Neptune Aquatics

Red FLAT worms - die die die....DEAD

barbatus

barbatus

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So I made the move from freshwater planted to salt water about a year ago and about 6 months into the hobby went from my 6 gallon nano pride and joy without any incidents to my larger tank - 125 gallon. I keep both going because I use my nano as a mini quarantine tank for my new corals and frags. Plus the wife loves it. As intelligent as a quarantine tank is- its useless if you don't disinfect/dip your corals as is my case :(.

I always sit and watch corals for about 5 minutes before I purchase them to look for anything out of order (aiptasia etc) - I already inherited some on my first frag without knowing what it was until it almost took over my nano. The store clerk SHOULD have told me what it was, havent gone back to the 510 area code LFS. I tried hot water but then had awesome success with a peppermint shrimp.

Two weeks ago I purchased about $200 worth of frags and such from a LFS in south sacramento on the way back from a snow trip. All frags went into the nano, two days later small red "algae" started to grow and I thought it was charming.... then some moved and under a hand held microscope confirmed that they were FLAT worms!! I panicked but then realized that there was no damage on any of my corals. My favorite green and brown acropora took a serious beating in less than 24 hours. I tried siphoning, its hard in a 6 gallon system. My next step was to nuke the tank after reading tonnes and tonnes of websites and calling LFS for advice. I started with Melafix...not only do I love the smell of Tea Tree Oil ( I grew up in australia and it seems they add tea tree into every consumer product possible) but I got so much satisfaction out of watching the worms get supper pissed and run at turbo speed trying to escape. I did a 20% water change and didnt see any death - I know instructions say to do a 5 day course but my corals and skimmer were not happy. My skimmer turned into a party sized bubble machine. Next day I decided to escalate to worm exit after reading all the horror stories, 1 drop in and 2 minutes later I had worm soup in the tank. I decided to setup a secondary hospital tank and remove and dip all my frags. 50% water change, only left some mushrooms in the tank as "canaries" to see the nano conditions before going back in. 48 hours have passed and it looks ok. I'm sure I will get comments on this but this is the route I have decided to take. Moral of the story? DIP your *#&$% CORALS and quarantine them, I could have lots thousands of dollars of corrals.
 
Good reading:

http://www.bareefers.org/home/node/9425

I don't have space for a QT, but I dip everything, regardless of where I received the frag from (not just LFS, but also from some of the most trusted reefers).
 
On a side note, red planaria won't harm anything. They are just an eyesore. If you have planaria it also means your nutrients are high.
 
Ibn said:
Good reading:

http://www.bareefers.org/home/node/9425

I don't have space for a QT, but I dip everything, regardless of where I received the frag from (not just LFS, but also from some of the most trusted reefers).
Click to expand...

+ 1
 
I had red planaria in my 210 too, so I nuked my whole tank with levamisol, not only the plannaria die, but all of the bristle worms die too ... I've used flat worm exit in the past without any permanent success. This is the best method that I've found so far.
 
IF they keep coming back you only masked the real issue of having higher nutrients. They will wane on their own if you control your nutrient problem.
 
I have had success taking RO water that is the temperature of the tank in a 5-gallon bucket, and gently shaking the corals & live rock for about a minute. Flatworms cannot tolerate fresh water, and drop like flies. Of course, the sandbed might still harbor planaria, but you can greatly reduce the number inside your tank with a brief freshwater dip.
 
Freshwater is really tough on some coral. I would recommend as above an iodine dip over a freshwater dip.
 
Another product that can be use as a dip is Prazipro by Hikari http://uskoi.com/prazipro.htm This stuff has been used for eliminating AEFW as a whole tank treatment without any ill effect.
 
northbay-reefer said:
Another product that can be use as a dip is Prazipro by Hikari http://uskoi.com/prazipro.htm This stuff has been used for eliminating AEFW as a whole tank treatment without any ill effect.
Click to expand...

With out any ill effect? So the dozens upon dozens that have reported problems are mistaken? Sorry any medication in a reef will have some repercussions. There is no way around this. Prazi will kill off other things besides what you are trying to eliminate.

To anyone reading this:

WORD OF CAUTION - READ UP EXTENSIVELY ON ANY MEDICATION YOU ASSUME IS OK TO PUT INTO YOUR REEF - DO NOT TAKE OTHERS WORD FOR IT, DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH
 
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_viewitem.aspx?idproduct=SF5111&child=SF5111&utm_source=mdcsegooglebase2&utm_medium=cse&utm_campaign=mdcsegooglebase2&utm_content=SF5111

Have used this stuff on reef tanks many a time - siphon out all the FW's you can, nuke what's left with a doubledose of FWE, and then run carbon / do a water change.
 
GreshamH said:
To anyone reading this:

WORD OF CAUTION - READ UP EXTENSIVELY ON ANY MEDICATION YOU ASSUME IS OK TO PUT INTO YOUR REEF - DO NOT TAKE OTHERS WORD FOR IT, DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH
Click to expand...

And what, we should just take your word that we shouldn't take people's word for it? ;)
 
GreshamH said:
northbay-reefer said:
Another product that can be use as a dip is Prazipro by Hikari http://uskoi.com/prazipro.htm This stuff has been used for eliminating AEFW as a whole tank treatment without any ill effect.
Click to expand...

With out any ill effect? So the dozens upon dozens that have reported problems are mistaken? Sorry any medication in a reef will have some repercussions. There is no way around this. Prazi will kill off other things besides what you are trying to eliminate.

To anyone reading this:

WORD OF CAUTION - READ UP EXTENSIVELY ON ANY MEDICATION YOU ASSUME IS OK TO PUT INTO YOUR REEF - DO NOT TAKE OTHERS WORD FOR IT, DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH
Click to expand...

This makes me want to NOT to post anything here anymore ... people read instruction and do extensive research before they do anything agressive to their tank, so stop talking down to people. Geeshhhhh
 
Warning people to research drugs like Levamisole that does not have directions for aquaria use, in fact is not designated as for aquaria use, is talking down? It's a serious medication that should not be taken lightly. Same with Prazi (but it is designed for aquaria use).

Prazi does has ill effects. It does kill other animals in the process. There is no medication that will eliminate just AEFW or benign red planaria. Every single one will also kill other things. Your RC post about nuking your tank with Levamisole is testament to this. You lost other worms, true, just bristle worms, but if they died so did a lot of other beneficial worms in your rock and sand.
 
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