Kessil

Are these flatworms or redbugs?

neuro

neuro

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I can't tell, and I seriously need a solution. I just noticed that they've exploded in my tank since they hide easily against dark rockwork.

Didn't even see it coming, and don't know how since I do a 3-4 stage dip for everything I put in my tank.

Can anyone help me positively identify these guys first so I know how to go about ridding them?

Pictures here!

http://imgur.com/a/1MMCz
 
Are you talking about the red or blue circled 'things'

identify.jpg
 
wow, thanks for circling them! It's the blue circled one. You can tell in the other pics the tiny brown guys are more prolific.

I bought some salifert flatworm exit. I just started mixing 20 gallons of salt for the water change that's happening afterwards. I have a total of about ~78 gallons and they recommended a 25% water change afterwards.

I hope I don't kill anything but the flatworms... assuming they are flatworms...

aqua-nut said:
Are you talking about the red or blue circled 'things'
Click to expand...
 
Hi ... based on the pics I'd vote for flatworms. I see some in every pic (kinda the rectangular rusty-brownish items), but the population is still pretty sparse. If you don't keep them in check they can explode in population and end up covering the rocks and corals (not trying to sound sensationalistic, but this has happened to some folks). Then again, some people have had them appear and then gradually disappear over time as they reach equilibrium in the system.
 
yeah they really took off over the heatwave. I had to have my metal halides off.

i'm doing the treatment tonight. let's hope i see them go.
 
Be prepared to watch your skimmer and make water changes. If you have a lot of them they could release toxins or foul the water once you do the treatment. One trick (if they are clustered together) is to take some airline tubing and siphon out those that you can before adding the medication. Or, if you have some rocks that are easily removed, first make up a bucket with the treatment and then swish the rocks in there. They will come off very easily.
 
fingerwrinkles said:
Be prepared to watch your skimmer and make water changes. If you have a lot of them they could release toxins or foul the water once you do the treatment. One trick (if they are clustered together) is to take some airline tubing and siphon out those that you can before adding the medication. Or, if you have some rocks that are easily removed, first make up a bucket with the treatment and then swish the rocks in there. They will come off very easily.
Click to expand...

i'm prepared to do a 25% water change already. and i have carbon ready and waiting after the treatment.

i can't siphon these guys out. they are just way too small and tiny. they hide in the zillions of small pores in the rocks.

luckily, there aren't a whole lot of them right now, so the treatment done now would probably be best.
 
If anyone's curious, here are my observations:

So I ran the treatment for a total of 80 gallons worth. The instructions said a capful was about 75 gallons, but online directions said it was more for 90 gallons.

I went ahead with a capful because I trusted the instructions that came with the treatment than what was online.

1. Removed carbon and filter sock.
2. Cleaned skimmer.
2. Replaced filter sock with a new one.
3. Dosed 1 capful.
4. Waited for about 30 minutes or so.
5. Flatworms HATED it.
6. 15 gallon water change, siphoning out dead flatworms in the water column.
7. Replaced the new filter sock with a newer one.
8. Added 6-8 tablespoons for activated carbon.


About 5 minutes into the dosing, the flatworms booked it. They wormed as fast as they could go, but eventually succumbed and floated away. As they die, one end of their bodies stick to the rockwork and the other end just flails around. Eventually they break off. I think I got lucky with doing this early; the flatworms were really, really tiny to begin with--compared to what I've seen online.

So far there seems to be some hatred from my chalices, but I suspected that much with a 15 gallon water change. Some sliming can be seen, but unsure who pooped that out.

We'll see how things go for the next 6 or more hours. But so far, I don't see any more. I have enough for another treatment or two, so this can be done again.
 
7/10/13 - morning observations:

- I think I saw two big flatworms. I don't think I've seen them that big since I did the dosage. I wonder if something happened that cause them to mutate!

- Thinking about dosing again this coming weekend, but only use about a 5-10 gallon water change along with newly added carbon to what I have in there already.
 
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