TStaut Posted February 5, 2003 Share Posted February 5, 2003 Is a sixline my only course of action for my 7G nano? Link to comment
OscarBeast Posted February 5, 2003 Share Posted February 5, 2003 A velvet sea slug would be cool. They will eat flatworms. Too bad they aren't cheap, don't live long, and don't ship well. They are really good looking animals though. http://www.marinedepotlive.com/1223794.html Link to comment
jdiver Posted February 5, 2003 Share Posted February 5, 2003 Get yourself a big pipette and start sucking! One way I've found works well to control flatworms (aside from the pipette) is to use a MagFloat scraper and essentially scrape the flatworms up, then bring the scraper to the top, take it out, rinse off all the flatworms, and voila. At least that keeps the glass clean of them. I've also found that reducing the photo period significantly helps to lower flatworm populations, but that might not be an option depending on your corals. Link to comment
TStaut Posted February 5, 2003 Author Share Posted February 5, 2003 Hmmmm... $30 for a slug that won't live 6 mos... I think that one's out. Though they are gorgeous. I'll try the cleaning them off the glass thing, but I really want them eradicated. I've got a tank full of zoanthids and I'd hate to see them get wiped out. Travis Link to comment
MKramer Posted February 5, 2003 Share Posted February 5, 2003 What kind of flatworms? Some are beign, and not even worth the effort of trying to eliminate. And the others.... optimum strategy depends on the variety. What color are they, about what size, and how many would you guess you have at this point? Link to comment
Satchmo Posted February 5, 2003 Share Posted February 5, 2003 The majority of flatworms aren't going to harm your livestock. They're just ugly looking. Link to comment
TStaut Posted February 5, 2003 Author Share Posted February 5, 2003 I'll do one better. I'll post a pic of one as soon as I can get home and snap off a couple shots. For now though... green outside with orange/red inside if I remember correctly. Forked tail. I can probably spot 50 on the glass at any time if I try hard enough. The larger ones are probably around 1/4". Link to comment
MKramer Posted February 5, 2003 Share Posted February 5, 2003 The color description fits red planaria somewhat, which are one of the more obnoxious flatworm varieties. However, I wouldn't describe their tail as forked, more as having three little lobes. Thre are also brown flatworms that can eat away at corals, but they also typically lack a noticibly forked tail, however their color can vary based on what they've eaten. I look forward to the pictures, hopefully we can figure out a simple solution. In the past, my outbreaks of benign flatworm have resolved themselves, and only occasionally reappear in large numbers. Link to comment
Dave ESPI Posted February 5, 2003 Share Posted February 5, 2003 they hate fresh water dips, it kills them in 3 seconds. DING ! no more worms. ya could try a flash hypo salinity W/C in yer tank if the tanks is small enough. here is how to do it: ALL THIS HAS TO BE DONE SUPER QUICK.... siphon all the tank water out and save it. also take any live corals out if need be(if you have them) replace all the water in the tank with temp PH and ALK buffer adjusted to 8.2 FRESH WATER. (have some one help you) and let sit for less than 5 minutes. siphon out all the fresh water, and re-add the saved salt water while doing a 10 % new salt water water change immediately. this will wack them fer sure. replace any corals/ fish an hour later after a quick dip in a TECH-D dip or fresh water. after that it should be very easy to controll any straglers and/or "TITANIC" survivors :woot: LOL I had to do it in a 20 gal nano tank at a customers house. I thought their LR was covered in diatoms.. it was firrken flat worms of PLAGUE perportions X) Link to comment
TStaut Posted February 6, 2003 Author Share Posted February 6, 2003 Here they are.... Thanks for all the help guys. T Link to comment
MKramer Posted February 6, 2003 Share Posted February 6, 2003 I'm sorry to say, but it looks like red planaria to me. Better known as the red plague, given how much of a PITA they are to control. Dave's flash hyposalinity directions might help, but I've heard of planaria surviving longer freshwater dips. I'd start by using a small air hose to siphon out any that are easily reachable. The more you get, the less they can reproduce. This won't stop the outbreak, but it'll keep it a little more sane. If you're up for a chemical treatment, you can try oomed, if you can find it. Be SURE to use it at full strength, though, remove all filtration media, and keep the lights our for 36-48 hours for best success. Oomed is claimed by many to be reef safe, and I have used it personally on several occasions. I heard you can't buy it anymore, tohugh, so I'm not sure what the deal is.... If you're unsure of using chemicals, or can't find it, I really think the best bet is a C. varians sea slug. Yes, it will die afterwards, but that is its role in life. It eats to clean a section of a reef, then dies. It's unfortunate, but on the otherhand, we have little problem with killing 100+ flatworms who are just doing what they're programmed to do. Why not let their natural predator do what it's programmed to do? Really, the only other option in my book is to keep siphoning. You'll never eliminate them all (although, neither will a snail or medication, most likely), but you can at least prevent them from blocking the view of your aquarium critters. Once the worms are removed, or at least mostly removed, I'd attack the water and sandbed quality issues that make a tank hospitable to them. As usual, do everything you can to keep the water clean. Then work on substrate quality. I'd recommend getting some good sand-sifting critters, like nassarius snails or a detrivore kit. Link to comment
