Flatworm Help - Tank OCD is kicking in!!

[reefitup]

I'm starting to notice some flatworms (Rust Brown Planarians). : Breathe in...breath out... goose fra bah.... I feel pretty... oh so pretty..

Ok, better now...

I know one of my issues with this is lack of skimmer, and I'm working on getting one. In the meantime, I've seen lists of things that people claim eat them. I realize that getting a fish for a specific need (like this) is a 50/50 at best (with the exception of a velvet nudi) but I'd be interested in seeing if one tends to have more success than another...

Some include, but are not limited to

6 line Wrasse
Yellow (Banana) Wrasse (never saw one in lfs before)
Leopard Wrasse (never saw one in lfs before)
Golden head sleeper Gobies (maybe others)
Dragonets (target)
Velvet Nudi (although, they die once food is gone and are toxic when they die)


Would like to know who here has had an issue with them, past or present, and what they found made a good predator?

I am NOT a fan of chemicals, so FWE is out of the question...especially with a 29 gallon and as toxic as these critters are when they die. They may die off as it's a newer tank, but I'm not waiting for it to happen, and this tank is several months old and I still haven't added any fish, so maybe it's time to kill 2 birds with one stone...

I found this info on the web, and I'm going to try that this weekend I think...anyone ever try it?

Try setting out one rock in a spot on the sand away from everything and turn off all the lights. Set a flashlight or a direct beam of light on that rock and see if they move to it. Or cut a circle piece of cardboard and set a light on top of the cardboard so you get a direct beam on just that rock. Then do a fw dip on that rock. Do it repeatedly until they are eliminated.

THOUGHTS? My TANK OCD is really kicking into OVERDRIVE!!

 

[reefitup]

http://www.ashevillemarine.org/bb/v...ghlight=&sid=bf5667012223d2db4442df81a6001c34

I'm guessing that would be on the "hard to find" list

 

[JRWOHLER]

I have a bicolor pseudochromis and I have never seen a flatworm in my tank....nor have I have ever been able to keep a shrimp and all my hermit crabs run at the sight of him. Not exactly a friendly fish to be honest. But he will eat just about anything like that he can get.

 

[JRWOHLER]

#1 FISH FOR BRISTLE WORM CONTROL
Tank Raised Neon Dottyback
(Pseudochromis aldabraensis)

Description:The Neon Dottyback, also known as the Neon Pseudochromis, is exotically pigmented, with an eye catching neon blue, orange, and yellow. They are strikingly beautiful to look at and have a very curious personality. Tank Bred Dottybacks are very hardy and durable fish making them a perfect addition for the novice or seasoned aquarist.
Recommended minimum tank size: 20 gallon or larger
Food and diet:They are small plankton feeders so foods such as brine shrimp, krill and mysid shrimp are perfect. Feed Daily.
Level of Care: Easy
Reef Compatibility:Very good reef or community fish.

Found that above discription when I was looking for something. Not as cheap as some of the other dottybacks but it is #1.

 

[blange3]

The banana wrasse is also called a yellow coris wrasse, although it is not a coris genus.

AO usually has them or can get them. I had one in my 55 until it went carpet surfing and it cleaned up a small flatworm problem I had.

 

[Brian]

I feel for ya Steve...I have flatworms BAD and it almost has me ready to rip down the whole system and start from scratch...more than 1/2 my rock is covered in them...

Now let me tell you all the different fish I've had that are "almost guaranteed to get rid of flatworms"

Coris Wrasses - Green and Yellow (I had 3 Yellows & 2 Greens in the tank at the same time)
Mandarin (pair)
Scooter Blenny
Velvet Nudibranchs

and FWE on top of that. I am curious to know where you think you got them from?

 

[reefitup]

#1 FISH FOR BRISTLE WORM CONTROL
Tank Raised Neon Dottyback
(Pseudochromis aldabraensis)

Description:The Neon Dottyback, also known as the Neon Pseudochromis, is exotically pigmented, with an eye catching neon blue, orange, and yellow. They are strikingly beautiful to look at and have a very curious personality. Tank Bred Dottybacks are very hardy and durable fish making them a perfect addition for the novice or seasoned aquarist.
Recommended minimum tank size: 20 gallon or larger
Food and diet:They are small plankton feeders so foods such as brine shrimp, krill and mysid shrimp are perfect. Feed Daily.
Level of Care: Easy
Reef Compatibility:Very good reef or community fish.

Found that above discription when I was looking for something. Not as cheap as some of the other dottybacks but it is #1.

Are you talking about bristle worms or flatworms? That looks like it's about bristle worms. I've seen a couple ones here and there, nothing overly concerning...

