Natural Flatworm Control

[reef165]

another way and i wouldnt have beleaved it unless id seen it is to just let them go, it took abought 6 to 8 months but they just all died. i kept telling him to get flatworm exit but he kept procrastinating and within a week they just all were gone. he said he was told it would happen but not how long it would take. and its been 3 months now and not a one has reapeared.

[DChemist]

Also from Wet Web Media... I added the emphasis.

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/pestflatwrmanthony.htm

 

"'Rust Brown Planarians are just one such example of a nuisance organism that needs to be monitored if not controlled. This flatworm is usually 1/8 to ¼” in size (~3-6mm) with a color ranging from orange through red to brown. It is cited in aquarium literature as Convolutriloba retrogemma and considered to be a pest because it can expand in population to plague proportions in a matter of a few short months. Populations get so dense that they occur in crowded mats that literally block necessary sunlight and circulatory functions from the corals that are forced to serve as perches for them. They are said to ingest zooxanthellae from decaying coral tissue and prosper under bright illumination. They dislike strong water flow and are often noticed in the areas of weakest water movement in an infected display. Increased water movement alone in otherwise properly maintained aquariums can sometimes reduce the population of flatworms...'

 

'...Manual siphoning is moderately effective but laborious. The truth of the matter is that such flatworms are common and present in many tanks. They will wax and wane and rarely linger in a large sustainable population. If a system is aggressively scrubbed with a protein skimmer, properly fed and not overstocked, the colony of pest flatworms will most likely crash within a couple of months. Support in the meantime through occasional siphoning, increased water flow and a natural predator (if it is suitable for the system and tank mates) is likely to make this frighteningly unpleasant symptom a truly small concern.' Anthony Calfo... with kind regards."

[impur]

Good info Darren, thanks. I am just waiting them out unless i can get my hands on a nudi.

[blown65]

I have some flatworms in my fuge, but my main tank is clean of them so far. (6 or so months now) I'm pretty sure my sixline is keeping them clean from it.

 

 

I also would never use FWE again. I also lost two fish to that that were seemingly completely fine prior to it. A couple other fish got pretty [language filter] stressed out and took about a month to recover. Ill stick to my sixline.