Need help with flatworms
- Thread starter Corals
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Vmacisback
Vern McCalla
dip with bayer
Kev311
Active Member
I hear that a wrasse can also make short work of the little buggers. Flatworm exit I hear also works well.
-Kevin
Melevsreef.com - Flatworms | How to eliminate them!
The important thing to remember is that the flatworms you see are just a small percentage of the FW in the tank. When FW die they release a toxin that will kill fish and inverts so you have to manually remove as many as possible prior to treatment and then expect to do a large water change and add new carbon..
Blue Damsels are another fish that will eat them. The trick is to not feed the damsels and to blow the FW off surfaces in front of the damsel until the fish figures out "oh these are good to eat".
Please review link
The important thing to remember is that the flatworms you see are just a small percentage of the FW in the tank. When FW die they release a toxin that will kill fish and inverts so you have to manually remove as many as possible prior to treatment and then expect to do a large water change and add new carbon..
Blue Damsels are another fish that will eat them. The trick is to not feed the damsels and to blow the FW off surfaces in front of the damsel until the fish figures out "oh these are good to eat".
Please review link
chemisfun11
Active Member
I've done this with success. Noticed the little buggers when my clowns started to spawn. Some of your coral will get stressed out if you use the pig dewormer (levamisole?) but it will kill them. I tried to siphon out as many as I could see with small vinyl tubing before I treated the whole tank, then once I treated (unreal how many are hiding in the rockwork) and they started to die, I siphoned them out. It is not a fun treatment process, but it does work. good luck!
dotcommer
New Member
I have the same problem as you. I spent two hours today sucking those pests out of my rock work.
I purchased some rigid tubing that fits into standard airline hose. Then just sucked them into a bucket. It works great, and since you are using airline tubing, its powerful enough to suck them off the rocks without removing too much water. So over the course of 30minutes to an hour you might suck out 3 gallons of water.
I purchased some rigid tubing that fits into standard airline hose. Then just sucked them into a bucket. It works great, and since you are using airline tubing, its powerful enough to suck them off the rocks without removing too much water. So over the course of 30minutes to an hour you might suck out 3 gallons of water.
SmyrnaReefer
Valuable Member
I would pull out and dip corals instead of treating the whole tank. Too many stories that turned out bad instead if good. Pull/suck out as many out by hand with small rigid tubing. It's a pain but safer.... I wouldn't rush whole tank treatment.
SmyrnaReefer
Valuable Member
Works every time I've tried including last night at friends house.. Suck the ones off you can see ( carefully) off the corals or whatever. Or... Put tank water in a plastic container and dip the corals that you can see them on. Just had a guy locally kill his tank by dosing with under the recommended dosage.
This isn't a one and done fix, agreed.
This isn't a one and done fix, agreed.
nova65ss
Valuable Member
I guess I don't see what the point of pulling the corals and dipping them is. The planaria do not live feed or use the coral for any reason so why dip them? You can do all the sucking of them out you want but for everyone you suck out there is probably ten more in the rocks you can't see. So I guess you can keep the population down but you will never rid them completely with that method.
You can try some Chelidonura Nudibranchs to eat the planaria or FlatwormXit should work to help clear it up. To help prevent problematic hitchhikers, I dip all my new corals in an iodine bath like Tropic Marin Pro Coral Cure before introducing them into my tank. Understandably I get a bit paranoid about introducing things like flatworms into my display tanks.
