WHAT are these things and are they harmful? please help!

[lostduck80]

These things came up over night and they are now everywhere I say not hundreds but hundreds thousands and even millions of them.

 

I have no idea what they are please lookat the the pics and tell me if they are harmfull to my tank... help me, they are alive and when touched they move.

 

They are now all over the rocks and everything, and there seems to be more of the red and white hairy worms as well, what are they and are they dangerous HOW can i get ride of them!!! please help

 

click on the picture for closer look.

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=16945

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=16946

[Scissorhand]

Hah hah, they're called flat-worms. Harmless! Everybody has them in their tank, in either small or large quantities. The toxin that they release when they die, though, is very harmful. To keep a handle on their population, use air tubing to siphon them into a bucket, and a brine shrimp net to filter them out, you can dump the water back into the tank. You can use this method along with Salifert's Flat Worm Exit. 9 out of 10 times, they always come back. Search "Flat Worm" and good luck.

[Six]

yeah, people will freak out about these guys, but they really dont hurt anything. if the tank is properly cared for, they shouldnt get too prolific. maintain good water quality and yea, i'd siphon some out from time to time.

 

they seem to go through blooms so, wait a few weeks and you may not see any for a month or so.

 

if you use flatworm exit or another med to whipe out some of the population, you have to do like 50% water change and add carbon in droves to ensure they dead doesnt pollute or kill the tank.

considering the pain in having to do all that to get rid of some of the flatworms, i would just leave them in the tank and not worry about it too much.

 

good luck

[reefinnewb]

i thought the browner ones were bad and the clear ones were nothing to worry about? im still a newb though so...

[kinetic]

i've never seen those in my tank... weird.

[Six]

Sorry, I must not have looked at your second pic:

 

The whitish things look like bristleworms though its not clear enough to tell for sure. The brown small guys are flat worms.

 

My bad.

[sea man dan]

Ok some poeple think flat worms are harmless, but not me, well they are but if you let them get out of hand they will cover your corals and sufficate them!!... so dont let them get out of hand