Polyclad flatworm - Safe?

[treylane]

I just found a ~1.5" polyclad flatworm in my sump/fuge... it's likely he's been in the tank at least 6months since I haven't added much livestock since then. I'm guessing(?) he's been eating snails if he's caught anything -- I've got breeding populations of strombus snails in the display and the fuge, and no clams and no interest in ever keeping clams...

What I DO have is way too many of those snot-streaming vermetid gastropods. If I let this guy go in the display, is he likely to wipe em out for me? Will he demolish anything "good" other than my snails?

 

[bjolly]

it will eat all your snails. I had one eat every snail in a 125 gallon tank. Unless you want an all-crab cleanup crew, I'd get it out of there.

 

[mndfreeze]

Will for sure eat all your expensive snails and none of the hitchers you wish it would.

 

[treylane]

Hahaha, so the vermetid gastropods are off the menu? The snails I can live without for awhile.

 

[mndfreeze]

If you are referring to the common species of polyclad flatworms then for sure your snails and clams are goners.

Depends on the species of polyclad though.

Mine always looks like this, these are known snail/clam killers

 

[AGYDAL]

I just caught one in my tank the other night that looked like mindfreeze's, I can tell you from looking at my tank they don't eat the vermetids...as far as I can guess mine had been in my tank 11 months and it was at least 3".