Eeek! These are all over the place!

ThunderGoose · Feb 3, 2017

These look like the Acropia Eating Flatworms on @Lionfish Lair Hitchhiker's guide. I don't have any acropia. The tank is about a month and a half old and all I have are CUC and two corals (long tentacle plate and toadstool unknown type).

Are these flatworms? Should I panic? There are literally hundreds of them all over the glass! How do I get rid of them?

Sorry for the picture quality. I took it through the microscope but the darn thing wouldn't hold still!

Ds04384 · Feb 3, 2017

ThunderGoose said:
These look like the Acropia Eating Flatworms on @Lionfish Lair Hitchhiker's guide. I don't have any acropia. The tank is about a month and a half old and all I have are CUC and two corals (long tentacle plate and toadstool unknown type).

Are these flatworms? Should I panic? There are literally hundreds of them all over the glass! How do I get rid of them?

Sorry for the picture quality. I took it through the microscope but the darn thing wouldn't hold still!

Yes that looks like a flatworm. I highly doubt it is AEFW since you have no acropora and they only eat acropora. If you are concerned I would get flatworm exit and use it as the directions say (has worked for me in the past)

Lionfish Lair · Feb 3, 2017

Agreed it's not AEFW if they are populating and you don't have the coral. I wouldn't do anything, as your tank is new.

ThunderGoose · Feb 4, 2017

Thanks for the info.

Lionfish Lair · Feb 4, 2017

I'm on a bigger computer screen now and can see the critter better, and they don't look like AEFW.

ThunderGoose · Feb 4, 2017

I would have been surprised if they were AEFW. I see that some flatworms and good and some are bad and I wasn't sure if I should get rid of them or not.

Lionfish Lair · Feb 4, 2017

Where your tank is so new, I would wait to do anything. You have a lot of diatoms going on (even if you can't see them) and that is feeding pods. Those pods are feeding the flatworms and causing a little population bloom right now.

That's what I would do, not necessarily what others would do. If someone has treatment plans they want to share, please do!