Polyclad Flatworm (P.Mopsus) The Clam Killer

[bpulmano]

If it is a stomatella, don't get rid of it. Good algae grazer.

Thank you both I'll be working on ridding the pests this week and next. Don't want to do too much at once and upset the balance in the tank. There are waaaay too many bristleworms for my liking as well so that will also be delt with. I don't mind some as they can be beneficial but too many can also be a problem.

 

[GuyWalker1219]

I found this on a Monti at a local pet store
I made a short video showing how well these things are killed by bayer advance I will be uploading it soon.

 

[GuyWalker1219]

[video=youtube;4IzejTNYElY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IzejTNYElY[/video]

 

[Squishie89]

I thought I would share a photo of a polyclad doing it's thing.



He is eating the cerith snail.

 

[prsnlty]

He's creepy!
Did you pull him out after the picture?

Jackie

 

[Squishie89]

He's creepy!
Did you pull him out after the picture?

Jackie

I wish it was that easy. They are quick and very flexible. I have used boiling RODI water in the past and will have to try it some more again.

 

[prsnlty]

I wish it was that easy. They are quick and very flexible. I have used boiling RODI water in the past and will have to try it some more again.

Have you tried dipping the rock with Bayer Complete? I wonder if it would at least chase him out. I've tried this with a few other things and won (except for aptasia).

Good luck

Jackie

 

[Squishie89]

Have you tried dipping the rock with Bayer Complete? I wonder if it would at least chase him out. I've tried this with a few other things and won (except for aptasia).

Good luck

Jackie

Not really an option at this point. The rock is the home for my pistol shrimp and the rock also has corals and other inverts on it =/ I am not doing clams again in this tank, and there is only a few snails I really care about, so it is not a huge deal, but something I try and work on when I can.

 

[prsnlty]

Yeah, I understand. I miss my huge blue maxima that vanished overnight but never found the culpret. Since then I've been leary about adding another. Well I wish you luck at catching him without risk to others

 

[LarrySmith75]

Can flatworm exit be used to treat the tank and kill the flatworms? I just found a polyclad in my filter sock. Or do I need to set a trap to catch them?

 

[lakereef]

Here's my experience so far. http://reef2reef.com/threads/polyclad-worms.227148/

Anyone have a foolproof way of getting rid of these buggers? Traps only seem to catch the big ones. I'd really like to have clams in my main display again but know there's some tiny ones lurking just waiting for an expensive clam to eat. I see stomella shells randomly and one every couple months I'll find a tiny one on the bottom of a frag plug. So far they've proven harder to eradicate than AEFW and MEN both.

 

[reef life]

Be careful not to tear or shred the slimy critter. It will multiply into many!!

 

[lakereef]

Reached out to Bob Fenner, didn't find any new information.

Gave me this link

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fltwmcont.htm

Via email: "Thanks for the reply. I've read over your FAQ and the thread attached and haven't found exactly what I'm looking for. Here's what I gathered.
1) There's no failsafe in tank treatment for polyclads.
<Correct... some baiting, trapping is about the best approach (other than outright exclusion)>
2) Traps or active hunting is the only way to somewhat purge a system of polyclads.
<Oh! Yes>
3) Polyclads are on many clams that come from the wild and don't seem to become an issue until they're in a closed aquarium
4) Once you have them breeding in your system it's pretty much impossible to get them all out.
<Thank you for this synopsis>
Is there a medication or dip that could be used as a bath before putting in quarantine to assure no pests are being introduced?
<Mmm; no... not w/o killing off all life practically... I am a big fan of isolating/curing added LR (and not adding LS per se) to established systems... about a month for observation is about right before introduction into your main/display>"


I'm somewhat floored no one has a solution to this problem. I had a clam months before even knowing I had a polyclad in my system. If adding a new clam, by that time the clam showed signs of harboring a pest it would have been through qt and in the display; bringing along its little death friend. I know some bayer dip clams when they get them but I've found bayer takes quite a while to kill the worm and guessing it also would kill the clam if left in for too long. There has to be a drug that kills them at least safe for a quarantine tank. Prazi or lamisole perhaps. I have one I just caught that I will try it on but thought I may feed it long enough to see it lay eggs, to know what to look for first. Guessing it's tricky since if you do successfully kill with a drug the worm releases toxin into the tank and kills everything in qt.

 

[lakereef]

Here's an update in case anyone else runs into this same problem. I know my LFS has also lost a lot of clams to polyclads so I decided to try prazi. His are very segregated making us both believe the clams carry the worms themselves. I've read some studies that reinforced this theory and seems they don't cause many problems in the wild but once farmed or in a closed aquarium they can wipe out clams very quickly.

Anyway I tried dipping a clam for 40 min, 1ml prazi per 3 gallons. This seemed to kill the polyclad within 10 min leaving the clam unharmed. I rinsed the clam for an hour in 5 gallon bucket and placed in quarantine. Clam looks great. Polyclad has moved on to the next life.

 

[Lionsreef]

I just came across this thread. I had a healthy 5 inch maxima clam for over 2 years in my tank until last week when it quickly started to deteriorate with the mantle receding. Then just day before yesterday it was finally bad enough I removed it from the tank. I couldn't figure out why the clam died so quickly as everything else in the tank seems healthy?

Then, this morning I turn on the lights in the living room before sunrise and look at my tank immediately. I see a polyclad flatworm moving across the sand that was the size of a silver dollar. I quickly scooped it from the tank and through it out. I'm guessing after seeing this thread that this flatworm is what killed my clam!

I am also trying to guess where it might have come from. The only thing I have added was 4 frags about 3 weeks ago picked up at a frag swap. I dipped the frags in Revive like normal. Prior to this the last coral I added to the tank was last fall. Does anyone know how fast these flatworms grow and if they are tolerant to Revive dip? Also, should I be afraid that there could be more of these in the tank and if they multiply?

 

[bsagea]

I found one in my tank after I lost my 4 clams. No idea how long it was in there or what it came in on since I dip everything before it goes into QT or now my display. They are very immune to so many things! I left it in a extremely strong dose of Bayer Advance for 30 min. Took it out and put it back in saltwater. Came back to life. I tried numerous things, Revive, CoralRX, and another that kills eggs as well that I can't remember and each time I put it back fresh saltwater, it made a comeback. It was weaker but still alive. It finally died after putting it in fresh water for awhile. I have never seen anything like it. Sorry to say it will survive Revive and numerous other things out there. We inspect everything with a magnifier as well. They can multiply, but no idea how quickly...bsa

 

[Ross Petersen]

Old thread here... is this an example of a lovely - and more so terrible - polyclad flatworm highlighted in this thread? Thanks for any tips!

 

[Biologic]

Here’s another one of these awful creatures. I found this one eating a small blue tuxedo urchin! Opportunistic predator! Get them out!

 

[dwfain]

Awesome thread. I've spotted a 5+in long polyclad flatworm in my tank. I've spent countless hours at night looking for the SOB again. Guess its time for the 20oz bottle with a feeder clam trick. Sucks about how its not good to run GFO on a tank with a clam because I was looking to get one as my next tank livestock purchase. Glad I read this before hand.

Can someone share the steps for the trap? I saw one the other morning that was 3+ inches long and it moved very quickly into a hole in a rock when the lights came up.