I started another new system in February and even though I quarantined the rock I ended up with flatworms. They look identical to the ones found in this thread.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1146363
They appear to be harmless but over time they are multiplying steadily. They aren't an eyesore yet but I presume that they will be eventually.
I bought some flatworm exit. Having used it in the past I knew that it worked. For the entire system I calculated that around a cap and a half would be slightly overkill but get rid of em. I had carbon and a WC handy. Before dosing I siphoned out as many as I could and blew out the rock with a baster. Immediately after dosing they started to die. Around 40 minutes into I added the carbon and the next day I did my WC. I still had flatworms and a 3/4 empty bottle of the product. I ordered another bottle. Blew rock and siphoned again made a wc and had carbon handy. I dosed this entire bottle and the remains of the one I still had. Immediately they started to die. My Gramma loreto and Neocirrhites armatus ate some and I presume got sick because they did not show back up for a few hours. I also noticed that pods and bristleworms were coming out in the open and acting strange. I don't think any of them died though. The next day I added the carbon and did my WC. A few days later I still have flatworms. The next time I bought 2 bottles and went through the entire routine again. Fish disappeared for a few hours and this time some pods and bristleworms did die. I put carbon in the next day and did a massive wc more than 50 percent. I still have flatworms. I haven't lost a fish or any of my 20 coral species but I did lose pods and this isn't good. Each time the flatworm numbers were greatly reduced but some of them seem to have a very high tolerance to the product. My total system volume is around 115 gallons. I have dosed enough for 600 gallons at one time and haven't gotten rid of them. I do have a very deep sandbed in my display and my gravity fed refugium and I'm wondering if they were deep in the sand and unaffected or if as they breed their generations are gaining tolerance to the FWE. I'm not dosing again until I figure out something. I mentioned my two fish the gramma and flame hawk which as you know are both pod eaters but I don't think touch the flatworms unless they are dead in the water. I don't want to use a six line wrasse because the two pod eaters that I already have are enough. The wrasse would be ok in the fuge so long as it got rid of the FW problem but I would have to get rid of it afterwards and that still leaves the display problem. The pods would be destroyed for a while but would come back in the fuge. Then there is Chelidonura varians the flatworm eating nudibranch. I wonder if a combination of two of them in the display and a wrasse in the fuge would do the trick....
What do you guys think? Without a solution I can't see spending any more money on meds that I don't even like using in the first place. This has become an expensive problem. Thank you for your time.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1146363
They appear to be harmless but over time they are multiplying steadily. They aren't an eyesore yet but I presume that they will be eventually.
I bought some flatworm exit. Having used it in the past I knew that it worked. For the entire system I calculated that around a cap and a half would be slightly overkill but get rid of em. I had carbon and a WC handy. Before dosing I siphoned out as many as I could and blew out the rock with a baster. Immediately after dosing they started to die. Around 40 minutes into I added the carbon and the next day I did my WC. I still had flatworms and a 3/4 empty bottle of the product. I ordered another bottle. Blew rock and siphoned again made a wc and had carbon handy. I dosed this entire bottle and the remains of the one I still had. Immediately they started to die. My Gramma loreto and Neocirrhites armatus ate some and I presume got sick because they did not show back up for a few hours. I also noticed that pods and bristleworms were coming out in the open and acting strange. I don't think any of them died though. The next day I added the carbon and did my WC. A few days later I still have flatworms. The next time I bought 2 bottles and went through the entire routine again. Fish disappeared for a few hours and this time some pods and bristleworms did die. I put carbon in the next day and did a massive wc more than 50 percent. I still have flatworms. I haven't lost a fish or any of my 20 coral species but I did lose pods and this isn't good. Each time the flatworm numbers were greatly reduced but some of them seem to have a very high tolerance to the product. My total system volume is around 115 gallons. I have dosed enough for 600 gallons at one time and haven't gotten rid of them. I do have a very deep sandbed in my display and my gravity fed refugium and I'm wondering if they were deep in the sand and unaffected or if as they breed their generations are gaining tolerance to the FWE. I'm not dosing again until I figure out something. I mentioned my two fish the gramma and flame hawk which as you know are both pod eaters but I don't think touch the flatworms unless they are dead in the water. I don't want to use a six line wrasse because the two pod eaters that I already have are enough. The wrasse would be ok in the fuge so long as it got rid of the FW problem but I would have to get rid of it afterwards and that still leaves the display problem. The pods would be destroyed for a while but would come back in the fuge. Then there is Chelidonura varians the flatworm eating nudibranch. I wonder if a combination of two of them in the display and a wrasse in the fuge would do the trick....
What do you guys think? Without a solution I can't see spending any more money on meds that I don't even like using in the first place. This has become an expensive problem. Thank you for your time.
