ID help needed, please

[Kann]

I removed a rock from my tank and noticed a bunch of pods along with these worms. Anyone have any idea what they are? I haven’t seen any bite marks on corals that would suggest they are harming anything, but they don’t look good to me.

 

[Kann]

Here is the same video in a better format...

 

[king aiptasia]

they are acoel flatworms. not bad if they aren't living on the corals. The ones that live on the corals can cause issues though

 

[Kann]

they are acoel flatworms. not bad if they aren't living on the corals. The ones that live on the corals can cause issues though

Thank you king! I recently lost a six line wrasse and that's when I started noticing them. The LFS has another saved for me so hopefully that will do the trick to keep the population from getting out of hand.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Yes- yellow coris, 6 lined, lunare and melanurus wrasse will consume them. As King Aptasia said, they are harmless, however if allowed to populate generally end up at the base of coral and block the light source required for coral to manufacture its needed food source. In better terms, these flatworms can actually keep adequate light from reaching the corals, effectively starving the coral. It is believed that this flatworm also consumes the resident zooxanthellae on the coral's surface. This flatworm is normally found in areas of the aquarium with low water flow and can be seen on the surface of the corals.

 

[king aiptasia]

Yes- yellow coris, 6 lined, lunare and melanurus wrasse will consume them. As King Aptasia said, they are harmless, however if allowed to populate generally end up at the base of coral and block the light source required for coral to manufacture its needed food source. In better terms, these flatworms can actually keep adequate light from reaching the corals, effectively starving the coral. It is believed that this flatworm also consumes the resident zooxanthellae on the coral's surface. This flatworm is normally found in areas of the aquarium with low water flow and can be seen on the surface of the corals.

They don't consume the zooxanthellae of the coral, they have their own zooxanthellae, a few species eat the coral mucous. When the coral dwelling species get excessive numbers they are bad for the coral

 

[vetteguy53081]

They don't consume the zooxanthellae of the coral, they have their own zooxanthellae, a few species eat the coral mucous. When the coral dwelling species get excessive numbers they are bad for the coral

Notice I said " It is believed" which is not the case