well, at least the ones I could see. So maybe little copedpods were offed, but the large amphipods were still kicking... NOw I have to go downstairs and look for pods..

*marches off*

I checked...... there are pods in the fuge.

and flatworms...... ARRRRGH.... I need a beer
 
Years ago they all said bristle worms were bad.
I never believed it though cuz I never saw them harm anything.
I don't know how you could possibly kill them all Jason lol.
I did have a huge one once though like a ft. long that I definately removed er made my hubby remove lol.

I'm sure squishing a few flatworms is'nt going to hurt anything but you don't wanna kill alot of them without running carbon and water changes.
Also if you use FE use it as directed carefully.

kass
 
I think cooking my gravel and washing my rock may have done that which you deem impossible... yep, 400 degrees for 45 minutes on a cookie tray in my first appartment.... Mind you that way 10 years before Reef central.... Gravel was to hot to touch, wiped out the tank with a rag and 50% bleach water that he recommended. All while my specimens waited patiently in buckets... That was after only being in the hobby for 2 years... and 15+ years ago. I'm embarrased to tell the story...

... and 'That Guy" is still selling fish somewhere.

Whats on the glass that they are eating anyway??? I bought an anenome from a place in sheboygan that had so many on the glass I could bearly see it, They shook it off... it's still alive in my tank 14-15 months later. So the way I see it, these could be the perverbial ant that cures cancer. (not really but I use it figuratively.)

J
 
Thats another way of saying that 35 men out of 100 are color blind.

I was actually a bit strong on the #, but it depends where you get your information.... I found this.

Color Blindness: More Prevalent Among Males



Some 10 million American menâ€"fully 7 percent of the male populationâ€"either cannot distinguish red from green, or see red and green differently from most people. This is the commonest form of color blindness, but it affects only .4 percent of women. The fact that color blindness is so much more prevalent among men implies that, like hemophilia, it is carried on the X chromosome, of which men have only one copy. (As in hemophilia, women are protected because they have two X chromosomes; a normal gene on one chromosome can often make up for a defective gene on the other.)...

â€" Geoffrey Montgomery
from http://www.hhmi.org/senses/b130.html

In the brick industry, I frequently seen men, and only the occasional woman... with this affliction, I would imagine it would be not so prevalant in the aquariom hobby, as the colors are what draws most of us to the hobby in the first place.

And a side note, a red worm and a white worm look the same in black and white.

Don't get me started on the 1/2 a man...

Jason
 
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