Doubt....

[Raglandfam]

Hello all! We are relatively new to the hobby and I’m having serious doubt about our ability to successfully keep a saltwater aquarium. We have a 90 gallon tank with Refugium, protein skimmer, etc. we seem so be doing great with the corals in our tank but parasites have plagued us since the start. We are down to our last fish (a dragon goby) after isolating them in a 30 gal. hospital tank and treating them with copper for a month. I’m very discouraged . I think we now have every worm imaginable in our display tank including bristle, flat, and fan. I’m hoping that after we re-introduce fish the worm population will improve. All of our corals have new growth and our snail population has grown exponentially. How long does our tank need to be fish free to be clear of parasites? Should we treat the tank for worms? I don’t want to harm the corals in any way. Any words of encouragement are appreciated.

 

[Matthew Frost]

Hello all! We are relatively new to the hobby and I’m having serious doubt about our ability to successfully keep a saltwater aquarium. We have a 90 gallon tank with Refugium, protein skimmer, etc. we seem so be doing great with the corals in our tank but parasites have plagued us since the start. We are down to our last fish (a dragon goby) after isolating them in a 30 gal. hospital tank and treating them with copper for a month. I’m very discouraged . I think we now have every worm imaginable in our display tank including bristle, flat, and fan. I’m hoping that after we re-introduce fish the worm population will improve. All of our corals have new growth and our snail population has grown exponentially. How long does our tank need to be fish free to be clear of parasites? Should we treat the tank for worms? I don’t want to harm the corals in any way. Any words of encouragement are appreciated.

I would say use some traps before you reintroduce your fish. The bristle worms can be caught with a simple "nylon trap". Take a piece of shrimp and put it in a nylon sock with a piece of rock. Tie the end and drop it in the tank before the lights go out. In the morning the bristle worms will be stuck to the nylon. Just be careful not to touch the worms when you remove the trap. The flat worms "I think" will go into a bottle style trap. Google "bottle trap" titans easier than trying to explain it. If you water parameters are good look into fish and inverts that eat different worms. There is a wealth of knowledge and fixes for virtually everything. Don't get discouraged, when you get stuck or you have questions just ask.

 

[Scott Campbell]

Hello all! We are relatively new to the hobby and I’m having serious doubt about our ability to successfully keep a saltwater aquarium. We have a 90 gallon tank with Refugium, protein skimmer, etc. we seem so be doing great with the corals in our tank but parasites have plagued us since the start. We are down to our last fish (a dragon goby) after isolating them in a 30 gal. hospital tank and treating them with copper for a month. I’m very discouraged . I think we now have every worm imaginable in our display tank including bristle, flat, and fan. I’m hoping that after we re-introduce fish the worm population will improve. All of our corals have new growth and our snail population has grown exponentially. How long does our tank need to be fish free to be clear of parasites? Should we treat the tank for worms? I don’t want to harm the corals in any way. Any words of encouragement are appreciated.

If worms are the primary issue - buy a fish that eats worms. A six-line wrasse or melanurus wrasse will crush a population of worms.

 

[doughboy]

If worms are the primary issue - buy a fish that eats worms. A six-line wrasse or melanurus wrasse will crush a population of worms.

wrasse disappears at night when worms are out.