What's the best remedy for flatworms?

[timnnell]

I have the brown w/ red outline flatworms. I've been keeping my nitrates in check. Except for an occasional spike. I've also stocked the tank with:
Haw. Yellow Tang
Radiant Wrasse
Divided Leopard Wrasse
McCosker's Flasher Wrasse
juv. Chistletooth Wrasse
most of which are supposed to eat these things. I had a 6-line but while setting up the new fuge he stressed out and died. I'd prefer to not put chemicals in my tank. And from what I've seen this Salivert Flatworm Exit is hit ot miss at best. So what does everyone think I should do?

 

[jun_celis]

Flatworm Exit! Do it a couple of times. Make sure you siphon out as much as you can before treating your tank because when these bugs dies, they release some form of toxic liquid that is really bad for your tank.

 

[timnnell]

That's why I always like to stay away from chemicals. Toxic that's a bad word in a reef tank. Plus I've heard of people using the stuff for 3 months and still have they little buggers. But if it will really work I guess I'll have to use it. I'm tired of looking at those ugly things in my tank. I've knocked a bunch of them out but they seem to just keep slowly creeping back.

 

[urville]

I've never personnally seen exit do anything but simply work. The issue is that these animals like any can find their way into the depths of your very porous rock work. It may seem the product is not effective, but I can promise you that just like catching fish in reef aquaria, this is no simple endeavor.

Now, I have to say this. If you did not, you should be QT'ing everything coming in. Corals might be an exception, but then you should be dipping them in flatworm exit and a coral dip. I've seen alot of evidence that they simply do better after a coral dip and Saliferts Flatworm Exit and red bug treatment dips do wonders.

That said, Exit isnt toxic to your tank at all. It's reef safe. From personal hands on experience.

I can totally understand not wanting to put this in your tank at any rate. Here's what worked for my friend whom I had to assist. He took out all of his rock, scrapped and scooped what he could see on glass and sand, since they stand vivdly out, once the rock was out. We put all the rock in the extra tank he had, and exited it, water change, exit it again. mounds of worms man, mounds, literal piles.

He uses 2-4x the reccomended dose of the exit each time. I wish we had taken a picture because it was pure insanity the sheer numbers that came out of that rock.

hth

 

[timthetoolman]

The reason it works on some and not others because there are different species of flat worms. One kind it knocks them out quick and others take several treatments. I used Blue Vets version on a rock that I QT'd when I got it and I doubled the dose and it took 3 treatments but no more flat worms. It did not harm the zoanthids or the aptasia:mad2: but the Blue Vet Aptasia control works with just one treatment and again it was safe for the zoanthids but I haven't tried it on more fragile coral.

 

[weaver5]

I just got over a very bad case of these flatworms and used flatworm exit and it worked.If I ever had to treat a tank with it again I would qt all my fish first.I treated the first time and lost 500.00 bucks worth of fish it just damaged them almost like there skin was falling off.
I finally got over them by taking everything out corals in 1 bucket with double dose of exit and all my live rock in another with double also.Than treated tank and let it run. Did a huge water change and rinsed everythoing off real well and repeated same thing next weekend. I will treat any new rock or coral I get with flatworm exit from now on before it goes into my display tank.
Scott

 

[urville]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12470947#post12470947 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by weaver5
If I ever had to treat a tank with it again I would qt all my fish first.I treated the first time and lost 500.00 bucks worth of fish it just damaged them almost like there skin was falling off.
Scott

This is easily the best method in my opinion. The extreme death is likely a reaction of the toxic fluid they give off as they die, or an off batch of exit? I've never seen that and I've seen fish dosed. I've never seen the fish in with the dying worms though, we were always careful to avoid that situation.

 

[timthetoolman]

This is crazy, I just looked in my fuge and the rock I thought was cured 2 months ago has flat worms again since it came out of quarantine. Tomorrow it goes back and when I start the new tank up next month NOTHING from this tank is going to be transferred until it's baked (for rocks) or remounted (everything else).
Maybe not bake everything but at least that rock. I'm ripping the zoas of and baking that rock in the sun.
I'm going to try the Flat Worm Exit this time and see if there is a difference. The Blue Vet stuff is a lot lower dose. I might try it at the same dose as FWE and then try the FWE after.

 

[urville]

I promise you I have seen a tank dosed 4 to 6X times the reco'd dose and it's never hurt anything but the worms BUT it takes maintenance. You have to have the carbon ready, have sucked out all the worms you can first, because thier toxin from when they die will hurt everything.

This is why earlier in the thread I REALLY reccomend dosing multi times in a dosing vat.... dose, vac, dose, vac... this allows you to vac the tank empty...