Post about red flat worm problem and control:
Tank:
29 Gal biocube.
Problem:
I recently have had a really bad problem with red flat worms. One day i noticed a few here and there and figured my wrasse would take care of them but over a few weeks the problem was out of control. There were flatworms EVERYWHERE. (I have a new job and traveling a lot so was not able to take care of it before the problem got out of hand.)
First off, flatworm exit/control is NOT harmful to your tank at all; that includes coral and fish. However, when the flatworms die they release a toxin that is harmful so there lays the problem
Solution:
I did a lot of research on how to get rid of them and the pros and cons. It seemed like it was 50/50. People either loved flatworm exit or flatworm control or they absolutely hated it. I decided that was the only way to go so i began thinking about the best way to execute the problem. I was originally going to go with flatworm exit as that was what I read most about however my local store only had flatworm control which is basically the same thing.
Execution:
I was able to remove several rocks that had much of my prized coral from the tank and when doing so I doused them with a turkey bester to remove as many of the flatworms on the surface as possible. I placed these into a bucket with the water that I currently had in the tank. (obviously siphoned the water out). I also removed my fish as well to make sure they would be ok.
Make sure you have plenty of water to do a water change for the job. I had 15 gallons for my 29 gal tank which turned out to be more than sufficient. I recommend trying to siphon out as many of the flat worms as you can see before using the flatworm exit/control. (use a small tube to be able to remove as many as possible without removing a lot of water.
Once my corals and fish were removed I placed some carbon into a "œsock/pantyhose" into the back of the tank. I dosed more flatworm control than recommended into the tank and made sure I had plenty of flow to get complete coverage of the chemical. The flatworms began dying off within minutes and hundreds/thousands were floating around the tank. I began siphoning them out and when the water was below the fans and return line in the tank I added some of the pre mixed water and repeated. I also recommend using a fish net and sweeping up as many out as possible that are floating around, Much easier than siphoning them up. I repeated siphoning and adding freshwater until most of the flat worms were gone.
After my tank was tanken care of I then added flatworm control in the bucket with my rocks/coral that were removed and then moved them over to a second bucket which also had flatworm control. This was to remove the majority in the first bucket without harming the coral with the toxins due to long exposre and the second bucket was to kill any stragglers.
I then added the coral and fish back to the tank after acclimating them and so far everything seems to be doing ok and no flatworms in sight. When I return in a week I will dose the tank with some more flatworm control to see if there are any that survived the initial treatment. Hopefully there will not be many and the toxins released will be minuscule and not affect the coral or fish.
Hope this helps anyone with any problems and I wrote this up pretty fast so if you have any questions shoot me a message
Tank:
29 Gal biocube.
Problem:
I recently have had a really bad problem with red flat worms. One day i noticed a few here and there and figured my wrasse would take care of them but over a few weeks the problem was out of control. There were flatworms EVERYWHERE. (I have a new job and traveling a lot so was not able to take care of it before the problem got out of hand.)
First off, flatworm exit/control is NOT harmful to your tank at all; that includes coral and fish. However, when the flatworms die they release a toxin that is harmful so there lays the problem
Solution:
I did a lot of research on how to get rid of them and the pros and cons. It seemed like it was 50/50. People either loved flatworm exit or flatworm control or they absolutely hated it. I decided that was the only way to go so i began thinking about the best way to execute the problem. I was originally going to go with flatworm exit as that was what I read most about however my local store only had flatworm control which is basically the same thing.
Execution:
I was able to remove several rocks that had much of my prized coral from the tank and when doing so I doused them with a turkey bester to remove as many of the flatworms on the surface as possible. I placed these into a bucket with the water that I currently had in the tank. (obviously siphoned the water out). I also removed my fish as well to make sure they would be ok.
Make sure you have plenty of water to do a water change for the job. I had 15 gallons for my 29 gal tank which turned out to be more than sufficient. I recommend trying to siphon out as many of the flat worms as you can see before using the flatworm exit/control. (use a small tube to be able to remove as many as possible without removing a lot of water.
Once my corals and fish were removed I placed some carbon into a "œsock/pantyhose" into the back of the tank. I dosed more flatworm control than recommended into the tank and made sure I had plenty of flow to get complete coverage of the chemical. The flatworms began dying off within minutes and hundreds/thousands were floating around the tank. I began siphoning them out and when the water was below the fans and return line in the tank I added some of the pre mixed water and repeated. I also recommend using a fish net and sweeping up as many out as possible that are floating around, Much easier than siphoning them up. I repeated siphoning and adding freshwater until most of the flat worms were gone.
After my tank was tanken care of I then added flatworm control in the bucket with my rocks/coral that were removed and then moved them over to a second bucket which also had flatworm control. This was to remove the majority in the first bucket without harming the coral with the toxins due to long exposre and the second bucket was to kill any stragglers.
I then added the coral and fish back to the tank after acclimating them and so far everything seems to be doing ok and no flatworms in sight. When I return in a week I will dose the tank with some more flatworm control to see if there are any that survived the initial treatment. Hopefully there will not be many and the toxins released will be minuscule and not affect the coral or fish.
Hope this helps anyone with any problems and I wrote this up pretty fast so if you have any questions shoot me a message
