Eradicating Flat Worms - Please Help!

[kleach]

I started another thread yesterday regarding a mandarin and ended up putting him in my DT last night. The trade off was that I had to take my 6 line wrasse out. Now, for the first time in several months, I see flatworms on the glass.

How can I get rid of them for good? Are there any other fish that I could put in there to naturally prey on them like my 6 line? Should I use flatworm exit now while their population is somewhat in check?

Please help before this gets out of hand!

 

[SDguy]

I'd recommend using FWE... much easier when the population is smaller. It's actually pretty easy to use.

 

[kleach]

I have 20% water on hand for a water change that I was going to do yesterday, but held off because of switching fish between tanks.

How long after I put the FWE in the tank should I do the water change? I just dont want all that water to go to waste.

 

[Moort82]

Let the mandarin settle in and I think you will see them go again as mandarins are normally one of the best natural predators for them.

 

[Dmorty217]

FWE is the best method. Just have PLENTY of water ready to go for the water change and I would repeat the application a week later to get them all

 

[kleach]

Thanks everyone. Went to the store and got FWE. Feeding the fish and then dosing it. Have airline tubing ready to siphon out the dead ones and already did a preliminary siphoning of the ones on the glass. How long after the initial introduction of FWE should I wait for a water change? My water has been mixing for going on 48 hours now. I dont want it to "go bad". Would it? I've never really had a reason to hold off on a water change and let the water sit for so long. It's in a Brute garbage can with a powerhead to keep circulation.

Thanks everyone

 

[Dmorty217]

Do the water change within 45 mins or so of dosing. Saltwater can stay mixing in a brute can for several days without problems.

 

[kleach]

Thanks!

Umm, so after dosing I really didn't see so many dead flat worms. I was only able to locate 2 on the glass before dosing (since I siphoned them out a few hours before. After dosing the 2 flatworms I was able to find were still on the glass about 30 min later, so I added a few more drops. I was thinking that I under estimated the total water volume so thats why I added more drops.

I even used a turkey baster to blow the rocks to loosen any flat worms that might have been stuck in crevasses. I either don't know what these dead flat worms look like, or I really didn't have too many to begin with.

The good news is that the 2 flat worms I saw prior to dosing are gone, so that might be a good sign.

 

[kleach]

Are the dead ones supposed to float right to the top?

And if so, how long do they float there?

 

[Dmorty217]

Are the dead ones supposed to float right to the top?

And if so, how long do they float there?

There will be stringy mucus type stuff everywhere hanging off the rocks with flatworms on the end. The toxins the flat worms release when they die is what is a problem in tanks. Last time I did it, my tank too 4 days to fully recover. Fish were very stressed

 

[SDguy]

IME you should see dead ones floating around almost instantly. Also IME you should see more than you thought you had. Sounds like you didn't dose enough...

 

[kleach]

Possibly...

The instructions called for 4 drops per 5 gallons. I have 50 gallons of total water volume (maybe 55), so I put in 40 drops initially. After not seeing too many dead ones and the only 2 I could find still running around on the glass I added another 10 drops.

Mathematically those 50 drops would be sufficient for 62 gallons. My tank is a 65 and I have a lot of rock in it so I would think I added enough. I was scared to add more because I didn't know the ramifications on the other life in the tank.

2 of my corals did slime up a bit and I sucked it off, but there were not strands coming from the rocks. I did see a bunch of the strands after I added the extra 10 drops, but not nearly as many as I thought I would see.

I dont want to underestimate the number of flatworms I had, but is it possible that there werent really a lot in there in the first place? Are 6 lines that good at keeping their population in check?

I did a 10 gallon water change about an hour and a half after and have another 10 gallons mixing for tomorrow. I have no problems repeating these steps in a week or so. i just dont want to stress out anything else in the tank.

Thanks for all your help! Please let me know what you think.

 

[kleach]

So I checked the glass and was able to find a flatworm which means there are probably more. I put 50 drops in about 50 gallons of water.

Does anyone have experience putting more FWE in the water than what the instructions call for? How long do i have to wait until I can do it again? I have another 10 gallons of water mixing to do another water change now incase I missed some bodies it will cut down on the toxins in the water.