A few month's back I first noticed a small population of Planaria flatworms. So I purchased a Malanarus and Six Line Wrasse which I've had success with them eating flatworm in the past. Well neither of them touch the flatworms and the population has increased dramatically. I've been siphoning them out regularly but it doesn't seem to make much of a difference, within a day or two their population is back to where it was. i've read a lot about flatworm exit and I'm going to give it a try but wanted to know if anyone has had any first hand experience with Flatworm Exit and the effect it's had on their SPS. My Plan is to siphon as many out as I can before dosing Flatworm Exit, Run carbon and do a large 100 gallon water change. Anyone have any other advice because this is scaring the crap out of me.
SPS and Flatworm Exit?
- Thread starter cdmurphy
- Start date
The flatworm exit is safe if you use as directed. The toxins from the flatworms are the bigger concern.
Get ready to siphon a bunch after you treat the tank - they will turn into a gooey mess. Have a BUNCH of carbon ready.
I would only let the stuff in the tank for 15 minutes the first dose. It will kill a lot of them and you can siphon the goo out. The next dose, you can let the med stay in longer than before. After 3 or 4 treatments, you will have so few worms left that you can leave the FE in for a long time.
Get ready to siphon a bunch after you treat the tank - they will turn into a gooey mess. Have a BUNCH of carbon ready.
I would only let the stuff in the tank for 15 minutes the first dose. It will kill a lot of them and you can siphon the goo out. The next dose, you can let the med stay in longer than before. After 3 or 4 treatments, you will have so few worms left that you can leave the FE in for a long time.
If you do dose organic carbon, you might consider stopping that before you treat. The active bacteria bed could get a lot of fuel from dead/dying worm slime and use up all of the oxygen as they start to multiply. ...it could be the same thing as doing too much organic carbon all at once.
...or understand what you are getting into so that you can avoid it. The worms that you are killing will be full of carbon and other organics that can quickly break down and fuel some bacteria. If that bacteria gets going very well, it will use up a LOT of oxygen.
You can see some people complaining about fish dying when they treat their tanks with this med, or that... but most of those were on tanks with vinegar, vodka or biopellets. If you dig in to some of those threads, then you can see this if you look dynamically.
You can see some people complaining about fish dying when they treat their tanks with this med, or that... but most of those were on tanks with vinegar, vodka or biopellets. If you dig in to some of those threads, then you can see this if you look dynamically.
Mark 75g
New member
I have a 175gallon full reef. I went thru this about a year ago. Siphon as many out as you can. I put a fine bag for like carbon on the end of the hose and ran it back to the sump. That way you do not lose water. This way you can siphon for a while and not worry about water levels. I always dosed more than what the bottle recommended. Be prepared to dose at least 3 to four weeks in a row. I tried once before where I dosed every two weeks but did not work. They came back. Once I put the exit in I had a net ready and just started scooping them out. That way you can get them out before they become too toxic. I usually only did a 20 gallon water change after. Also what I found to help was using a koralia power head and be able to move it around and blow the exit into the rock work. Never had anything die from it except one fire shrimp.
Well today was D-Day for the flatworms. 192 drops of FE and within minutes they were dropping like fly's. I used a MJ 1200 to blow the FE around and to get in between the rocks. I used a net to scoop out as many dead flatworms as I could. I left the FE in the tank for about 15 minutes before brining on line 4 lbs of carbon in a media reactor to take car of any residual toxins that may have been released during the extermination. I followed this up with a 50 gallon water change. My main concern is during the process every SPS in the tank withdrew its polyps and slimmed up. Its been about 6 hours now and they are still withdrawn. I guess time will tell.
Hey Zweebe, it appears that everything has pulled through ok. Polyp extension is back to normal this morning and at this stage I don't see any negative effects on my SPS. Time will tell though. I don't see a single flatworm in the tank so the product works well. I plan on dosing once a week for the next two or three weeks just to make sure they're all gone. I also have not seen any negative effects on pods, bristle worms or starfish within the system.
JDA, I assumed the slimming and polyp retraction was due to the toxin being released from the flatworms as they died. I spent about an hour a day for the last week siphoning out as many flatworms that I could see. I'm glad I did that as it would have reduced the amount of toxins released. Thanks for you advice, I greatly appreciate it.
