Flatworms !!!

So i have flatworms (red) and they have taken over. i will be dipping all coral and moving to a QT. fish will be moved as well during this WAR. My question is; can i dip live rock like you do coral ? I will be using coral rx on the coral, and thought about using it on the rock as well.


I have never had these pests before and need a little advice. I want to stay away from FWE if possible.


Thanks in advance

 

since all liverock is is rock with saltwater bacteria i dont think a freshwater dip well do any good.

 

I think he means with coral rx.. i like their youtube video.. the one with peer pressure and coral smoking flatworms..

try a rock and see if things fall off it, but youll likely kill everything else right? like the spaghetti worms, featherdusters, amphipods etc??

 

Flatworm Exit. Flat out the only cure.

If you dip your rock, there will be massive die off. You will effectively recycle your tank. The red flat worms are toxic. They release this toxin on death. They are embedded into your rock. Killing them off will not work by itself. You need to siphon then out every night for a week to minimize their numbers, then treat the tank with FX. Then do a major water change. The worms are attracted to light. If you use a flashlight at night, they will go towards the light.... easier to siphon some of them off.

 

+1 on above

Just wanted to add that I experienced these many years back
and 1 method I found useful in reducing numbers was

syphon using an air line tube, into a 1 litre plastic jug, with a very fine mesh (nylon stocking worked) covering the jug
then I was able to pour the water back into the tank and repeat for as long as my patience lasted without wasting water

I did remove an awful lot of them using this method

Steve

 

I got a Blue Velvet nudi from a friend of mine and it started eating them right away (at least it looked like it). I may give it a few days and see how it goes then decide what to do. I want to avoid adding chemicals if possible, although i may not have a choice. still interested in all ideas or experiences so please share.

Thanks again

 

flat worm once never again will you have flat worms

 

do they siphon off of the rocks easily? i know they will come out of the sand. also after treating with FWE, do you just do water changes until you feel comfortable that all toxins are gone? or is there a general rule of thumb on this. I understand that i must siphon out all that i can get prior to dosing. should i move corals and fish or should they be fine with the water changes

 

They will be fine, and if you take them out the worms on the rock and plugs will end up back in the tank after you treat it.

You will want to run some carbon after using it, thats all I did, I did not even do a water change, just ran the carbon.

You will also want to treat it once and then a few weeks down the road a second treatment is recommended to kill the ones that hatch after the first treatment.

 

well , I ended up not using the FWE. Instead I got a blue velvet nudi, and the worms are very much under control. At the beginning they were very bad, and a few rocks were totally covered so much that it looked like the rock was made of flat worms. Now you have to actually search for them and sometimes i have a hard time even finding them. So if anyone was wondering if the nudi's work, let me assure you that they do.