Small tan Flatworm

Susan Dense · Jun 14, 2019

I have these tiny flatworms that show up on my glass now and then and would like to kill them before they multiply too much. I have read that turning the lights out for a couple days will kill them? Has anybody tried this with success? If so will two days three nights be long enough? This is the second day and my corals and fish are not happy without their lights but I don’t want to give up now if it will work. Thanks for any help.

Justin Cook · Jun 14, 2019

I've never heard of the light cure but I do know that Salifert Flatworm Exit works o.k. but the best thing I've found for them was a 6 line wrasse and/or a meanurus wrasse. I swap a lot of stuff between my two tanks and came down with them at exactly the same time. I was VERY cautious with the Salifert FE and it didn't get them all. I'm really careful with stuff like that and ended up deciding against re-treating the tank and got a 6 line for one system and a melanurus for another and haven't seen any since. I will not that the one's I had were tiny and clear/tan colored. It took me a while to decide what to do and in the intervening weeks, the flatworms never got any larger or turned red like the one's you usually see in a google search. They may have been the same species but they sure never got to crazy levels. Just little specs on the glass that I'd have to "dust" off. They'd get back on the glass after a few days.

One thing I will note is that a lot of the issue with a product like FE is not the chemical itself but the flatworms all dying. If you want to treat, I think it's better to get on it sooner so there's not so much of a die off.

shred5 · Jun 14, 2019

Most flatworms are harmless and do not grow much in population and actually most just disappear after a while.

A wrasse may clean them up if need be.

The ones you have to worry about are ones that are on corals and the red planaria...

Most are like nudibranchs and have a specific food that is why they are bad if they come in on a coral because they most likely eat that specific coral.
They usually die off after their food is gone or not available.

Susan Dense · Jun 14, 2019

Justin Cook said:
I've never heard of the light cure but I do know that Salifert Flatworm Exit works o.k. but the best thing I've found for them was a 6 line wrasse and/or a meanurus wrasse. I swap a lot of stuff between my two tanks and came down with them at exactly the same time. I was VERY cautious with the Salifert FE and it didn't get them all. I'm really careful with stuff like that and ended up deciding against re-treating the tank and got a 6 line for one system and a melanurus for another and haven't seen any since. I will not that the one's I had were tiny and clear/tan colored. It took me a while to decide what to do and in the intervening weeks, the flatworms never got any larger or turned red like the one's you usually see in a google search. They may have been the same species but they sure never got to crazy levels. Just little specs on the glass that I'd have to "dust" off. They'd get back on the glass after a few days.

One thing I will note is that a lot of the issue with a product like FE is not the chemical itself but the flatworms all dying. If you want to treat, I think it's better to get on it sooner so there's not so much of a die off.

Sounds like the same ones I have, I’ve read to many horror stories on using the FWE and this flatworm is the (! ) on the hitchhikers guide so at least it’s not a thumbs down. I did want to get a leopard wrasse but I don’t have fine sand it’s the crushed coral. Is there anything else that will eat them that you don’t need fine sand for that’s Peaceful?

Susan Dense · Jun 14, 2019

shred5 said:
Most flatworms are harmless and do not grow much in population and actually most just disappear after a while.

A wrasse may clean them up if need be.

The ones you have to worry about are ones that are on corals and the red planaria...

Most are like nudibranchs and have a specific food that is why they are bad if they come in on a coral because they most likely eat that specific coral.
They usually die off after their food is gone or not available.

I sure hope they just die off that would be great, they did come in on coral I made a huge mistake and didn’t know about the dipping first. Will never do that again I got all kinds of weird things. The flatworm being the worst of it so far.