ID these creatures please

[Olivier]

hi
is this a flatworm?

is fish carry this type of pest around? I have no idea how it get into my tank. I have fish right now with few old zoas (my zoas from old tank)

 

[panmanmatt]

Yes that is a flatworm. Fish don't normally carry them around. They usually come in as hitchhikers on LR and corals. It is possible that it came from the water the fish was in from the LFS.

 

[Nickjr000]

Yup flatworm. Siphon as many out as you can and try a 6 line wrasse or flatworm exit, or both. I heard you have to dose 2x the amount of exit as it says on package. Then do a big water change. Flatworms are toxic when they die, even more so if you have a lot of them

 

[9supratt4]

Yup flatworm. Siphon as many out as you can and try a 6 line wrasse or flatworm exit, or both. I heard you have to dose 2x the amount of exit as it says on package. Then do a big water change. Flatworms are toxic when they die, even more so if you have a lot of them

Oh no....I have to disagree with the Flatworm Exit. I had a flatworm infestation....and I followed the box exactly, since I heard too many horror stories. And they died like crazy!! I noticed a few more lurking around about an hour later so I added 50% more. Now I have no flatworms. Just be sure to have a LOT of carbon ready!! 1 pound of carbon for each 50 gallons!!

 

[Nickjr000]

Never did it just heard of it. Did it work for you? How many did you have?

 

[9supratt4]

I had quite a lot!! I used to watch them chase copepods on my glass. Then they were getting to be too many and I used the FW Exit. Used 4 pounds of carbon too. That was a lot of carbon at one time LOL

 

[Olivier]

I had quite a lot!! I used to watch them chase copepods on my glass. Then they were getting to be too many and I used the FW Exit. Used 4 pounds of carbon too. That was a lot of carbon at one time LOL

since you are the expert in this area , how do you apply carbon into the tank? just bag it and put it in the tank? i currently have carbon in "the little fishy" reactor chamber. I have a lot of carbon ready for this just need suggestion on how to apply it properly.

so these are steps that I read so far :
1) apply fatworm exit per instruction
2) siphon out all deadstuff
3) large water change (50% enough?)
4) repeat step 1-3 again as need ( what time frame should I redo this?)

thanks
Olivier

 

[Olivier]

Yes that is a flatworm. Fish don't normally carry them around. They usually come in as hitchhikers on LR and corals. It is possible that it came from the water the fish was in from the LFS.

I don't even use the water from the LFS when i buy the fish. oh, i take that back, i bought saltwater from Red Sand in helping cycle the tank faster.

god man, i try to avoid and control as much for not having algea now something new pop up. gosh, live and learn for real.
Olivier

 

[panmanmatt]

Just a little bit of info, using water from an existing tank won't really help your tank cycle any faster. The beneficial bacteria you need to cycle live on surfaces such as glass, rock and sand, they are not water borne bacteria.

It is highly possible that is the source of your flatworms.

 

[9supratt4]

Oliver....I used 4 pounds of carbon in a bag...but they suggest you use a reactor as you want very good flow through the carbon. I put the bag right under a drain so that it got good flow. Siphon out any live once you can see and then any dead ones. That will cut down on the toxins. When you dose the tank, just watch them....they will start to "spasm" then let go and die. I waited about one minute after they started to die to run the carbon since the carbon will take out the chmicals too.

Also, have at least 25% water ready....50% would be better in case you see any problems with any of your livestock. Just an fyi....all the mouths on my polyps gaped open for a while during and for a short time after treatment, but everything lived.

 

[Nickjr000]

I had quite a lot!! I used to watch them chase copepods on my glass. Then they were getting to be too many and I used the FW Exit. Used 4 pounds of carbon too. That was a lot of carbon at one time LOL

since you are the expert in this area , how do you apply carbon into the tank? just bag it and put it in the tank? i currently have carbon in "the little fishy" reactor chamber. I have a lot of carbon ready for this just need suggestion on how to apply it properly.

so these are steps that I read so far :
1) apply fatworm exit per instruction
2) siphon out all deadstuff
3) large water change (50% enough?)
4) repeat step 1-3 again as need ( what time frame should I redo this?)

thanks
Olivier

Oliver you want to syphon out all the flatworms you can see before you use the exit. The more that die in your tank means the more toxins will be released into your tank. This is what can kill your livestock. After you treat syphon them out too i guess

 

[Olivier]

do i need to turn off my vortech pump? if not turn off these pumps, those dead flatworm will moving around in the tank, how can I siphon them out?

 

[9supratt4]

do i need to turn off my vortech pump? if not turn off these pumps, those dead flatworm will moving around in the tank, how can I siphon them out?

No, keep them running. It will help to circulate the chemicals.