 

[reefitup]

I feel for ya Steve...I have flatworms BAD and it almost has me ready to rip down the whole system and start from scratch...more than 1/2 my rock is covered in them...

Now let me tell you all the different fish I've had that are "almost guaranteed to get rid of flatworms"

Coris Wrasses - Green and Yellow (I had 3 Yellows & 2 Greens in the tank at the same time)
Mandarin (pair)
Scooter Blenny
Velvet Nudibranchs

and FWE on top of that. I am curious to know where you think you got them from?

Thanks Brian. Sounds like a reason to enjoy a tasty adult beverage... lol I don't need many reasons ;D

I'm going to call the LFS to see if they have any of those in stock. I called earlier and they suggested a 6 line, which they have in stock (small ones too). I hadn't heard about the scooters before. That's interesting. I'm sure they would have one or could get one...

 

[Brian]

Good luck Steve. Be swift! You would be amazed at how fast a few can turn into a few hundred.

Aquatic Obsessions gave me a sample of some new Flatworm Remover, I haven't tried it yet..so we'll see how that works.

 

[reefitup]

really? Let me know. The thing that scares me is the mass killing of organisms that give off toxins. Time release...now that would be something I'd try, but I'm sure with the ability to become immune...that wouldn't work...

 

[jimroth]

I have suffered with flatworms myself and have never been able to completely get rid of them (that's why I'm building a new tank :).
I have tried mandarins, yellow "coris" wrasses, and velvet slugs, and even a weird Sargassum shrimp from the gulf of Mexico. Some of these have eaten flatworms, never enuff to put a dent in the population. The slugs all end up in an intake.
I have tried FWE with limited success. The few survivors are somewhat resistant to FWE, and then they reproduce. Remember, it only takes one flatworm to repopulate your tank if conditions are favorable. (they like a nice sandbed, some red slime, and poor water circulation).
The best thing I ever used on the is QUININE. Back in the old days of the club, Malcolm (MadDrama) and I gave it a shot. I used Quinsulex capsules, he used some blue stuff that also contains quinine. It's rougher on the corals than FWE, and I lost some inverts, but MAN do they hate quinine.
If I was still going that route I would also try a six-line wrasse, some people have had good luck there.

 

[malulu]

i think i saw some banana wrasse last week in red-sand, not sure they still there...
you may want to call him first to be sure (you can goto the red sand vendor page to find his contact #, the owner (Feng) encourage to call his cell phone if the regular office phone # have no answer.

 

[reefitup]

Thanks for the info. In the interest of time, I'm going to run up and grab a 6 line I think and toss him in and see what happens. I'm not over-run with them, but I'm looking at it now and I see more than I originally thought. There are some here and there. I'm taking some of the rocks out and doing a FW dip on them and removing what I can that way... They don't like salinity changes,so that will help get the population down. I'm going to remove as many as I can manually and see if the 6 line can take it from there. If not, I might consider a chemical to help beat the population down even more, but I just wanna get as many out manually before dropping the atom bomb and committing myself to alotta water changes...

Unless anyone else has any other suggestions...

I've been wanting to get a fish in there anyway... lol

 

[fishrdp]

I had flatworms,sixline wrasse did not touch them. I to hate chemicals, but flat worm exit worked for me.I used like the diections said, it killed 95% of them. the last time I used FWE I left in for a week without changing water,Have not seen a flatworm since.Fingers crossed.

 

[JRWOHLER]

It is time to get a fish ;D

 

[fishrdp]

The only corals that seemed to be affected by FWE were my mushrooms, they all survived though.

 

[malulu]

or TWO, or THREE, or more...
;D

may be, starve the new fishesssssssssss for a new days in a seperate tank, to make sure, as soon as you put them in your display tank, they will be hunder for ANY THINGS - like whatever FLAT or FAT worms??

It is time to get a fish ;D

 

[reefitup]

I had flatworms,sixline wrasse did not touch them. I to hate chemicals, but flat worm exit worked for me.I used like the diections said, it killed 95% of them. the last time I used FWE I left in for a week without changing water,Have not seen a flatworm since.Fingers crossed.

How big is your tank out of curiosity

 

[fishrdp]

A 54 gallon corner display with 30 gallon sump in basement.FWE does not harm fish or corals, its the toxins the flatworms make when they die. Although it did kill the mini starfish I had in sump refuge,that was the only loss.

 

[reefitup]

The only corals that seemed to be affected by FWE were my mushrooms, they all survived though.

How were they affected? Puking out the stringy stuff? (real technical, ya like that?)

Like Larry The Cable guy or something...