needhelp figuring out what these are.

rajkovich207 · Feb 25, 2012

Ok so for the last few weeks 2 of my pocillopora frags one green with blue tip acro and 1 hydnophora frag have been loosing tissue. Well yesterday I noticed many small flat worm looking things, I did a coral rx dip and some of them fell off they look and swim like small star trek icon shaped darker red flat worms. They are way to small for me to take a pic of but I was hoping someone could help me figure out what they are. I am very worried I have the dreaded AEFW. TIA Tony.

revhtree · Feb 25, 2012

Tony it sounds like you might have them. Do you have any pics?

skinz78 · Feb 25, 2012

About how big are they?

returnofsid · Feb 25, 2012

Acropora eating Flatworms wouldn't be affecting your Pocillopora or your Hydnophora.

If the flatworms you've seen are red, they're probably Red Planaria, which are harmless, for the most part. The only times Ref Planaria become a problem is:

1. they reproduce to the point where the population is so large that they cover your corals, blocking out light.

2. when they die, they become toxic, so if you treat, with Flatworm Exit, without taking proper precautions, they can crash your system. It's important to remove as many as possible, before treating and then to remove as many of the dead ones as possible, immediately after treatment.

revhtree · Feb 25, 2012

Hey Sid do you have any pics of those?

returnofsid · Feb 25, 2012

Hmmmm, I don't have any pics, of my own, of Red Planaria. However, I have a friend and neighbor, with a reef tank that has a lot of Red Planaria in it. I'll try to get over there and get some pics! For now, https://www.google.com/search?q=Red...Q&biw=1366&bih=638&sei=1mlJT-7uG6LXiQKJzYXbDQ

rajkovich207 · Feb 25, 2012

pictures

Ok well my better half hold all the camera skills in the house and this is what she was able to come up with. All pictures of subjects were taken after a coral RX dip where they were taken out of dish and placed onto a dixi cup. Also worth mentioning is a favia that I have has been receeding for quite some time, upon expection just now I found more of the same "bugs" on it.

and this is the acro and pocillopora that are experiencing the tissue/polyp loss

returnofsid · Feb 25, 2012

Pocillopora is notorious for "polyp bailout" at the slightest stress. The polyps are large enough to survive your filtration and settle, throughout your tank. This is the reason it's the most common SPS hitchhiker found, on live rock. Eventually, you will probably see new colonies of Pocillopora sprouting up.

What's your Alk levels? Whenever I've had similar experiences, I've ALWAYS been able to attribute it to low Alk or low Magnesium.

rajkovich207 · Feb 25, 2012

Last I checked it was at 11 I do not have a mag test kit unfortunately. Any idea what the worms in the picture are?

returnofsid · Feb 25, 2012

The photos are just too small to properly ID. I do see what possibly looks like harmless isopods though.

Magnesium is just as important, if not more important, than Calcium and Alkalinity. I'd highly suggest getting a quality test kit and get it tested.

rajkovich207 · Feb 25, 2012

Will do then. I do have many isopods but none of them look or move like these, if they are killing my Corals then I want to did them but am not sure where to begin. I do have interceptor, should I treat with that or use something like praziquantel?