Billions of flatworms

Paul B

Paul B

Well-Known Member
I was feeding the tank tonight and I said, Wow, the coraline algae is really taking off and growing like crazy. But it didn't look right. Wrong color and it seemed to be moving.
I took out my magnifying glasses and took a closer look.
I could not figure what they were until I poked one with a probe. The thing "ran" or slithered away pretty fast.
They are Acoel flatworms and they are completely covering portions of the rock. I never noticed them before and at first thought they were nudibranches but nudibranchs would never grow to these numbers in a tank.
There are thousands of these things.
Very cool. I love to find new things. I can't believe the amount of life in this old tank. There are these flatworms, amphipods, brittle stars, stomella, those little starfish (I forget their name) and almost as many tiny snails as these flatworms.
I don't know what all of these things are eating. It totally blows me away that all of this stuff is living in there.
I can look for hours with a set of magnifying glasses.
The Sea Slug Forum - Acoel flatworms in aquaria
 
nanoreefing4fun

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
Is fun to find new things :) Paul will you be dealing with all the flatworms or just them be?

those little starfish (I forget their name)
Click to expand...

I think... Asterina starfish

astrina.jpg
 
Eric

Eric

Google Warrior
PREMIUM
Maybe they just all hatched out and will die back to a normal population shortly.

That is as much of a question as a statement :D
 
Paul B

Paul B

Well-Known Member
They are just guests. I am sure they will disappear eventually but for now I enjoy them and welcome the opportunity to learn about them. I will be checking them out under a scope and disecting some. I don't remember if I had them before, I really should keep records. :ofr:
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
I've had a much smaller "hatch" of these in two of my tanks within a couple of days of each other. Must be a "cycle" and over the course of about 2 weeks all signs of them vanished completely. I did nothing but I do think my 6-line got fat for a while. Also I "think" they wiped out my Pod-pulation in my 10g tank but didn't affect it in my 90g system.
 
Frankie

Frankie

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
Paul B said:
They are just guests. I am sure they will disappear eventually but for now I enjoy them and welcome the opportunity to learn about them. I will be checking them out under a scope and disecting some. I don't remember if I had them before, I really should keep records. :ofr:
Click to expand...

My biggest concern if this is a new hatching is the die off factor. I hope they don't spike your tank if you have a huge loss. Thousands could do this. You may consider syphoning them out into a bucket and returning them to the Sound.
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
I think Frankie hit the nail on the head. That's one of the biggest problems with Flatworm Exit because it kills them ALL at once.

I'd for sure "regulate" their #'s to something slightly less than "Billions" just in case. With #'s that large you should be able to siphon large amounts easily.

We're gonna HAVE to insist on lots of pictures regardless.
 
Paul B

Paul B

Well-Known Member
It would have to be a very large 6 line wrasse ;)

The worms don't bother me and I am not going to do anything to them. This is just a cycle of life because something must have bred too much. They eat copepods and they can have them. I just looked at the dark tank with a flashlight and I have so many of the much larger amphipods I am surprised there is any food left for copepods.
Between the worms copepods, amphipods, astrea stars, stomella, brittle stars, snails and feather dusters of all different sizes and colors this is a healthy sign.
If you look closely in your tank and see nothing, thats a problem.
If I lift a rock in my tank it is just like the Long Island Sound, creatures scurry out in all directions.
The Reverse UG filter allows these things to live all through the gravel right to the bottom glass. There is circulation in all parts of the tank and substrait. Circulation equals oxygen and oxygen equals life.
I keep a tank because I find it interesting not only a thing of beauty.
I find the worms and other creatures just as interesting as the fish.
If this was a beauty contest, I would lose badly. Some of you guys have really beautiful tanks. There have been years when my tank was outstanding looking but that is not what I am going for anymore. At my age, I just want to enjoy the hobby and maybe learn something new.
I had beautiful, now I am going for interesting. :woohoo: :dance:
 
Frankie

Frankie

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
Who is to say what beautiful is anyhow? IMO, a tank that has survived longer then some people have been alive on this forum is a work of beauty far beyond some of those glamorous coral tanks.
Also keep in mind, most so called reef aquariums are not that at all with selective keeping. A true reef is packed with a diverse amount of unknown life just waiting to be discovered such as what I see coming from your tank over the past few years.
Just keep doing what you have been Paul. This tank didn't make it this long because you didn't have a clue ;)
 
J

JulesVane

Member
Hi Paul...I invite you to view some of my posts and my battle with Flatworms. I only wish I had your point of view on them...
 
shark32

shark32

Active Member
Hi Paul, you have a very wise way of thinking!! Frankie is 100% right. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I like to welcome all unknowns to my tank too! And I love discovering new things with my magnifying glass!! Keep up the great work!!
 
Paul B

Paul B

Well-Known Member
I invite you to view some of my posts and my battle with Flatworms. I only wish I had your point of view on them...
Click to expand...

Thanks guys,
I don't consider this a battle, I have been in battles, this is not even an inconvenience, this is, what I perceive as interesting life.
If my tank ran for decades or even months with nothing new or different happening, I would switch to stamp collecting. It is just a hobby and by defination, not needed and not important at all. It is fun. If it becomes a chore or a "battle" I would win by throwing it out. My goal is not to have the most beautiful tank here, you guys would win with that. I go for interesting, unusual, odd, wierd, special, unknown, and different. Anything that grows or hatches in the tank is interesting to me. It may be hair algae, bryopsis or even ich but whatever it is, it is natural and it prompts me to either enjoy it for what it is not or try to eliminate it for what it is doing. Either way, it helps me enjoy my hobby.
Have a great day.
Paul

Shark, where are you in Long Island?
 
C

crespeto

Active Member
if you can you should toss up some pics of the tank, I'd like to see what it looks like, sounds really fun. I have a 6year old, 4year old and a 18mon kid and I'm just getting started with my tank, but already the kids have been a trip every day trying to find stuff in it. So I hope I can have live like that in mine some day, to show of to the kids.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top