Flatworms.....

[Waddi]

Nothing is going to good at the moment, i have found a few flatworms crawling on my glass, they are tiny, but they look like a mat that is reddish, and got a spot in the middle. Need a bit of help on what to do, was just going to go out and buy some flatworm exit, dont have any livestock in my tank apart from a few corals. :frustrat:
Ideas??
I can only see like ten on the glass, but they are very small.

 

[fastrd400]

Get the flatworm exit. Follow the directions. Try to get as many syphoned out with a tube or turkey baster as possible during the treatment. Water change after the first dosing. If you need to dose again, wait a couple days and do it again. Also, dip anything, and everything coral wise you put in your tank, just as a precaution.

 

[Waddi]

i have polyps on a huge piece of rock, can i skip dipping that?? Also how long do they have to be dipped, in and out? Or 10 mins??

 

[fastrd400]

I dip my stuff between 5-8 minutes. If your coral is already in the tank, just treat the tank. But always dip your new stuff coming in to avoid this in the future.

 

[Waddi]

Ok thanks mate! :D

 

[Ashna]

dip it in what? fresh water?

 

[fastrd400]

dip it in what? fresh water?

Should be an iodine solution. Lugols, reefdip. Something like those.

 

[Waddi]

Im getting this tomorrow:
Salifert Flatworm Exit

 

[little_fish]

That stuff is quite amazing in its ability to target only the flatworms.

 

[wontonflip]

Just out of curiosity, though, in a FOWLR, could they get SO out of hand that they will start bothering the fish? I have flatworms...I don't see them in my dt, but they're all over my fuge tank. No doubt they're in my dt, but maybe some fish are eating them, cuz I don't see them in there.

 

[little_fish]

im sure your 6 line is taking care of them. but that is a good question, i have no idea if they would bother the fish or not.

 

[Waddi]

Wrasse are known to eat them, along with damsels, lawnmower blennies, and people think Pep shrimps eat them as well, but im just gonna dose the tank, hopefully the crash wont be bad. Im just gonna run carbon and do a water change after. But since having nothing but corals im not too worried, cross my fingers!! :D

 

[Bifferwine]

I think fish can do a great job of hiding the problem... Probably more people have them but don't realize it because certain fish can usually keep them in check. Even in tanks with lots of fish, they can still get out of control though.

 

[Lizardgi]

Knock on wood I believe I'm rid of mine after 6 treatments over the past few months. A few tips for you:

- Be sure to syphon out every worm you can see for a few days before doing the treatment.
- If they are in your sandbed, you may be SOL. I had to remove all 120lbs of sand from my 125 in order to get rid of mine
- After dosing, be sure to move a powerhead around the tank blowing the poison into all parts of the rock and corners of the tank
- I usually let the poison work a little longer than suggested before starting up carbon
- To strengthen the dosage without using more drops, take out 25% of the water and then dose. This worked very well for me when I had just a few very hardy worms left.

Currently I haven't seen a worm in two weeks! I'm very close to putting sand back in.

 

[Waddi]

Ok just dosed and have been siphoning all day, was just wondering how long these guys release their toxins for after they die??

 

[Lizardgi]

They release right away - you won't actually see it though (at least I didn't see it in mine)

The sight of 100s of dead flatworms floating around the tank is fantastic!

 

[Waddi]

Haha i know, but if you dont remove them like if i miss some, will they release toxins for days to come??

 

[Bifferwine]

I'm not sure, but I think it's only when they die?