Colt coral and flatworms?

Im SpSing

New member
Over the past 2 weeks I have been watching my Colt coral decline in health, not open its polyps, and expel cloudy stuff. Well i tested all my parameters and they were fine and everything else in the reef is perfect. Well i decided to get up and move the coral. Under it were 2 HUGE flatworms. At first i thought they could be little pieces of the colt spreading to the rock next to it b/c they look similar, just white. ( the worms have little polyps on their backs that look just like the colts for camoflauge i guess) But soon they started to move. Well i picked them up and killed them in a water bottle. The colt rapidly increased its health but then 2 days ago it started to decline, i moved the coral, and sure enough, there are about 15 baby flatworms!

Any advice, identifaction, or info about what other corals these things might eat? Please and thanks.

Ryan:confused:
 
No good :( One thing to try would be taking out the colt and the rock it is attached to and giving it a pH adjusted freshwater bath- that will usually knock off the flatworms, though it may not hit All of them. There is also the chance that there are eggs on there, which might not be affected by the dip. There is also the danger that there are eggs elsewhere in the tank. You can try something like Flatworm Exit... but again, its not 100% effective. Just have to keep an eye on the coral and pull the worms of when you can.

As far as attacking other corals... another tough call. It may be a species that specifically preys on that type of coral, but it could be more of a generalist. I know this isnt a whole lot of help, but just keep an eye on all the softies in there...
 
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