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ZephyrFish 
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 Topic: Flatworm troubles
Posted: September 08 2004 at 6:25pm |
I am fairly new to the Mb and have already learned a great deal about many issues, I am also the new fish manager at a local pet store, in the past we have had problems with cyanobacteria,aptasia,mujano,and ich,which have all been solved for the most part thanks to this Mb.
A new issue has been brought to my attention and that is Flatworm, this worm does not seem to be actually harming any of the corals, fish or inverts but it is very unsightly with 200 gallons of reef tanks severely infested and another 200 gallons beginning to grow a population. I have heard that A 6-line wrasse will eat flatworm but have seen little improvement since adding one to one of the reef tanks. i have also heard that fresh water dips work but at the scale of infestation and the scale of the system i cannot see this as an effective means of solving the problem. malachite green with formalin was suggested to me and would be feasible but i am concerned with the well being of my other inverts.
any suggestions would be welcomed and most appreciated.
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SSpargur
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Posted: September 08 2004 at 6:30pm |
For what it's worth, I started having a problem with them about 9 months ago and I got a manderin dragonette. I still have a few in the tank, but it's far from the almost infestation that I originally had.
My advice: add a couple manderins.
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Sean Spargur
West Valley, UT
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Adam Haycock
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Posted: September 08 2004 at 7:06pm |
Use Flatworm Exit. One dose got rid of all the flatworms in my tank and I haven't seen any in over 6 months.
http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=SF5111
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Weimers
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Posted: September 08 2004 at 7:08pm |
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I got a sixline wrasse, and for two months it didn't seem to change the population. In the third month, I could tell a difference. I was lighting just one side of the tank to bring the flatworms over (worked great) and she would hunt them like crazy. 4th month, only saw a very few. Now it's 2 months later, and I haven't seen one in a long time. The sixline wrasse still cruises around like her usual self, but I have been wondering what her diet consists of now. I think another sixline (or two?) for you would be good. What color are yours? Mine were clear to white colored.
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Renee and Damon Weimer
Tankless in Hawaii
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Adam Blundell
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Posted: September 08 2004 at 7:33pm |
 ZephyrFish wrote:
I am also the new fish manager at a local pet store, |
It is awesome to see lfs employees here! I commend you for coming here. Not for advise, but just to be a part of this community. Please get a store account (PM Jake Pehrson for that info) and feel free to post store specials.
Welcome!
Adam
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ZephyrFish
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Posted: September 08 2004 at 10:08pm |
Thank you for the great insight, at this point i think flatworm exit will be the best solution. I do like the idea of using slw but it is kind of a pain to catch them when they get sold . I will definitely look into a store account.
oh yeah, the color of mine are an orange brown color. so far i have not had any in my personal tank at home...nock on wood.
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Brady Kerns (Sandy UT.)
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Adam Haycock
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Posted: September 09 2004 at 6:03am |
Flatworms release toxins when they die. If the tanks have very large populations of flatworms, keep this in mind when using Flatwork Exit.
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Kirklan
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Posted: September 09 2004 at 7:07am |
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I agree that toxins release from flatworms when they die. I would have at least a 20% water change on hand a couple of hours after dosing. I would also recommend running carbon for a day or two after your water change.
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SE Idaho
67G Rimless Reef
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: September 09 2004 at 8:42am |
I have to speak up here and post # 2702 
Flatworm Exit has been a disaster for some people.
Have you done a search on this MB and found the other methods that should be tried before using harmful chemicals?
There are at least 5 commonly available fish that will eat flatworms/planeria.
The type of planeria you described are phototrophic, I believe that means they are attracted to light. This offers lots of opportunity for creative solutions to their eradication.
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Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks:www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member 
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Travis
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Posted: September 09 2004 at 9:10am |
http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2831& PN=2
I would use it again if needed. Make sure you follow the directions!! and have a way to actively run carbon. I used some DIY canister type filters so the water would be pushed directly through the carbon.
