Flatworm - Acoel Planaria
- Thread starter Woodstock
- Start date
Interesting observations about Acoel Planaria
Interesting observations about Acoel Planaria
Well I'm finally getting my flatworm population under control. I decided not to treat with flatworm exit by Salifert.
One thing I noticed that my "boom" coincided with decrease flow in my tank when I lost some of my powerheads.
Here's what I've done to combat them:
1. Replaced my powerheads and restored (actually increased) the flow in my tank.
2. I already had a sixline and his belly is busting from eating them. He's actually so full, that he ignores when I feed the rest of the fish in my tank.
3. Purchased several more Peppermint shrimp... I've observed my Peppermints eating the flatworms. I've got the video to prove it!
4. My luck that I've always kept blue/green chromis. I've also observed them eating flatworms if free floating. I purchased more chromis 10 total.
So here is what I did...
I siphoned out as many as I could see over the past couple of weeks. Then using a powerhead I blasted my live rock to loosen hidden flatworms and cause them to become free floating in the water column. That's where my chromis come in! They devoured any free floating flatworms, like the greedy little fish that they are!
I have repeated the process several times now and have noticed a substantial reduction in the population. I literally have to search around to find one. I'll continue a few more times to ensure that the population is back in check.
So in conclusion... WATER FLOW AND WATER MOVEMENT are extremely important in keeping flatworms in check. Now that I've reduced the population my sixline and peppermints should be able to naturally keep them in check.
Interesting observations about Acoel Planaria
Well I'm finally getting my flatworm population under control. I decided not to treat with flatworm exit by Salifert.
One thing I noticed that my "boom" coincided with decrease flow in my tank when I lost some of my powerheads.
Here's what I've done to combat them:
1. Replaced my powerheads and restored (actually increased) the flow in my tank.
2. I already had a sixline and his belly is busting from eating them. He's actually so full, that he ignores when I feed the rest of the fish in my tank.
3. Purchased several more Peppermint shrimp... I've observed my Peppermints eating the flatworms. I've got the video to prove it!
4. My luck that I've always kept blue/green chromis. I've also observed them eating flatworms if free floating. I purchased more chromis 10 total.
So here is what I did...
I siphoned out as many as I could see over the past couple of weeks. Then using a powerhead I blasted my live rock to loosen hidden flatworms and cause them to become free floating in the water column. That's where my chromis come in! They devoured any free floating flatworms, like the greedy little fish that they are!
I have repeated the process several times now and have noticed a substantial reduction in the population. I literally have to search around to find one. I'll continue a few more times to ensure that the population is back in check.
So in conclusion... WATER FLOW AND WATER MOVEMENT are extremely important in keeping flatworms in check. Now that I've reduced the population my sixline and peppermints should be able to naturally keep them in check.
hma
Well-Known Member
The easiest way to kill Flat worms 100% is the total darken the aquarium for 2 days. Flat worms live to a great share of Zooxanthellen in their body, similar to a coral, they need the oxygen these Zooxanthellen through photosynthesis. When the aquarium darkens, the Zooxanthelle no longer produce oxygen, the flat worm suffocated. After two days, 100% all worms death. Some of my friends in Germany have now been tested, with 100% success. In a reef aquarium, I would never use chemical, this is the reef ecosystem far too sensitive. No one ever has the long-term injury tested.
bluespotjawfish
Well-Known Member
JFK - A similar process has worked for me. Even with your natural predators, I would continue to siphon out all the flatworms that you can see if you want to get rid of them completely.
Heinz - Sounds like an interesting process. One question I have though is about the toxins when the flatworms die. What do you do for that? Tons of carbon?
Heinz - Sounds like an interesting process. One question I have though is about the toxins when the flatworms die. What do you do for that? Tons of carbon?
Craig Manoukian
Well-Known Member
Good info, waiting for Heinz' respose to the question of toxins, good question Lorraine.
hma
Well-Known Member
Hello Lorraine,
excuse me but I have not described what is in addition has to be done. After the 2 days you have to do a large WC and suck off the dead worms. An additional carbon filter with a high flow rate is also very helpful.
Renate, also a member here, it has only a few weeks ago with 100% success tried. All animals have survived WITHOUT any problem, but the worms were death.
Craig Manoukian
Well-Known Member
Always great stuff from you Heinz!
hma
Well-Known Member
Hello Lynn,
i mean a total darkness for 2 Days.
