Spots on Linckia?

[LittleDabOSalt]

Noticed today that my orange Linckia has purple spots? Anyone know what this is? Looks like he has the purple chicken pox.

 

[revhtree]

Any pics?

 

[LittleDabOSalt]

Any pics?

My camera is horrible - I've tried several times but it keeps coming out blurry. Let me see if I can grab him and take a pic. brb lol

 

[LittleDabOSalt]

Ha, went back to the tank and he was at the front. Hopefully you can see them ok.

 

[revhtree]

Wow I have no idea but I like it! Looks very cool! Do they looked raised or look like it could be pigment change?

 

[LittleDabOSalt]

Wow I have no idea but I like it! Looks very cool! Do they looked raised or look like it could be pigment change?

Haha! It is pretty cool looking but I'm so afraid it might be something that will hurt him. The spots aren't raised and they really don't seem to have any type of thickness to them at all. Just looks like he was born that way, really strange...just started appearing. Doesn't really look like pigmentation changes either. Hard to explain other than just looking like purple painted on spots.

 

[Snowsrfr]

Do the purple spots move around? Tough to tell from pics but they kinda look like flatworms.

 

[skinz78]

I was thinking flatworms as well?

 

[revhtree]

I don't see any FW on the sand.

 

[LittleDabOSalt]

I've never seen the spots move, of course that doesn't mean they haven't I suppose and I've just found the same spots of my mushrooms as well. They aren't on anything else, nothing on the glass, corals or sand... just the starfish and now the mushrooms. I had posted some time back about something taking out my snails. Chalked it up to a crab but could it be that these are little flatworms meaning where there are small ones there are bigger? :squigglemouth:

 

[LittleDabOSalt]

Ok, went back to the tank and stared at one of the mushrooms for what seemed like forever lol - Umm, yep they move and when I took a few pics of the mushrooms to show you guys the "dots" I got an even better view. Anyone know which kind and the best way to get rid of them. oh:

 

[cdness]

Flatwork Exit maybe... Don't know if it works on the big ones...

 

[lawnman]

Flatworm exit. My buddy siphoned them everyday for a week before dosing his tank. They release some nasty in the tank when they die. Usually your tank will start to get a bad odor when the flatworm population starts to grow.

 

[Snowsrfr]

Looks like you have two kinds of flatworms. The red ones are the irritating ones to corals. The clear ones, I can't remember what they eat. There are several wrasses that will eat them, or you can go the Flatworm Exit. Just follow the directions on the box exactly. For every flatworm you can see there's 10's to 100's you don't see.

 

[LegoZ81]

I would agree with Snowsrfr about finding a reef safe wrasse that will help eat them. BUT I would also siphon them out then treat with flatworm exit after as many are gone as possible. Siphon them out daily for a week or so getting as many as possible. You should be able to use a filtersock and return the water to the tank after making sure none made it out. Make sure if you use Flatworm exit you follow the directions, don't skimp on the amount of carbon to run it is quite important. also have water mixed and ready to go for a 50-75% water change just incase things go wrong.

 

[skinz78]

Agreed, I would try a Yellow Coris Wrasse, mine go's around my tank looking like an addict looking for a hit... It is very entertaining to watch, most definitely my most active fish. I tend to try and steer clear of chemical fix's if I can.

 

[LittleDabOSalt]

Thanks all for the info. Put in a spotted mandarin and a green as well last night. Siphoning carefully off the shrooms etc... and have my eye on a coris at the local lfs. Hopefully we can head them off and get the population down.