Edited by Travis
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Jake Pehrson
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Posted: September 09 2004 at 9:35am |
I would stay away from flatworm exit (although as you can see people have used it with success).
I would try natural methods.
Increase water flow in high concentrations areas (daily). A couple of mobile powerheads work great.
Buy some fish that will eat them. This is easy in a pet store. You can buy the fish (a lot of them) and then just sell them, replenishing your population until the flat worms are gone.
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jfinch
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Posted: September 09 2004 at 9:42am |
Does the powerhead (more flow) actually kill the flatworm or just cause them to move to an area of low flow?
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coreyk
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Posted: September 09 2004 at 10:36am |
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i also used flatwork exit with success.
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Jake Pehrson
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Posted: September 09 2004 at 10:39am |
jfinch wrote:
Does the powerhead (more flow) actually kill the flatworm or just cause them to move to an area of low flow?
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It doesn't immediately kill them, but by constantly disrupting the high concentration areas they are not able to reproduce fast enough to replenish their population. Also by kicking them up into the water column many fish will eat them as they are floating around and many will get sucked into pumps and overflows. I have used this method on many, many tanks and I have always been able to eradicate the flatworm population. The only problem with this method is it takes a long time (months).
Edited by Jake Pehrson
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Weimers
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Posted: September 09 2004 at 4:13pm |
I've only met probably 6 people that used Flatworm Exit, but it seemed about 50/50 success. The ones who didn't have success seemed to end up with problems in their tank, plus left over flatworms that repopulated. I wish you luck, and let us know how everything worked out, okay?
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Renee and Damon Weimer
Tankless in Hawaii
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ZephyrFish
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Posted: September 13 2004 at 10:24pm |
Update the combination of a Slw and a mandarin seem to be working the flatworm numbers have noticeably decreased so for now i will hold off on flatworm exit and just add more natural predators
Someone told me today that a green coris wrasse would be one of the best fishes to deal with the Flatworms, I don't know much about that fish but i have heard that it eats shrimp. does any body think that a green coris wrasse would be a bad idea?
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Brady Kerns (Sandy UT.)
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Adam Blundell
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Posted: September 13 2004 at 10:26pm |
I say good idea. May not help, but a good idea.
Adam
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Adam Haycock
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Posted: September 13 2004 at 10:48pm |
Here is an idea from Randy Holmes-Farley from RC had.
"Thumbs up to Salifert's Flatworm Exit
I used Flatworm Exit in my aquarium last weekend. I didn't have an especially bad problem, with nearly all flatworms confined to a single refugium. Nevertheless, the'd been there for a few years, and manual removal was never completely successful.
So I waited for the refugium to fill up with Caluerpa racemosa. At that time, most of the flatworms would climb onto on the Caulerpa during the light cycle. Then I pulled out much of the Caulerpa to get rid of most of them (I'd done this many times before) and then blasted the remainder with the Flatworm Exit.
I added the entire tank dose into this refugium, so for a period of time the dose was well above the overall tank dose (maybe 20X). Nothing was harmed that I noticed (of course, I did not quantitatively monitor anything except flatworms).
So far, I've not seen one since Saturday (5 days) and I've not noticed any harm."
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&thre adid=194706&highlight=flatworm
A couple other threads about success and failure.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&thre adid=418097&highlight=flatworm+exit
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&thre adid=350883&highlight=flatworm+exit
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: September 13 2004 at 11:10pm |
That's nice that he had success, but the first question I can think of to ask Randy H-F at RC is, "Why were they confined to the refugium? Could it be that there is a natural predator in the main tank? Or is the water flow much higher there?!"
ZepherFish, Very glad to read that you are seeing success. Did you read the previous posts? Have you tried the Yellowtailed Blue Damsel? It's much less expensive than the wrasses. 
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ZephyrFish
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Posted: September 13 2004 at 11:37pm |
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Thank you, I did not see the post about the yellowtailed blue damsel, Ive got a lot of those right now so i will get a couple into the tanks tomorrow
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Brady Kerns (Sandy UT.)
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