Flatworms Resistent to Flatworm Exit - Anyone?

[bluespotjawfish]

Ok, I have been battling flatworms for the past month. I used flatworm exit at double the dose in the display tank which only caused them to wiggle around (when they wiggled I siphoned them out). Then I ran a test in a 1 gallon container. I whole bottle of flatworm exit and they were still alive. Anyone else have flatworms like that? They seem to be harmless, but I don't like them in my tank! So, here is what I am doing:

FW dip on the corals where I have seen them.
Siphon out any others that I see.
For hard to reach places, use a syringe of warmed RO water.
Replace my filter sock each day (don't have any sponges).
Not sure if the six line wrasse is helping with the battle, but he's in there too.

This seems to be managing them, but I one or two each day that I have to deal with. I'm mostly just curious if anyone else has ran into this.

[Techno-Vicki]

Yes. Do you have the mushroom eating kind or the acro eating kind? Acro eating I have some friends who never got rid of them. Here is a thread on RC started by BigRed (AKA Steve) and he ending up tearing down the tank: Reef Central Online Community - Acro Eating Flatworms in a Bowl: Test Time!

I bought all his sps thinking I could handle it and ending up killing them in the transfer. He had been fighting them for a long time. I believe Weatherson still has them; however, if Matt chimes in here, he told me this week he had them and got rid of them.

I have recently battled the mushroom kind....successfully; however, it took several doses significantly larger than required and a couple of months. Nasty buggers.

[Techno-Vicki]

Other thoughts: six line wrasse, coris wrasse, lepord wrasse, "true christmas' wrasse, mandarins. I have never had them in my 125 (knock on wood), and I do feel it has to do with the fish I keep in there.

[bluespotjawfish]

They haven't damaged anything. I have found several of them on the mushrooms (which is what they came in on), a few on the xenias, and a few on the glass.

My lfs has them all over there stuff now. They got a ton of red and green striped mushroom rocks in from someone tearing down their tank (for obvious reasons) and I'm sure that is where they got them from. They don't seem to be concerned about it and are still selling everything. My green striped mushroom rock was sold to me without even saying that I should dip it. That is all it would have taken. I'm not happy about that!

I have a six line wrasse who doesn't seem to be hunting them.

[aquaman3680]

What color are they? The ones that flatworm exit kills is the red/brown kind. Make sure that when you use it you turn off the Protein skimmer, the uv, and remove all carbon so it can stay in the tank.

Matt

[mps9506]

Yeah, I've never had a problem with them killing the right kind of flatworms. I just siphon off as many as possible and dose the heck out of SFE, and start siphoning them out as they die.
FWIW they don't seem to really do much in your tank other than multiply quickly and seem to collect in areas with more detritus and lower flow.

[bluespotjawfish]

Matt - They are kinda mauve colored (like xenia). The instructions said to leave the protein skimmer on, but the UV was off and carbon was out. My experiment was in a gallon container, no flow or nothing! I noticed that you removed your corals when you treated your tank. How did you make sure they were off your corals and not reintroduced into the tank when you put your corals back in?

mps - what do you mean the right kind? The kind that are bad for the tank?

Vicky - I really do miss all my hunters that I used to have. I can't imagine the dose I would need if over 100 drops in 1 gallon didn't work on them. Maybe I will try a good strong dose again because it does make them more active so I can at least see/get them.

BTW, thanks for everyone's input. I don't want to jinx myself, but no sight of them for the past few days. Knock on wood! I know, they are just gearing up for the kill.

[aquaman3680]

I removed my corals for the initial die off of flatworms, then after they were all out of the 90 then i put the corals back in and dosed again to make sure all the little buggers were gone.

These are the kind that I had.

[bluespotjawfish]

Your's were monsters and your tank was covered with them. Mine are nothing like that. I will look around for a pic 'cause I know my camera can't focus in on anything so small. Now I understand why you took your corals out first. Great idea about dosing again after you put the corals back in!

[mps9506]

these?
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/WormPIX/F..._ShroomSIO.jpg

[Techno-Vicki]

Here is a really good thread on identification and natural predators. I would have more peperment shrimps, but my mystery wrasse has them for lunch. I am very please to say 3 or the 4 coris wrasse have survived. I love watching them hunt. The littlest one gets up out of the sand first and has even begun eating mysid with the rest of the fish, but he still hunts. Besides that, they are a very beautiful fish. It is funny, in my 24, I have an arabian pseudochromis who continues to keep my adult coris wrasse under the sand except for 2 minutes every day. It amazes me. I really need to find a new home for the arabian to let the coris get some peace.

All in all, I believe the best way is to get as many as you can with the FWE through multiple doses and then keep a couple of natural predators in the tank. You can't help by get a stray bug of some kind in at some point. Keep us posted.

[bluespotjawfish]

Vicki I didn't see your link. I did a search thought and I think this is what I have:

From Ron Shimek's Website:

Red Planaria = Convolutriloba retrogemma

One of the more common pest animals in reef aquaria are small flatworms, often referred to as "red planaria," which is a truly excellent aquarium name for them as they are neither red nor planarians. These small acoel worms, (all "true" flatworms including planarians belong to a different group) have a brownish, tank, or pink coloration. They also contain zooxanthellae whose own color modifies the animals color in sometimes peculiar ways. They are small from about 1 mm to 3 mm long. One good identifying characteristic is the presence of three lobes at the tail end of the animal.

These little worms can rapidly reproduce asexually and reach huge populations in some tanks. They can literally smother some sessile animals. In small numbers, however, they are harmless. Presently there is no real defined cure for infestations with the possible exception of one species of head-shield slugs, Chelidonura varians, which eats them.

[bluespotjawfish]

Mike, sorry but I can't tell much from the photo that you posted the link to. Could be, but hard to say.

[Dentoid]

I did experiments on flatworms in a zoology course I took in college. Perhaps you can sell them to your local University! Good luck with the battle!

[bluespotjawfish]

Now for the Chelidonura varians, seems they are impossible to find, their life span is 3 months, and they can release a toxin! They seem cool. I would buy one if I could find one and let it do its job for three months, but I don't want a toxic tank.

Anyone had one of these?
I run carbon, would that manage the toxin?
Any chance of finding one?