Is this a flat worm? Is this safe or not.

nemesis7

Torchwood Agent
Ok before I hit the tank with flatworm exit I would Like a 2,3,4,5 opinion, Are these the flatworms that are harmful ? Their size is no were near that of red planeria or yellows I have seen . These are the size of the eyes in this smiley face.:) I used a magnifying glass from a swiss army knife and my eye phone to take this pic. If they are harmful should I use the salifert Flatworm exit. Only noticed them on glass not on rock or corals. Corals seem great. Are they flatworms to i guess I should ask? Please I need an Id or should I leave them alone?
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I have some that look similar, not the acoel type, just small and brown. I got a bit freaked out at first and fw exited the tank but it didn't kill them all, just stressed out some coral. So I decided to let them be and they don't hurt anything. I've been told since that they aren't anything to worry about.

They stick to the gravel mostly, and only if my lights are off for a day will they crawl up on the glass, I rarely see them on rocks and never on coral.

If they are the same kind, then I'd say skip it and see what they do.
 
Get a wrasse. I had a bunch of flatworms I got a rainbow wrasse and they went away in a couple days.

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looks like it i had the same problem they are not very good and can pack a punch with there sting. also known as the bristle worm i cant really tell but do they have the bristles sticking out the side of the worm. if so after you get your wrass and you treat it with the flat worm exit and if you dont have coral in your tank yet you could also use a copper treatment then remove the copper and you can get your tank going with corals. but the copper treatment will kill anyliving invertebrate and will kill alot of the stuff on your live rock. but after you remove the copper your tank should jump start right back up the treat ment will also kill other pest like rock anemonies. But make shure you use a test kit to make sure there is no copper left in your tank if you deside to go that route .
 
looks like it i had the same problem they are not very good and can pack a punch with there sting. also known as the bristle worm i cant really tell but do they have the bristles sticking out the side of the worm. if so after you get your wrass and you treat it with the flat worm exit and if you dont have coral in your tank yet you could also use a copper treatment then remove the copper and you can get your tank going with corals. but the copper treatment will kill anyliving invertebrate and will kill alot of the stuff on your live rock. but after you remove the copper your tank should jump start right back up the treat ment will also kill other pest like rock anemonies. But make shure you use a test kit to make sure there is no copper left in your tank if you deside to go that route .

Its not a bristle worm, bristle worms are long and have....bristles. Do not use copper in your DT for any reason! The copper will soak into your substrate and LR and make keeping inverts nearly impossible. I would treat with flatworm exit. I used it and had NO side affects, but there is a process. Do a search on here for that process. Some people leave them alone, but Ive heard that they can multiply quickly and then die off causing a tank crash. They are toxic when they die.
 
I have had a sixline in my tank since it started and never had flat worms... so +1 on the wrasse.
 
You Can do that as well I couldn't tell in the picture but anyways that is the only down fall o using copper but it does leave your tank after a 25 percent water Chang and your carbon. I'd really only do that method I mentioned if it's really bad and the bristle worm does eat starfish when I had my serpent stars they started showing little bite marks and they where loosing their limbs you could also just get you a reef predator or a wrass
 
I will be getting a 6 line wrasse today. If the population does not go down in a couple weeks I will try FE or pig dewormer like some guys out in iowa have tried. Says kills them and no side affects on the inhabitants. It been months and no ill affects. Thanks for all the help guys . I will keep you all posted.
 
I will be getting a 6 line wrasse today. If the population does not go down in a couple weeks I will try FE or pig dewormer like some guys out in iowa have tried. Says kills them and no side affects on the inhabitants. It been months and no ill affects. Thanks for all the help guys . I will keep you all posted.

Wrasses in the family halichoeres have a much better track record of eating flatworms, so I would get one of those wrasses instead.

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I had the same infestation...I read Anthony Calfo's book and did nothing like he suggested, and the population crashed on its own and hasnt been back in 5 years...
 
i think it's nothing to worry about, those kinds of things have a tendency to burn themselves out, but if it really bugs you i would pick up a melaunarus wrasse.
 
Always a fan of using natural means of removing pests so +1 to those that have said use a wrasse,

However in my book and general experience a six-line is not a good bet as they can become problematic as regards other fish. A much better bet would be an Iridis Wrasse fantastic fish which will also hunt other nastys out as-well :thumbsup:
 
Ive read that this can crash your tank, because the flatworms are toxic when they die.

this is true, if you are going to use flat worm exit i would siphone off and many as possible before use and right after they die. it may not hurt the tank too bad but if you have them in large numbers it will.
as for a wrasse, if you happen to buy one that eats them than your pretty lucky. its hard to find one that will where im form
 
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