What is this

[michaeldaly]

From the distance it looks like a diatom bloom on the sanbed and some rocks but when examined closely the brown covering is made up of many samll oval shaped organisms about 1.5mm in length. They can move around and seem to atach on one end and float in the current.

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

Sounds like Flatworms. Do they look like these guys?

 

[michaeldaly]

The look exactly the same except for the color. How do I get rid of them, they are becomming a nuisance.

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

Are they just an eye sore, or are they actually harming things? Most likely they are the detrivore kind that eat particulate matter. If that's the case, step up your tank maintenance, watch what you feed, etc and you will eventually starve them out. You can use chemical means such as Flatworm Exit, but be warned that when flatworms die, they release a toxin. When they all die at once like with Flatworm Exit, the toxins build up to a harmful amount. Follow the instructions carefully, do water changes, and run carbon.

 

[michaeldaly]

No, they are just an eyesore, they have not caused any visible damage.

Thanks for your advice.

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

If they aren't causing any damage, I wouldn't mess with them. Just step up your maintenance and husbandry techniques, and let them eat themselves out of house and home, literally. Their numbers will dwindle as their available food source disappears.

 

[sjfishguy]

I have found they seem to grow more at lower pHs (like 7.9-8.2). Try raising the pH a bit (8.4,8.5) if its not there already.