BaltimoreFish
New member
Have a 15 gallon custom AIO. Started with dead rock and I planned on dipping all corals to prevent/minimize pests. I plan on keeping it a very low bioload environment with just inverts (no fish).
About 3 months into the project-added some macroalgae two days ago. A day later I have a ton of red flatworms from the handful-size macroalgae ball (got it from a friend who said he had no pests in his tank-his tank has been up for years). At least the macro was free!!
My question is this. Do these organisms reach a balance in our tanks that are reasonable to the eyes? I've read a ton of stories about these things exploding in numbers in a tank. Are the high numbers often a short term thing or do our environments make them go crazy. I guess my real question is can these things be in our tanks over the long term in reasonable numbers without predators (fish).
If not I've already ordered Salifert Flatworm Exit. I'd rather not use chemicals in my tank but I'm open to it.
Thanks for the knowledge.
About 3 months into the project-added some macroalgae two days ago. A day later I have a ton of red flatworms from the handful-size macroalgae ball (got it from a friend who said he had no pests in his tank-his tank has been up for years). At least the macro was free!!
My question is this. Do these organisms reach a balance in our tanks that are reasonable to the eyes? I've read a ton of stories about these things exploding in numbers in a tank. Are the high numbers often a short term thing or do our environments make them go crazy. I guess my real question is can these things be in our tanks over the long term in reasonable numbers without predators (fish).
If not I've already ordered Salifert Flatworm Exit. I'd rather not use chemicals in my tank but I'm open to it.
Thanks for the knowledge.