Jestersix

Flatworm: pest or not??

gmdcdvm

gmdcdvm

Supporting Member
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Well,
I have the small tank up and running. Came across these guys that I never saw in the main tank. Given how many I assume they were in the rock work all this time. Never saw them in the corals. Any ideas?
 

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Sure looks like red planaria
Flat worm exit works (to varying degrees)
They aren’t good, but not really that bad. They don’t seem to hurt corals ime
 
Coral reefer said:
Sure looks like red planaria
Flat worm exit works (to varying degrees)
They aren’t good, but not really that bad. They don’t seem to hurt corals ime
Click to expand...
The corals all looked good in the previous tank (seam failure). Never knew they were there until all this happened.
G
 
Hard to identify the type but the small brown/rust ones with 2 points on the rear/tail don't harm coral unless they infest and cover the coral blocking light. The longer and larger brown rust flatworms that don't have pointy tails do feed off the flesh of corals (mainly LPS in my experience) and are a pain to eliminate as once you've noticed it, it's probably already laid eggs which aren't killable by coral dip or flatworm exit and only killable once they've hatched. So for these you have to check/treat often and hope you get them all before they lay eggs.

If you use flatworm exit on a huge infestation, they're known to release toxins when they die so be ready to do a huge water change and run carbon. Enough toxins for killing flat worms can wipe a tank.

The below list are fish I know that may eat them to help with population control
Certain wrasse - Yellow Corris, Six Line, Leopard and melanarus
Springer damsel
Mandarins
 
I think there are few different kinds that pop up pretty often in our tanks, the ones I had, which looked like the ones in the pic, seemed to bother LPS and mushrooms more than SPS.

IME:
- flatworm exit will kill a lot of them, but either not all, or eggs remain, and they come back quick.
- I've had a pair of Springer's damsels for years, and they've never seemed to help with flatworms. As I understand it, there are a few closely related species (I read another, more in depth, writeup a while back I can't find right now) commonly labeled as Springer's damsels, so maybe some are better than others for this?
- Added a melanurus wrasse, a week or 2 since, have not seen a flatworm in my tank in years
 
Target mandarins wiped mine out. Flatworm exit is safe in my opinion. The trick is you gotta do second round two weeks after to get the stragglers or if eggs hatched in between.
 
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