Tearing down a 55G reef...need advise

I am starting my hunt for the pericelis SP flatworm that is living in my reef.

initially i noticed the dwindling snail population and couldn't figure out the cause. Then one night i saw it come out of my LR and cover a snail that had fallen over and was laying on the substrate. after seeing it i then had done alot of searching before i came to realize i have a pericelis SP polyclad flatworm....nasty nasty little bugger.

now that was over a year ago that i saw it. I am seeing another trend where larger inverts are being killed off.

I have to start my hunt for this predator that is feeding on larger and larger prey before my fish become a meal.

I never see it out in the open and I believe it lives inside a large piece of LR through the holes and cracks.

Does anyone have any advice on how to go about the tear down??

I have some large rubbermaid storage totes that will hold the majority of my DT water. I was then going to piece by piece remove the LR and dunk them in FW and hope that the bugger comes flying out.

How long can i dunk without killing everything? most of my LR has some sort of softy coral on it. should it be pure FW or a mix somewhere inbetween?

Also since i am ripping the tank down i wanted to remove the crushed coral substrate and replace it with some caribsea aragonite sugar sand. The crushed coral is covered in hair algae and I cant seem to win with it so its time to go. Any advise on the substrate change or on the tear down in general? keep in mind the main goal is to remove the pericelis sp

 

well my lights on the DT turn off in 20 minutes....i was planning to begin the process when the lights go out to help reduce stress......I am hoping i haven't overlooked anything...

 

well best of luck hopefully you can get rid of your little pest

 

possibly a mantis shrimp or fire worm?

 

to try to remove it?? i dont understand Link...

 

i got my clowns removed and into the rubbermaid tote. I got 3 chromis as well. 2 chromis left, and then the fun begins. I have to net the hippo tang and the coral beauty and the 6 line wrasse and the large fox face.

 

sweet i caught 1 of the pericelis sp flatworm....i am going to keep them in a coffee can but what should i do with them? i dont believe in killing it cause i don't want it in my tank so does someone maybe want them?? they are super creepy and i have no clue as to the number of them i will find. i'll post up picts when i get a few more.

Im still searching for the mother of them all...should be a good 5-6'' long i figure.

 

good luck sounds like the take over fast. kinda pretty though

 

the picture at the top looks exactly like the one i caught but I thought it kinda looks like a lettuce nudibranch....can anyone tell me how you could tell them apart??? they both have very similar patterns on them and shape..