Switch the lights off for 2 days and collude the aquarium with covers or black paper. After 2 days all Flat worms are death , them suffocate. :snshne:
hma
Well-Known Member
Your welcome.
That looks two days long not really good, but believe me it functions 100%. :snshne:
jthomps123
Member
I've had red flatworms in my refugium for a couple months now. Just id'ed them. Funny thing is i've never seen on in my display. I've had a mandarin, clown and lmb in there for a while. Either they dont like the flow in the display or the green mandarin is eating any that make their way to the display. Beings there arent any in the display should I even worry about them?
Jason
Jason
jthomps123
Member
Would a fresh water dip kill them on any frags sent out of the tank?
Jason
Jason
bluespotjawfish
Well-Known Member
Freshwater dip works good to prevent them going to another tank (or coming into yours). Make sure that after the coral sits in the dip, before you take it out that you swish the coral in the water to remove any remaining loose ones.
Match temp and pH.
Match temp and pH.
Sorry I am new to these forums, so just thought I would chime in on here with a recent experience...
My 55 gallon mixed reef developed a flat worm problem a few weeks after a frag swap I attended, all my corals from the swap appeared clean, so I assumed they were eggs when they came in.
They quickly populated my tank. I attempted Blue lifes Flatworm control, with no effect at all on the flatworms. <I like to try new products, sometimes that is the results>
My wife said she wanted to redo the floors in that room, so I figured tearing down the tank was a good time to treat it, so I borrowed another tank from a friend, and I freshwater dipped all of my rock going into the new tank, and put all my corals infront of a powerhead for a few seconds.
This knocked the flatworm population going into the new tank down a ton. Then I treated the new tank with a double dose of Salifert flatworm exit. The remaining flat worms pretty much dropped dead with in minutes.
When the floors were done, I moved everything back to my tank, and got it all set back up and hit it with another double dose of flatworm exit.
It has been almost a month and I have not seen a single flat worm, and I have another bottle of flat worm exit sitting here just in case. I figure if any eggs survived, I would be ready to hit them as soon as I see them to prevent a reoccurance.
Someone mentioned their local store was battleing flatworms, I got this idea for treatment from a local fish store when I helped them do the same thing to the SPS display tanks.
However if you see a coral you must have at that store, take it home, put it in a gallon jug of saltwater, use a double dose of flat worm exit, then after a few minutes put it in another bucket of saltwater and slosh it around a bit. You should be ok at that point, but if still concerned set up a QT tank, I told myself I would,, and I still haven't.
My 55 gallon mixed reef developed a flat worm problem a few weeks after a frag swap I attended, all my corals from the swap appeared clean, so I assumed they were eggs when they came in.
They quickly populated my tank. I attempted Blue lifes Flatworm control, with no effect at all on the flatworms. <I like to try new products, sometimes that is the results>
My wife said she wanted to redo the floors in that room, so I figured tearing down the tank was a good time to treat it, so I borrowed another tank from a friend, and I freshwater dipped all of my rock going into the new tank, and put all my corals infront of a powerhead for a few seconds.
This knocked the flatworm population going into the new tank down a ton. Then I treated the new tank with a double dose of Salifert flatworm exit. The remaining flat worms pretty much dropped dead with in minutes.
When the floors were done, I moved everything back to my tank, and got it all set back up and hit it with another double dose of flatworm exit.
It has been almost a month and I have not seen a single flat worm, and I have another bottle of flat worm exit sitting here just in case. I figure if any eggs survived, I would be ready to hit them as soon as I see them to prevent a reoccurance.
Someone mentioned their local store was battleing flatworms, I got this idea for treatment from a local fish store when I helped them do the same thing to the SPS display tanks.
However if you see a coral you must have at that store, take it home, put it in a gallon jug of saltwater, use a double dose of flat worm exit, then after a few minutes put it in another bucket of saltwater and slosh it around a bit. You should be ok at that point, but if still concerned set up a QT tank, I told myself I would,, and I still haven't.
rlcline76
Active Member
From what I understand just about every tank will have flatworms. The white ones are harmless and their presence means you have a good pod population (that is their diet), those rust colored ones got to go! So Salifert eXit plus watch your water quality. Seems everything bad for your tank multiplies like flies when the parameters are off.
Flatworms
Flatworms