oldbrownies Posted December 3, 2006 Posted December 3, 2006 I found two flat worms today on a acro in my tank, just wandering around, but i don't see any signs of eatting... not that i really know what to look for, does anyone know much about these guys and how to track down "worm sign" Quote
fly guy Posted December 3, 2006 Posted December 3, 2006 Were they little brownish tan with possibly a red dot on them??? If so...dont worry about it...harmless acoel flatworm....although if you can only see a couple......i would look into nuking yoru tank with flatworm exit while its still safe to do so. If you wait for them to multiply a bunch....killing them is much more risky If the flatworms you saw on your acro were clear or the same color of the coral they were on.......possibly NOT such a harmless thing......... Im hoping it was the former.......; ) Quote
powdertang05 Posted December 3, 2006 Posted December 3, 2006 well the best to get ride of them is the velvet nudabranc or whatever its the one with black with like neon blue colored strip or flat worm exit from salifert the best advice i can help you with is look at melevsreef and he has a whole section about it. Quote
oldbrownies Posted December 3, 2006 Author Posted December 3, 2006 it was on a neon green acro, and the little guy was about 1-2 mm long and a tan color, unfortunately i dont have a cam, but if anyone is in gresham and has some free time and wants to come by and give me a second opinion in person that would be awesome, i would offer a frag, but that might be risky Quote
oldbrownies Posted December 3, 2006 Author Posted December 3, 2006 oh yeah, i have a sixline, does he eat flat worms, and i have heard about yellow tail damsels helping, all i have are rex damsels any idea if they eat em as well? Quote
powdertang05 Posted December 3, 2006 Posted December 3, 2006 well a sixline im not sure on that one i know he will eat piramid snails but not sure on flat worms the brown ones that are on the glass are usually algae eating. Quote
fly guy Posted December 3, 2006 Posted December 3, 2006 I still say if you have very few why depend on any creature to maybe get rid of them. Sure a velvet sea slug will eat them but then you have a creature that will starve or you need to find a home for once he does his job...and even then...he wont have gotten 100% of them i guarantee it. Most six lines will eat them if there is nothing easier to eat or you dont feed very often...... You can safely use flatworm exit without even having to do a water change IF you have just a few FW's.....just run some carbon to be safe. It will kill them ALL befor ethey get out of hand. it sounds as though you prolly got the harmless kind.........However......if you DID have the bad ones....Flatworm Exit wont kill them Quote
nu2reef-n Posted December 3, 2006 Posted December 3, 2006 My sixline wrasse eats flatworms like there's no tomorrow. Quote
Ronjunior Posted December 3, 2006 Posted December 3, 2006 From what I've read in other forums, Flatworm Exit will pretty much kill off most worms we have, good and bad. I've been seeing tons of different worms and bugs since being fishless and keep checking out the new ones to compare if bad or not. If you want to take a picture to post, give me a call, maybe I could swing by when I'm done hanging the rest of my Xmas lights on Sunday; I need to be home by 4:30...yes, 1 week later and I'm still not done :(. My last few I've never done before, I think I'm going to tie a rope to the chimney in case I slip....and take the wife's cell phone to call for help in getting down Quote
oldbrownies Posted December 3, 2006 Author Posted December 3, 2006 I forgot your number ron, PM me with it and I'll call you tomorrow mid day Quote
fly guy Posted December 3, 2006 Posted December 3, 2006 From what I've read in other forums' date=' Flatworm Exit will pretty much kill off most worms we have, good and bad. [/quote'] not true....it kills flatworms, your other worms are all fine. The only danger in using it is if you have a ton of flatworms and the flatworms themselves excrete toxins when they die that can crash a tank...thats why IMO if you can only see a couple......nip it in the bud while you can do it without having to siphon a bunch out first or before it will require a massive water change when doing it. I have used it many times in the past with nothing negative to say about it. Its a great product and one of the few things that can be safely used in the display tank to get rid of pests. Quote
