How to control red planaria (flatworms)

[shaithis13]

another option would be christmas wrasses. i think theyre much prettier than melanurus (hoevens wrasse) but i see them much less often here in town as well. i read mixed reviews as far as their reef-safeness goes though (featherdusters)

 

[April F]

I siphoned a full 5g bucket out thru airline tubing, and got hundreds of the little beggars (and bit by my lawnmower blenny, who apparently didn't appreciate the housekeeping!).

That made a huge dent in their numbers, but I still see (as expected) quite a few that I missed today.

I am going to continue with the water changes as needed. I don't guess I mind a few (no one has really ever said what they hurt, if anything) but I don't want to see them covering surfaces as they were before.

 

[iamwrasseman]

if the flat worm exit doesn't work 100% then you would be best if you used a wrasse as stated above . most wrasses will pick at the flatworms but the melanarius wrasse actually devours them in most cases .
usually the flat worm exit kills all adults and then you just may need to re dose a week later to get the new offspring .i have never seen a case when the flatworm exit doesn't kill 100% of them .are you sure your dosage was correct ?just take a minute and redo the math to be sure as that stuff really works well .
also i don't know how the Christmas wrasse will do as far as eating the flat worms but yes they are pretty . i have so many wrasses in each tank that i have never seen a flat worm and i know that sometime a few hitchhikers have made the trip into my tanks .

 

[April F]

Well, I have done numerous water changes and siphoned out what seems like millions of the little, red buggers, but it hasn't seemed to make a difference. Every surface still seems to be completely covered with wall-to-wall flatworms.

As I'm one that prefers the natural solution, rather than poisoning my tank with a bunch of chemicals, I went and picked up a melanurus wrasse today.
It's a beautiful critter, fairly large compared to the rest of the tank occupants, but after scoping things out for about 5 minutes, went right to work.

I have a lawnmower blenny whose fat tummy looks like the bottom of your thumb, and I have a feeling this wrasses tummy is going to look very similar by tomorrow morning.

So far, he has appeared the model citizen. He has paid absolutely no attention to anything other than the flatworms, and while active, seems content to search for them.

The pipefish, of course, tried to get into the bag with him while he was floating - he's a gigantic, underfoot, gotta be in the middle of it type fishie, but the firefish took one look and headed for their hideout. The 2 bravest are now following him around some, but the other 2 still haven't appeared. I bet they do at dinner time...

So, I will keep this thread updated with progress, problems, etc. as the flatworm population dwindles. The LFS I got him from said he had been around awhile, so he should still eat good, even when the worms are gone. We'll see if his attention turns to my feather worms, my fish, or if he starts the incessant glass pacing that wrasses are so well known for. If any of the above become the case, I will have a very beautiful, very fat wrasse for sale.

 

[iamwrasseman]

i would keep the wrasse for maintence purposes as many sps keepers get the some sort of worms from time to time unless they really stay on top of QTING all newbies .

 

[April F]

I will keep him as long as he remains a "good" fish. If he starts eating my feathers, harassing my fish, or swimming incessantly, he will be gone.

This is a syngnathid tank - set up for the sole purpose of keeping seahorses. Everything in it has been thought out with the safety and well being of those seahorses. While I don't currently have any seahorses, I do have a pipefish, which eats best if hand fed.

During feeding last night, the wrasse ate his fair share of the frozen mysis and brine, but wouldn't come to my hand, so the pipefish got plenty. If he becomes as tame as the pipefish, and tries to out-compete him for food, then he will be finding a new home.

The entire concept of this tank is peacefulness and serenity. I enjoy watching the xenia pulse, the feathers retract, the caulerpa waving in the current, and the inhabitants float slowly around the tank looking for pods. Speeding wrasses just don't fit into the design in most cases. I would love to keep this guy, even when the flatworms are gone. It's an absolutely beautiful fish. But since I can't explain the rules to him, we'll just play it by ear and see how things go. And if I get flatworms again, I now know what will get rid of them quite efficiently. Thanks everyone for telling me about the perfect fish for my problem.