Dave ESPI Posted February 6, 2003 Share Posted February 6, 2003 ^^^^^^^^^^^ yes. what ^ said. those are NOT the flat worms as I was thinking of also. The ones you have suck ! yer screwed ! RUNNNNN FOOOEERRRR YOURR LIFFEEE !!!!!!!! Link to comment
TStaut Posted February 6, 2003 Author Share Posted February 6, 2003 actually, I'm a bit relieved that they're not corallivores. Could have wiped out my zoanthid collection. Don't get me wrong, this sucks... Link to comment
Gilman Posted February 6, 2003 Share Posted February 6, 2003 TS, Those are the type that I have as well. I just use a piece of rigid airline tubing connected to some regular airline tubing as a planaria vacuum. Whenever I do a water change, I take siphon out as many of the Planaria as possible. This seems to keep them under control for the most part in our tank. Good luck, Gil Link to comment
ross76053 Posted February 7, 2003 Share Posted February 7, 2003 There's also a product called Greenex - do a search on reefcentral.com (grab a beer while waiting....their site is suicidally slow) for commentaries by others who've had success w/it. Pretty sure you can buy it in the U.S. Link to comment
Satchmo Posted February 7, 2003 Share Posted February 7, 2003 It's not that bad anymore Ross. Have you seen the upgrade? Of course, I'm still confident I can kill a beer while it loads, regardless of how fast it is. Link to comment
Cam barr Posted February 7, 2003 Share Posted February 7, 2003 will 6 lines eat planearea Link to comment
Metznreef Posted February 7, 2003 Share Posted February 7, 2003 i have planeria in plague numbers in my 7 gallon and i just got a 6 line wrasse. he seems to eat some of them but i don't think he can control them by himself. i'm planning on "renting" a mandarin to help with the worms and give him to a guy up the street with a 120 gallon reef when A)all the worms are gone or He stops eating. Link to comment
ross76053 Posted February 8, 2003 Share Posted February 8, 2003 Satch - just visited reefcentral....yep, much better. I hadn't been in a couple of months due to slowness. will 6 lines eat planearea Hang on there, Hoss! Ya can't really make a statement like that unless all 6-lines eat 'em. And they don't. If yer lucky, yours might. From what I've ready (and experienced), about 50% of 6-lines eat flatworms. Supporting evidence - my first 6-line ate 'em (until he decided to take a dive). My second (and current) one doesn't touch 'em. Link to comment
TStaut Posted February 8, 2003 Author Share Posted February 8, 2003 info I'm getting from reefaquariumguide is that sixlines more than likely won't touch this kind. Travis Link to comment
printerdown01 Posted February 8, 2003 Share Posted February 8, 2003 Six-lines will generally eat the ruddy brownish-orange guys... But each wrass is different, and each species of planaria is different too... I have heard really bad things about the ones you have... -sorry I know that doesn't make you feel better- Try sucking them out one by one. Spend the time it takes to suck every single one of these guys out that you can visually see at a given time. Come back 2 days later and do it again! Hopefully you will eventually get them. It worked really well for me twice, and then I got lazy X) I now have to start over again! These guys SUCK! Link to comment
FAHZ Posted February 8, 2003 Share Posted February 8, 2003 Here is how to make a simple sucker I picked up from someone's site. Use a plastic wand from a window blind and airline tubing to make a vacuum. Attach the tubing with rubber bands with the tubing extending about 1/2" beyond end of the wand. The flatworms suck up easy into a container and you can pour the water right back into your tank as the worms go right to the bottom. I just bought a shroom rock and when I got it into my tank I noticed two days later the rock was covered with flatworms. The vacuum worked great and after a few cleanings I had most of them. Fahz Link to comment
Palmetto Posted February 8, 2003 Share Posted February 8, 2003 Ross is right- six lines may or may not eat them. Dave is right also- freshwater melts them. So does Greenex (it is the Quinsulin in it that does it, not the Malachite green- you can also use Quinsulex) and a new product called Salifert Flatworm Exit. Red planarians are HIGHLY toxic, though. If you treat them with Greenex or kill them with chemicals, they melt and enter the water column as a toxic sludge that will bleach or destroy SPS and stress other corals very near death. They can also kill fish when melted into the water column like this. When the populations get high enough, they can blanket corals, preventing them from getting light, and the toxins from the flatworms themselves even while alive CAN stress your corals really badly. As for biological control, the six-line is an option- but the best flatworm eater according to recent reports is a canary wrasse or a leopard wrasse, with the canary reported as the best. If anyone knows Flame*Angel from RC, she has one of the most beautiful tanks I have seen- and has battled these demons endlessly. Here is her website if you want to see it or contact her with any questions: http://www.sjwilson.net/reef/ I have also watched the worms disappear from a tank I was housing a quantity of peppermint shrimp in- I assume they ate them, although I did not see it- they just all disappeared. I used Quinsulex to totally eradicate them, but it is still risky, especially for SPS. Good luck! Link to comment
TStaut Posted February 8, 2003 Author Share Posted February 8, 2003 Great info. Thanks Darren. Link to comment
UofAHog Posted February 9, 2003 Share Posted February 9, 2003 I have also used Quinsulex to kill flatworms. It was completely effective and I haven't seen one for about a month now. The down side is that something in the process tends to kill SPS. I lost 2 montipora in the ordeal. If you are gonna try to get rid of them with medication then you need to do a search on reefcentral about the experiences people have had. Link to comment
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