Flatworm - Acoel Planaria

[lcstorc]

The fish don't need the light. They will be fine.

[ReefGuy69]

Well 48hrs of no light didnt work. i am 100% sure that my tank didnt get an ounce of light and yet the little boogers survived. I doesnt even appear they dwindled any in population. Looks like i have no choice but to go chemical on them. Sorry Hienz this was a no brainer to me. But it just didnt work.

[Woodstock]

Let us know how the chemical treatment goes.

[UTCreefer]

I didnt read throught this whole thread but you may want to try a yellow coris wrasse or a sixline wrasse.

[miaskies]

I just purchased a large organ pipe coral, and guess what came with it as a bonus? Lately they have been gathering on top of the rock where I have the organ and I have been plucking them out into a disposable cup with my l'oreal tweezers. I thought they were algae until I tried to grab one and it moved. It takes a little precision, but I have been having a good ol time plucking them out one by one. Does anyone know how fast these things multiply?

[Woodstock]

Faster than you can pick them off with tweezers
I imagine you will tire much sooner of plucking than they will of breeding.

[rmlevasseur]

Thought I'd update this. I guess it was a poor decision not to do a follow-up dose on the flatworm exit, because now they are back. These buggers suck. I am prepared to try again, but I am reading that some people are having luck with a pig dewormer that is much cheaper than flatworm exit. I HATE to dose this stuff only two weeks after a minor crash, but I don't want these things getting any worse

[yvr]

I've been lucky not to have had an outbreak in any of my tanks yet, but heard that Flatworm Exit can work quite well if the tank is treated before it becomes too heavily infested with Planaria.

I've always been a stickler for quarantining new fish and always tried to dip new corals in an iodine bath of some kind prior to introduction into my tank. There are many commercial brands of coral dip out there, which are essentially just a Lugol's iodine bath; I have used Kent, Brightwell and currently use TM Pro Coral-Cure.

[JeffreyLebowski]

So I just got back from being in Europe for a hot minute and boy did the flatworms take over... big expletive... here is my issue... I'd love to use Flatworm Exit, but concerned about my nudi (not velvet/planaria eating)...he's actually chowing on this black sponge that regenerates pretty quickly, so he's doing ok...but will the flatworm exit take him out? OYYYYYYY

[Woodstock]

I am not sure Jeffrey. Can you remove it to a QT during the flatworm treatment? It seems removing it would be the safest way to go.

[reefmasta]

i used flatworm exit 2 times. one in a 300G system and one in a 180. the 300 was minor VERY minor and and 180 was INFESTED HORRIBLY. i used a power head, 3 doses of flatworm exit ( little less then recomended dose, one each day) and 100 micron filter and within 3 days all were gone and none to this day. the key is to dislodge them, and blow the exit alll in every crevise there is with forcefull flow. it says to do a waterchange because they are toxic in mass numbers BUT i never did. but i do advise you to do the change if you dont have MASSIVE clumps and clumps of matured caulerpa, grassilaria, ect. and to just be safe. alsoo, i think temp COULD do someething to them because in another system i had full of them one day they allllll disapeared and only thing that was really off was the temp, it was like 84 85. but dont take my word on that it was just an experience.

[miaskies]

I noticed that the flat worms liked to gather on the sandbed, so I used a cup and scooped out the majority of them, along with the gravel and rinsed the gravel in the cup with hot water, let the gravel dry for a day or two, then returned it to the tank. now they have seemed to disappear. Guess I knocked out the breeders. Good luck.