Flatworms...

[Plankt0s]

Can anyone tell me once and for all if flatworms are bad? other than covering corals and blocking light do they eat mushrooms or other corals? I have had them in a tank for a wile and I killed a ton of them with some drops that do that but i guess it didnt get them all and after the treatment my tank didnt look so hot for a week so I dont want to do that again. when they were bad before they were all over a mushroom and it was getting all whithered so I thought they were eating it I killed them and the shroom died.

 

[gflat65]

If you are talking about the red/brown planaria, they are only problems en masse due to blocking light (takes a lot of them), or when they die. They are toxic to corals and fish when dead. Six line wrasses are some of the hardiest flatworm eaters (I prefer mandarins, but they aren't for everyone). If you decided to dose with FWE, follow the directions and siphon out all you can before and after, with plenty of carbon and a water change.

 

[Lyscer]

I have a six line wrasse, and 2 mandarin gobies. I haven't seen any of them eat my my planaria flatworms. I'm not saying they don't. But it doesn't seem like they do because I still have them in plague proportions. But the flatworms mainly stay on the sand so I don't care all that much.

 

[RedSonja]

We've had them in our75g display and other than being an eyesore, they haven't caused any harm. We got them from an LFS, pretty sure we know which one but it doesn't really matter once they're in the tank. They tend to build up a population then wan away, right now they're there but not very noticable.

-Sonja

 

[gflat65]

It can be hit or miss on whether or not the fish eat them, but a lot fo wrasses are known for munching them (six line being the hardiest), as well as green and spotted mandarins. My spotted loves them, as well as my cleaner wrasse. Someone locally got what they called a yellow Coris wrasse (not a real Coris, though, as these stay small and most Coris get huge). It ate his plague from it looking like Coralline to there not being a single flatworm in the tank (noticaeble, anyway-they're still there). I use FWE to kill them on my frags before a frag swap, but so far, the fish have done an excellent job of keeping they unnoticeable in the main display.