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Are these flatworms???


DyloHeath

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I really hope these aren't flatworms. Please help ID these.

 

They all seem to be on the tank glass, I don't notice any bites on any of the corals. Tiny bugs.

 

I tried to make the photos clear. Faint red circles around the bugs.

 

If they are flatworms, what is the best plan of attack?

 

 

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11 minutes ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

Yep, those are flatworms. 

 

If they're not bothering any of your corals and are not growing to plague-like proportions, I'd just leave them be. 

Okay, I’ll keep an eye on them.

 

ive heard they can be a problem when they overpopulate.

 

thanks for the ID 

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Update: These things have multiplied like crazy all over the glass, also I've notice some massive ones. And from what I understand they are the ones that lay all the eggs?

 

I took the hammer out and did a coral RX treatment

 

I've also ordered salifert flatworm exit.

 

Here are some photos!

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I would not worry about them too much right now and just let their population boom and then eventually bust. My tank had a massive amount of them about 6-8 months in, they lasted a few weeks, and then they were gone. I would certainly not use Flatworm Exit and would not start removing and dipping corals for these types of flatworms (the big exception being if you have clams) unless absolutely necessary. Simply remove the really, really big ones manually when you see them and try and suck up as many as you can during your regular water changes.

 

Flatworm Exit will kill the flatworms outright and they generally contain toxins which are released when the flatworm dies. If they get entirely out of control and start causing real issues, then you can consider using Flatworm Exit, but you need to remove as many as you physically can before using it because in a nano, you don't have a lot of margin for error when it comes to toxicity.

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Just to provide another perspective to add to @jservedio experience.  When my tank was young (circa 2016), I noticed a few flatworms on the glass.  Fearing an outbreak, I looked at options such as 6 line wrasse (claimed to known to eat flatworms), or Flatworm exit.  I didn't want to add another fish so option #2 was the way to go.  

 

Just be sure to read and re-read the instructions.  Have a lot of activated carbon and a fresh batch of salt water on hand.  I put the activated carbon in two, and after adding the flatworm exit, put in 1st pouch, let the tank run ~1 hour, and then changed it once more with the 2nd pouch.  If you have a skimmer, keep an eye on it, it will cause the skimmer to go crazy.  I elected to keep the skimmer on and dispose of the skimmate as quickly as it fills up the collection cup.  Once the skimmer settled back down, I then did a 10% water change.  Corals were obviously not happy with the chemical intervention, but after a water change, they bounced back within a day and the tank has been flatworm free ever since.

 

-Jeff

 

 

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Do you actually see them doing any harm? If not, leave them alone. They should die back to reasonable proportions on their own, or you can add a fish to eat them. 

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Quick update:

 

I noticed the population almost doubled in a week and after doing a tonne of research I came up with these options:

 

1) Like @jservedio said, let them run their course, if all goes well the population should start to control itself. But I have seen videos where the flatworms don't control themselves and take over the tank blocking light for some corals, etc

 

2) Use flatworm Exit early, as soon as there is too many this becomes a major risk to the tank from the toxic released.

 

I decided to use flatworm exit, for the week leading up I would suck out as many flatworms as I could see to reduce the amount of toxins released in the tank upon their death.

 

Everything went perfectly. Dosed the correct amount, had extra carbon ready, skimmer running for the toxins, and a water change after an hour of action. In the first 10 minutes you see the flatworms start to panic on the glass, I sucked out as many as I could see before they died.

 

The flatworms are now controlled in my tank, gone.

 

IMO flatworm exit should be used on the first sightings. These things populate quickly, and before you know it you have a colony of them. Using flatworm exit early lowers the amount of toxins released in the tank allowing for a higher success rate and no loss of corals. I'm no expert, just my opinion.

 

Youtube a few videos and you will see how many can be hidden in your tank. Its insane.

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15 minutes ago, DyloHeath said:

Quick update:

 

I noticed the population almost doubled in a week and after doing a tonne of research I came up with these options:

 

1) Like @jservedio said, let them run their course, if all goes well the population should start to control itself. But I have seen videos where the flatworms don't control themselves and take over the tank blocking light for some corals, etc

 

2) Use flatworm Exit early, as soon as there is too many this becomes a major risk to the tank from the toxic released.

 

I decided to use flatworm exit, for the week leading up I would suck out as many flatworms as I could see to reduce the amount of toxins released in the tank upon their death.

 

Everything went perfectly. Dosed the correct amount, had extra carbon ready, skimmer running for the toxins, and a water change after an hour of action. In the first 10 minutes you see the flatworms start to panic on the glass, I sucked out as many as I could see before they died.

 

The flatworms are now controlled in my tank, gone.

 

IMO flatworm exit should be used on the first sightings. These things populate quickly, and before you know it you have a colony of them. Using flatworm exit early lowers the amount of toxins released in the tank allowing for a higher success rate and no loss of corals. I'm no expert, just my opinion.

 

Youtube a few videos and you will see how many can be hidden in your tank. Its insane.

Imo those flat worms on your glass are different from the big ones... I have tons of the little ones and freaks me out but they come and go. 

 

As for the big ones when i had them i just dipped the frag if it was easy . And one time I just sucked them off with a Turkey baster.. honestly only had to do that one time each and they were gone. Granted at the time I had a melnarus haha.. oh and I still have the little ones all over and haven't seen a big one in close to a year (and rehomed the wrasse a long ways back too) 

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Yeah, the big ones are different. The little ones on the glass look like acoel flatworms. I have those. I had a bunch when the tank was just started (they came on my live rock), and now I only have a few. They haven't done any harm. 

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