Plague proportions yet?
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makeshift101
Member
Get a Melanurus Wrasse, you'll have one happy fat Melanurus Wrasse (or 6 line)
South City
New member
I've heard that yellow coris wrasse will eat flatforms as well. They are a lot less likely to cause you any other problems.
Pife
Active member
I've suctioned some out. Tried the wrasse. But after having this same discussion around here a few times, I've just let them go. Everyone seems to think they're harmless.
They don't look like most pics of red planarian that I've seen. They seem to look more like the AEFW variety. I don't have any acros, so I can't judge if they prefer those.
All of these things are either on my glass or on my soft corals. They really like to be on that nepthea and the mushrooms I have.
I think I'm going to have to start trying something to cut down their numbers before I try to nuke them with FWE.
Live aquaria says a Blue Velvet nude ranch will eat them. Only issue three is what do I do with it after? It will take a long time to eradicate them. I've got thousands of them I'm sure.
Maybe a wrasse is in order too.
They don't look like most pics of red planarian that I've seen. They seem to look more like the AEFW variety. I don't have any acros, so I can't judge if they prefer those.
All of these things are either on my glass or on my soft corals. They really like to be on that nepthea and the mushrooms I have.
I think I'm going to have to start trying something to cut down their numbers before I try to nuke them with FWE.
Live aquaria says a Blue Velvet nude ranch will eat them. Only issue three is what do I do with it after? It will take a long time to eradicate them. I've got thousands of them I'm sure.
Maybe a wrasse is in order too.
South City
New member
The nice thing about a yellow coris wrasse is that they have a lot of personality and would make a good addition to the tank even after the flat worms are gone.
bradleym
Premium Member
+1 to yellow coris, wrasse. My tank used to be so bad it looked like an algae bloom when they crossed the sand bed. One wrasse in a 210, and they were hard to find in about 3 months. You'll never be rid of them with a wrasse, but you'll be close.
The wrasse will however, eat $1 Berghia nudibranchs like candy...
The wrasse will however, eat $1 Berghia nudibranchs like candy...
I've spent probably 90 minutes over the last few days sucking these little buggers out of my tank.
Went to Ponds Plus to get some rigid tubing and attached a length of regular clear tubing to the end. Borrowed some panty hose from my wife's sock drawer (shhh...I'll put them back when I'm done) and put that over the end of the hose that I put into the sump.
Started the siphon and sucked out every one I could see. Then I took my turkey baster and started blowing them off of my soft corals. Holy cow!!!
There had to have been hundreds of them just on that one Sinularia I started this thread with. I spent probably 20 minutes on that coral alone the first day. Every time I thought I had them all I'd spot some more and have to go at it again with the turkey baster.
I spent another 45 minutes or so today blowing them around and sucking them out.
While I was at it I sucked out all of the cyano, detritus, and other misc stuff that has accumulated on my rocks.
All of that made me think that I need to increase the flow in my tank because there were way too clouds of stuff that blew up when I hit it with a stream of water from the turkey baster.
Who knew flatworms were going to get this expensive??!!
Went to Ponds Plus to get some rigid tubing and attached a length of regular clear tubing to the end. Borrowed some panty hose from my wife's sock drawer (shhh...I'll put them back when I'm done) and put that over the end of the hose that I put into the sump.
Started the siphon and sucked out every one I could see. Then I took my turkey baster and started blowing them off of my soft corals. Holy cow!!!
There had to have been hundreds of them just on that one Sinularia I started this thread with. I spent probably 20 minutes on that coral alone the first day. Every time I thought I had them all I'd spot some more and have to go at it again with the turkey baster.
I spent another 45 minutes or so today blowing them around and sucking them out.
While I was at it I sucked out all of the cyano, detritus, and other misc stuff that has accumulated on my rocks.
All of that made me think that I need to increase the flow in my tank because there were way too clouds of stuff that blew up when I hit it with a stream of water from the turkey baster.
Who knew flatworms were going to get this expensive??!!
ItzJustinN
Nano-Reefin' Newbie
EDIT: nvm i read you tried the wrasse :deadhorse1:
Mr D smack
Active member
I used flatworm exit on my 225 and it worked great
I will resort to FWE if I have to, but I'm going to continue manually removing them until I can get the population down.
I may still try another wrasse. I've also read the spotted mandarin will eat them. I've got plenty of pods so I could try that too.
If all natural remedies fail, then I'll go the chemical route. After reading Nook's story about using a chemical that was supposedly safe, I think I'll stick with nature first.
I may still try another wrasse. I've also read the spotted mandarin will eat them. I've got plenty of pods so I could try that too.
If all natural remedies fail, then I'll go the chemical route. After reading Nook's story about using a chemical that was supposedly safe, I think I'll stick with nature first.
mpcart
New member
You need to make sure you know what they are. They still do't look like red planaria to me - are they an orange color and maybe a mm or two long?
I've used FWE many times in the past and it took care my problems but you first need to know what you have. A lot of people don't do anything to eradicate red flatworms as they are supposed to be harmless.
-Mike
I've used FWE many times in the past and it took care my problems but you first need to know what you have. A lot of people don't do anything to eradicate red flatworms as they are supposed to be harmless.
-Mike
Here's a pic that might show them more clearly.
I turned the blue channel of my lights off so you could see the actual color.
They are all 1-2mm in length. I do see some smaller ones, but I figure those are just babies.
This pic is of a mushroom/Zola rock that I can't reach from the front of my tank. Those zoas are maybe 3/8-1/2" across.
Sorry for the fuzzy pic, but it's the best I can do with my iPhone zoomed in.
EDIT: I do have to say that even though most people say these flatworms don't hurt anything, that neon green nepthia (called it the wrong thing yesterday) is much more open and it has much better polyp extension than I have seen recently. Since I haven't changed anything else in the tank, I can only assume that not being covered in those things makes it much happier. There are still a few that have migrated back there, but nowhere near the amount from the first pic I posted.
I turned the blue channel of my lights off so you could see the actual color.
They are all 1-2mm in length. I do see some smaller ones, but I figure those are just babies.
This pic is of a mushroom/Zola rock that I can't reach from the front of my tank. Those zoas are maybe 3/8-1/2" across.
Sorry for the fuzzy pic, but it's the best I can do with my iPhone zoomed in.
EDIT: I do have to say that even though most people say these flatworms don't hurt anything, that neon green nepthia (called it the wrong thing yesterday) is much more open and it has much better polyp extension than I have seen recently. Since I haven't changed anything else in the tank, I can only assume that not being covered in those things makes it much happier. There are still a few that have migrated back there, but nowhere near the amount from the first pic I posted.
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