huge 2-3 inch Flatworm

[suppressivefire]

woke up to see lunar eclipse and saw this PIECE OF CRAP in my crocea clam

]
What it was killing

 

[ezcompany]

yep, someone recently lost theirs to that flatworm as well. maybe its a trend...

 

[Grins]

Marc at melevsreef.com has them on his site as a predatory flatworm. And yes they eat clams.

 

[a4twenty]

no doubt about it the polyclad flatworm is a clam predator. (<------- thats a period ) for clams any ways.

 

[Krazy]

So scary !!

I've seen two of those polyclad's in my tank !!

They were going to town on my snails...

I ended up catching one, but never the other..

Knocks on wood, that my clams are still unharmed.

I'm gonna have to try to bait it out at night like I did the last one.

I put a snail upside down in the front sand, just before lights out.

I was lucky to catch it, they are some QUICK lil buggers and MELT right into the holes of the live rock...

 

[Haddonisreef]

Can they live w/o clams?

 

[JackKerouac]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10658051#post10658051 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ezcompany
yep, someone recently lost theirs to that flatworm as well. maybe its a trend...

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1180484
yeah EZ it was me....
take a look is the same one
He killed my clam

 

[ezcompany]

yup i know it was you. sorry about your loss

 

[JackKerouac]

Thanks Ez!I hope that those pictures can help other people to reconize this predator and prevent clam killing,even if as I said is not easy at all to find it because it's very mimetic

 

[Serioussnaps]

Do they have a silver color to them under aquarium lighting? Almost like a slug?

 

[JackKerouac]

well under my light it did appear brown like in the picture,but with some silver reflex...maybe for his mucus....but I would say mostly brown

 

[Serioussnaps]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10748434#post10748434 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JackKerouac
well under my light it did appear brown like in the picture,but with some silver reflex...maybe for his mucus....but I would say mostly brown

Thanks! I think what I am seeing is a sponge. It grows but doesn't really move and I have had this clam for about 16 months that it is attached to the shell.

 

[Unarce]

As if keeping maximas wasn't hard enough

 

[Bill Foster]

Just found this thread. Quick question about this flatworm- Where does it attack the clam; On the valve attacking the mantle or inside the in siphon? The reason I ask is I've got a crocea I've had for 24-30 months that's done well. Three days ago I noticed his in siphon gaping more than usual and half his gills look as if they're decaying. I have two other croceas that I've had about the same amount of time, and a gigas I've had for about a year. None of the other clams show any signs of illness. My camera's out of batteries right now so I can't post a picture. Was wondering if anyone had ideas or if this sounds like this flatworm? Thanks in advance.

 

[mbbuna]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10786142#post10786142 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Bill Foster
Just found this thread. Quick question about this flatworm- Where does it attack the clam; On the valve attacking the mantle or inside the in siphon? The reason I ask is I've got a crocea I've had for 24-30 months that's done well. Three days ago I noticed his in siphon gaping more than usual and half his gills look as if they're decaying. I have two other croceas that I've had about the same amount of time, and a gigas I've had for about a year. None of the other clams show any signs of illness. My camera's out of batteries right now so I can't post a picture. Was wondering if anyone had ideas or if this sounds like this flatworm? Thanks in advance.

post a photo as soon as you can (a few clear photos please)

it doesnt sound like a flatworm to me. flatworms will make quick work of eating a clam (overnight)

 

[Bill Foster]

mbbuna- sorry I can't post a photo- my daughter dropped the camera in the sand last time we went to the river. I got batteries for the camera and can't zoom. I can't get a clear picture after many attempts. After a few days of looking at it though, it looks like the decay is in front of the gills- maybe the byssal gland? Has anyone heard of the byssal gland just rotting in a crocea? He's gaping a bit, but the mantle is still extended and he reacts to light/shadows. Any input would be much appreciated.

 

[yiliyang]

If you need to catch one, use a turkey baster. I had one of those worms. I had no idea what it was, it killed one of my snails, I think they inject some form of poison to snails first to paralyze them.

Anyway, they can slide into the tiniest holes on LR. I caught it on sand and sucked it into a turkey baster. You will not be able to catch it with your hand when it is so slippery.

Sorry for your losses. I had it in my tank for at least 6 month before I even know it was there.

 

[derrikd]

wow...

 

[hobogato]

crazy - i lost a couple of clams recently inexplicably, and found one of those in the second one - i guess i know what happened now.

 

[GlobaLPimP]

I just caught one of those in my tank last night. I saw a total of three in my tank when the lights were off. I was able to lure the biggest one (about as big as my whole HAND) out with a silverside and caught it. There are at least two more about the size of a quarter that I know of. I have a maximus clam that I now pray for every night Never thought I'd be a Flatworm Fisherman, and it sucks!