What is this??

[g8rorchid]

Hello. I found this guy on the glass and I have never seen anything like it. He kinda slithers along and then makes a bubble and so on. I tried taking pictures ......it isn't the best, but hopefully someone will be able to figure out what he is.

Thanks!
Elana

 

[sir_dudeguy]

flatworm

 

[g8rorchid]

I was scared that that is what it might be!! Those are bad aren't they? How did I get it??? How do I get rid of it?

 

[sir_dudeguy]

mmm...i'm not convinced that they're so bad. I had those exact same ones in my 29...had bunches of corals, sps included. They were mostly just there. They never did anything to the corals, they just looked bad, you know?

I basically didnt do anything to get rid of them...they just started disappearing one day and kept getting fewer and fewer. I transfered everything in that 29 to my new 16g bowfront, and i havent seen a single flatworm. Since i got the flatworms, it took about 3 weeks for them to really get bad (a lot of them i mean) and then about another 3 or 4 weeks for them to go away on their own.

You could use flatworm exit, but i never did. I did put my scooter blenny in there for like a week and i would see him picking at them, so maybe you could try one of those? But then again, i wouldnt recommend one of those to someone who's just started out...they're pretty picky eaters.

Check melevsreef.com and look under the ID pages...he's got them in there and i think it shows some "common predators" or something like that in there...i'm thinking there was some other fish that eats them but i could be wrong.

I'd either just wait it out (as long as nothing is getting damaged) or use flatworm exit..

 

[Jen D]

I had them when I first set up my tank and they didn't seem to hurt anything. (I have a FOWLR.) They went away on their own after a month or two.

 

[Paintbug]

the clear Acoel flatworms dont bother anything. they will usually die off as quickly as they appear.

 

[kuoka]

I heard flatworms eat snails and clams. Is that not true?

 

[sir_dudeguy]

There might be one type that does, but not these ones.

 

[titanx]

Any way to tell which are bad and which are good?

 

[kau_cinta_ku]

usually the red is bad the white are good

 

[g8rorchid]

Phew! Ok thanks everyone!!