Planaria predators/control

[trilobyte]

Recently moved my tank (changed houses). Had a total planaria blow out - they are everywhere, and spreading faster by the day. I have tried physical removal (siphoning) as well as a six-line wrasse and mandarin. They either can't keep up or aren't doing anything (the wrasse appears to be getting fat on the copepods from my refugium).

Any suggestions? I prefer natural predation or water parameter changes to chemical treatments. I have heard rumour of a nudibranch that snacks on the little fellows, so any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Steve:eek1:

 

[loosbrew]

Look into Chelidonura varians. they are effective flatworm eaters!

HTH

Luis

 

[fgarvine]

Headshield slugs are great, I had good luck with a 12 line wrasse....

 

[trilobyte]

Thanks. I did a little external research after your suggestions and it all seems to hunt. I will give it a go and let you know how it turns out.

Thanks!

 

[Joao Monteiro]

Try a Halichoeres crysus (donÃ"šÃ‚´t know how you call it) or a sixline wrasse (pseudocheilinus hexataenia).
TheyÃ"šÃ‚´ll control the planarias (but will also eat all the cops they can find...)

 

[graveyardworm]

I went the route of C. Varians when the opportunity presented itself, and my experience was no different than what I found when researching it. They do not entirely clean the tank from the red flatworms ( Convulutriloba retrogemma ). The one I purchased would not stay on the rocks even though thats where the majority of flatworms were, and within a week it was gone. They also do not do well if you have much more than low flow they just get blown around.

I'm now testing my clown goby to see if it eats them, I had moved some rocks from a tank he was in to a new tank and suddenly had the red flatworms in the new tank so I figured something must have been eating them. My best guess was the goby so I moved him into the new tank where I had been manually removing them for weeks. He's been in there a couple weeks and since then the population has at least remained steady, and appears to have declined. So I'm hopeful. Before they were multiplying like crazy so there is a noticeable difference. I just have yet to see him eat one.