[fishycouple]

I posted this same problem on a competitive BB and the answer was to do a complete "freshwater dip for the entire tank"! In other words to drain my tank, and refill it with freshwater and then drain it again and refill it with salt water (fresh)!
Seems to me that is asking (begging) for trouble by starting a massive cycle killing all of my corals, not to mention the bacteria and probably the inverts and fish too!
I have a bunch of small brown 1/8" diameter flatworms all over my leather, mushrooms, fox, elegance and now my giant cup coral! I have been advised to get a mandarin, which I did...apparently there are too many copecods for him to stoop to eating a lowly flatworm! Surely, there is another solution to this problem without following the "sharks" recommendation to destroy my tank, and basically start over!
Does any of you knowledgeable people here have any suggestions?
Thanks for your help!
Rick
The adventure continues

[Elmo18]

I have not tried this, but several people have told me to use a RED CORIS, with scientific name Coris gaimard. The fish will eat flatworms, and after you have desttroyed their populatiosn, you should take the fish out because it will get too big for the tank. Anohter idea, is if you have an LFS nearby that carries the Red Coris Wrasse (Coris gaimard), then try to "borrow" the fish, then return it afterwards. I have flatworms in my 25 gallon, then i received LR from Jeffs and hopefully all that ammonia/nitrate killed them off.

Regards and best of luck,

Ilham

[This message has been edited by Elmo18 (edited 05-23-2001).]

[tkg]

I went the dip route primarily because I had to tear down the tank and move it anyway. I used DI water at the same temp and ph as the tank. It is a ton of work, but it seems to have worked, and like I said I had to tear the tank down to relocate it in a different room.

Two months later things really look good and I've lost no corals or fish.

I do think I recall Jason at Premium Acquatics indicating that he had some nudibranchs that will dine on certain flatworms.

Good luck.

Tom G.

[Ninong]

Rick ~

The Mandarin Dragonet that is reported to sometimes eat Dugesia (flatworms) is Synchiropus picturatus, not the more common S. splendidus.

You may not have noticed this thread from yesterday on this same topic: http://www.reefland.com/ubb/Forum4/HTML/008940.html#6

Ninong [img]/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

------------------
Irrational Exuberance!

[billzie]

Definite cure: Sorry I don't remember the name of these, but, I was amazed at a LFS to see a nudibranch scarfing up these pests. One of the displays was infested with flatworms for as lond as I could remember going in there, then one week they got some nudis ( were black with two purple (blueish) stripes runing the length of the dorsal side, I think they're called "purple velvet nudi") and within a 3 week period the flatworms were gone. Unfortunately, the owner didn't take my advice to throw these into another tank every few days to let the flatworms repopulate b/c now the have nothing to feed upon. Anyway, these nudis did an awsome job, even spawned before my very eyes! If found though, I'd only get one, they work fast and wouldn't want to get a bunch and then starve. Bill.

[fishycouple]

Thanks all....I'm going to try to find Premium Aquatics" right now and order a couple of these worm eaters!

I knew I could get straight answers from THIS board!!!

Thanks again,

Rick

[36]

Yes they do eat flatworms. I have two in my tank right now that I got from Inland Aquatics. I understand they are difficult to come by.

[Rob]

Just curious,

How do you know when you've got flatworms? What do they look like? What are the signs?

A year and a half ago, I was paranoid about finding aiptasia and searching constantly.

Cheers
Rob

PS Now I'm worried about idiot congressmen who are paranoid about caulerpa and want to use it as yet another excuse to micromanage my private life.

They lost the War Against Vietnam (Vietnam was too big to handle) and the War Against Drugs... (drugs are detestable but too popular), but proved they could handle tiny Grenada, so now they seem to be looking for smaller and smaller wars, how about a War Against Caulerpa? What's next, the War Against Overdue Library Books?

[Mobious]

What do these flat worms look like?

[fishycouple]

my flatworms first appeared as measle looking brownish spots on my mushroom corals, then they spread to my elegance and fox and on the trunk of my leather. Now they are on my giant cup coral.
The spots were originally only 1/8" in diameter..now some are over 1/4" long and kinda oval. They can be flicked off of the coral with a fingertip, but they seem to hold on so a syphon wont dislodge them.
Anyway, I hope this description helps you identify them. Hopefully you wont have any! They spread rapidly! I'm still trying to figure out how I got them, my takn has been happy for a year, then all of a sudden here they were. I guess I bought an infected coral somewhere. or mayby they were on a new piece of liverock...I dunno!
Anyway, thanks for the help, I've e-mailed premium aquatics already!

Rick