jasonv6974 Posted December 3, 2006 Posted December 3, 2006 not true....it kills flatworms, your other worms are all fine. The only danger in using it is if you have a ton of flatworms and the flatworms themselves excrete toxins when they die that can crash a tank...thats why IMO if you can only see a couple......nip it in the bud while you can do it without having to siphon a bunch out first or before it will require a massive water change when doing it. I have used it many times in the past with nothing negative to say about it. Its a great product and one of the few things that can be safely used in the display tank to get rid of pests. I agree with salifert flatworm exit being your best chance in ridding the flatworms from your system. I used it and had a sucessful recovery and you will want to treat before they get out of hand those toxic bastards!!!! Quote
impur Posted December 4, 2006 Posted December 4, 2006 not true....it kills flatworms, your other worms are all fine. The only danger in using it is if you have a ton of flatworms and the flatworms themselves excrete toxins when they die that can crash a tank...thats why IMO if you can only see a couple......nip it in the bud while you can do it without having to siphon a bunch out first or before it will require a massive water change when doing it. I have used it many times in the past with nothing negative to say about it. Its a great product and one of the few things that can be safely used in the display tank to get rid of pests. Depending on the dosage. I've dipped things in FWE at 2X strength and it kills pods, worms, bristleworms, you name it. If these are the dreaded AEFW, FWE will not kill them even at 10X strenght. Examine some of your acros for bite marks. You will not be able to see the AEFW on the corals very easily. I never did fine one, but i sure got the bite marks Quote
tidalsculpin Posted December 4, 2006 Posted December 4, 2006 I treated exactly as directed and all my liverock tubeworms survived. My pod population is doing great! I'd say it is safe if you follow the directions. If all your flatworms are not killed the first time around treat again in two or three days. Quote
Ronjunior Posted December 4, 2006 Posted December 4, 2006 I went to take a picture of the dreaded worm, but that darned crab Adam wanted to get rid of ate it! The others in the tank went a hiding and never saw them. Maybe when he wakes this afternoon he'll post the picture of the questionable frag. Quote
oldbrownies Posted December 4, 2006 Author Posted December 4, 2006 here is what we found... a few white marks on the sides of a couple coral, but they feel like bumps, like growth, and they are on the side that was the bottom of the branch before it was cut off of the colony its all just a bunch of little bumps though, not bare patches Quote
impur Posted December 4, 2006 Posted December 4, 2006 Hmmm hard to tell in that pic. I had a hard time seeing the bite marks on the coral in the tank, had to remove it to really see. Those look like bite marks to me, sorry to say. Can you get a shot with flash? Quote
oldbrownies Posted December 4, 2006 Author Posted December 4, 2006 I thought they were bites at first too... but they are bumps on the coral... hard bumps, like new growth tips or something Quote
impur Posted December 4, 2006 Posted December 4, 2006 Ok, then you should be alright. Could have been just a normal harmless FW. Quote
impur Posted December 5, 2006 Posted December 5, 2006 Eh, looks like bites to me. If not its a real funky growth pattern. Use a turkey baster and blast the under part of the frag. Or use a powerhead. You should be able to see them fly off if you have them. Quote
fly guy Posted December 5, 2006 Posted December 5, 2006 take a turkeybaster and use a dark container to blow the coral off in......the worms will be easier to see in the dark container when you blow them off. Plus if you are going to blow the coral off.....no need to do it in your display........thats how some people treat for their aefw's. Manually scraping off any egg clutches and blowing the worms off manually in a different container. It obviously is high maitnenance and doesnt really "fix" anything They look like aefw bites to me too. : ( I beat aefw's by losing a ton of my corals. I gave in and simply cut the healthy tips off and tossed the rest in many cases. The quarantined and treated what i saved for more than 6 weeks and let them die off in my display. I can now confidently say i DID bet them, but i dont wish it on anybody AEFW's are SATAN Impur........ive never noticed any harm done by FW exit. I havent used it at concentrated strength though...never needed to to have it work. But like i said earlier in this thread and you said again........if we are talking AEFW's, Saliferts flatworm doesnt touch them anyway Quote
Ronjunior Posted December 5, 2006 Posted December 5, 2006 Are your white marks in your picture raised bumps like Adam's? Quote
impur Posted December 5, 2006 Posted December 5, 2006 No, just spots where the flesh was eaten. Quote
oldbrownies Posted December 5, 2006 Author Posted December 5, 2006 thanks ron, my pic editor program on here is useless I think i am going to use flat worm exit anyway... because some of that near the base looks a little suspicious Quote
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