Flatworms- why do I care?

I have a few flatworms in my tank. They've been there for a awhile. I see them, then I don't. And tonight I saw one crawling on the glass. I gather from a few posts that these are pests, by why?

 

You are joking right about why they are considered bad . well long story short they are really parasites that will suck the life from a coral and if you have a few you have a few thousand if given time.. To kill them off its best to hit them as soon as you see one! Reason being IS WHEN THEY DIE FROM THE CHEMICAL POISONING THEY WILL RELEASE POISON AND TOXINS THAT WILL KILL THE FISH oops Caps got hit.. But with a few hundred its not to bad to kill them off and control the toxins with a good filter and lots of carbon ..longer you wait the more trouble it will become..

 

If you mean fire worms or bristle worms, than they eat all the dead waste. I dont mind them in my tanks. And yes I do have them and some are big. Some people think they eat there fish or clams. Only if its dying.

 

look at this and tell me what you think

http://www.pirx.com/gallery/worms
This is more or less exactly what it looks like (It's the photo labelled flatworm)
Not to sound like an idiot, but I have been looking since I identified it, and haven't really found much useful info excet that it scares the crap out of everyone.

 

I found it. This looks exactly like what I found.

This is what I found on Wet Web Media (Bob Fenner)
Amphiscolops sp., a harmless acoel that "shows up" at times in reef tanks. Flatworms
Looks like I don't have to panic. It seemed odd that what everyone just said about "flatworms" would apply to these little things. I've never once seen them on coral, just moving around on the glass apparently eating the algae.

 

OK, sorry I just looked them up and seen the diff. between them. Those things are creepy looking.

 

ok so i have a question what exactly are these things on these mushrooms because i have the same on mine

 

also what is a predator to them

 

*It is a flatworm, probalby rust brown flatworms...*Acoel Flatworms - RTAW Reefpedia*

Like Tangster said, flatworms are bad and are often times predators and reproduce like bunnies!*I sure wouldnt want these in my tank*There is a number of treatments, in this article...chemical tx and biological treatment (though this article says dont rely on nudi and wrasse to eat them always) It says you want to remove as many as possible by manual means to prevent the toxic release from chemical treatments

 

im shocked i just touched one and saw it slither away i was not aware of these darn things they could be the very reson why it looks like my mushroomsa are bleaching