 

[iamwrasseman]

nice game plan and do stick with it because it sounds like you know what you want . many people change up their tanks unknowingly by purchasing non compatible fish and it ends in disaster .i really dont think that you will have any problems but keep an eye peeled and i certainly wish you the best .

 

[April F]

Updating the thread...

the wrasse has been quite the gentleman so far. While not entirely eradicated, the flatworm population is down immensely. I no longer have them wall-to-wall on my glass and surfaces. If he keeps getting them at this rate, they should be extinct in my tank in no time.

The wrasse himself seems very happy. His tummy is always full, and he is becoming fairly hand friendly. I try to discourage this, because since I feed with the filters off, it is quiet and I can hear his ?teeth? grinding as he munches on frozen mysis. I don't really want to be on the receiving end of one of those bites. He does tend to take his share first, but then goes to bed so I can feed the pipefish and the others. Dinner time around here is usually a 15-20 minute ordeal, but everyone gets to eat and no one is complaining.

So far, I've not seen him even glance at the featherworms. I have both the small, white hitchiker kind, and the large Hawaiian ones. All seem to be in their proper places, and I can't find any "empties." Of course, there are still plenty of flatworms to be found. I also have 3 large peppermint shrimp, purchased large on purpose so the seahorses wouldn't eat them, but faring just fine with him in the tank. BTW, they are *lousy* aptasia eaters!

All in all, if he continues to behave as he currently is, I most certainly will keep him, even in a syngnathid tank. If by some chance, I decide to purchase some very small seahorses, then I may have to re-think my decision, but with the current population he appears to be getting along just fine. With larger, or adult seahorses, I don't think I would be the least bit concerned.

 

[luvabunny]

Final update for educational purposes, unless something drastic happens, which I don't expect...

After a full week, the wrasse has all but completely eradicated the red planaria population. He remains a model citizen in my mixed softie/syngnathid tank. I have actually added another Hawaiian feather duster, bringing the total up to 4, of which he completely ignores. All small hitchiker feathers seems to be in their tubes, and I don't see any signs of stress in either the other fish, or the peppermint shrimp. 2 of the 3 peppermint shrimp have successfully molted within this past week.

I see absolutely no bites on any of the corals, most of which are leathers, zoas, shrooms and other softies. The monticaps are doing better than ever. Even the caulerpa's that the planaria seemed to prefer show no signs of harrassment.

The wrasse is very active around the tank, but not so much so that it is distracting. He eats when fed (daily) and hunts all other times. He goes after his meal, but hasn't bullied any of the other fish out of theirs. He has eaten flake food, pelleted food, both live and frozen adult brine shrimp and frozen mysis, and literally millions of red planaria.

My sandbed is not deep enough for him to bury himself, and after a single attempt, he took up residence in a rock hole/cave. As such, I have had no problems with him covering corals which live on the floor of the tank with sand.

All in all, this addition has appeared to be 100% successful, and I would recommend anyone with flatworm problems to invest in this species of wrasse. I, as a long time seahorse keeper, was extremely wary of adding a wrasse to this tank - you don't get much wimpier fish than seahorses - but I am now pleased that I did, and I won't hesitate to add the right seahorses back to the tank when I find them.

 

[luvabunny]

As an FYI - for whatever reason, last night my computer suddenly lost all of my ID's and passwords.
When trying to remember what I used to sign back on, I apparently re-activated an old account that I thought had long since been closed.
FWIW - April F and luvabunny are one and the same - just to avoid confusion.

 

[iamwrasseman]

oh no ! identity theft here on RC ? what will we do next with all this power . hmmmmm , so how do you get you new old name back ? i am very happy that you have had success and all is going well in your piece of the ocean as i like natural means first and it has worked out well for you .......hooorahhhhhhhh !

 

[luvabunny]

Thank you Dave for pointing me in this direction. I had never heard of a melanurus wrasse until this thread. It was your suggestion which led me down this road and to a happy conclusion. I appreciate your helpfulness.

 

[iamwrasseman]

thanks April ,we are all here to help and any time that i can be a positive part it feels good . better yet your problem is pretty much solved and they are pretty fish that also serve a natural solution to your situation which is awesome . best wishes and happy reefing !