Flatwarms after no power?

[Steverd]

After we had to evacuate our home for wildfires for over 48 hours of no power .
I only powered a small protein skimmer with an Anker power supply,
When we got power back today I saw these all over the front glass of my 30g reef.

I have never seen them before in this tank and haven't added anything to this tank is 6+ months.
There is only two clown fish, two skunk cleaner shrimps, plus normal CUC,
How did they explode so fast, no lights and no heat?

Should I go ahead and dose Flatworm Exit?

Thank you everyone for advice.

 

[keagan]

Definitely flatworms they look like acoel flatworms to me but I'm not good with flatworm ID. Someone like @EnterName or @ISpeakForTheSeas could likely give you a real ID. Seeing as they're on the glass try siphoning as many off as you can with an airline tube it's a great opportunity to remove a bunch of them. Killing them releases toxins so you want to remove as many as you can manually.

 

[Baylott224]

dang it looks crazy.mabye they came out of the sump?if you have one.my little puffer would eat all of those. Maybe you could get something that eats them?

 

[ravila101]

I believe a 6 line wrasse might eat those or blue springeri damsel?

 

[Baylott224]

Yeah the sixline would decimate those.

 

[allof fish]

Also looks like red planera a type of flat worm. I agree a six line or yellow wrasse would demolish them

 

[EnterName]

Definitely flatworms they look like acoel flatworms to me but I'm not good with flatworm ID. Someone like @EnterName or @ISpeakForTheSeas could likely give you a real ID. Seeing as they're on the glass try siphoning as many off as you can with an airline tube it's a great opportunity to remove a bunch of them. Killing them releases toxins so you want to remove as many as you can manually.

Those are Convolutriloba sp. Probably Convolutriloba retrogemma, bad guys. Don't want them in your tank. They are often referred to as Red Planaria Flatworms.

Convolu-tri-loba (tri = three, loba = lobes) they have three lobes at the posterior end.

The harmless acoels you can find from time to time have two lobes. Convolutriloba are also acoels but the "neutral ones" might belong to the genus Heterochaerus sp. The neutral ghost flatworms are thought to be Amphiscolops sp.

 

[EnterName]

Should I go ahead and dose Flatworm Exit?

If you decide to go for a chemical treatment:

• Treat rocks that you can take out of the tank in a separate bucket. Add a pump to it to circulate water during treatment. Once the flatworms seem to be dead, rinse the rocks in another bucket with old tank water and then you can return the rocks.
• Start manually siphoning off flatworms every single day for at least a week thoroughly before treatment. It's very tedious, but it will reduce the number of flatworms that can release toxins on death.
• Have water available for at least 50% water change, not 25% like the instructions suggest.
• Have sufficient activated charcoal ready (some charcoal requires soaking in boiling hot RO/DI before use for a few hours, often 24h even)

Follow the instructions carefully, do not overdose, and treat ONCE.

I got lucky but nearly learned this the hard way. Most people would probably suggest not using Flatworm eXit at all. Some Flatworms will survive, and you will need a consistent method (e.g. a fish that eats them) to keep their numbers low.
Especially with the flatworms you have that are known to release toxins on death, the treatment is dangerous.

 

[Steverd]

Those are Convolutriloba sp. Probably Convolutriloba retrogemma, bad guys. Don't want them in your tank. They are often referred to as Red Planaria Flatworms.

Convolu-tri-loba (tri = three, loba = lobes) they have three lobes at the posterior end.

The harmless acoels you can find from time to time have two lobes. Convolutriloba are also acoels but the "neutral ones" might belong to the genus Heterochaerus sp. The neutral ghost flatworms are thought to be Amphiscolops sp.

Thank you for the information - not what I wanted to hear though.

What do you think caused the explosion of the flatworms?
Here's what happened:
Saturday after we have a level 3 evacuation from the Spokane WA Wildfires - All power went out.
We have to leave so fast, I didn't even have time to set up my Anker F3000s.
Sunday morning I checked to see if our house was still standing. So many houses burned down just a few blocks from our House.
So (Sunday morngin) I set up the Anker F3000 to power the refrigerator and a small protein skimmer on this 30g tanks. (Also the return pump on my 90g)
We got full power back 48hrs later and then I saw these flatworms that I have never once seen in this tank.

Thoughts?
Thank you

 

[EnterName]

Those are Convolutriloba sp. Probably Convolutriloba retrogemma, bad guys. Don't want them in your tank. They are often referred to as Red Planaria Flatworms.

Convolu-tri-loba (tri = three, loba = lobes) they have three lobes at the posterior end.

The harmless acoels you can find from time to time have two lobes. Convolutriloba are also acoels but the "neutral ones" might belong to the genus Heterochaerus sp. The neutral ghost flatworms are thought to be Amphiscolops sp.

Thank you for the information - not what I wanted to hear though.

What do you think caused the explosion of the flatworms?
Here's what happened:
Saturday after we have a level 3 evacuation from the Spokane WA Wildfires - All power went out.
We have to leave so fast, I didn't even have time to set up my Anker F3000s.
Sunday morning I checked to see if our house was still standing. So many houses burned down just a few blocks from our House.
So (Sunday morngin) I set up the Anker F3000 to power the refrigerator and a small protein skimmer on this 30g tanks. (Also the return pump on my 90g)
We got full power back 48hrs later and then I saw these flatworms that I have never once seen in this tank.

Thoughts?
Thank you

These flatworms make use of photosynthesis by keeping symbiotic algae in their tissue (visible in post #127 on page 7 of my microscopy thread in a similar flatworm: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/microscopy-thread.1138845/post-14464850)

I assume they were sitting somewhere in your tank where you just didn't notice them, but once the light went off due to the power outages they started searching for a brighter spot and spread throughout the tank.

They also reproduce exponentially if there is nothing limiting their growth, so you might have simply missed the phase between "not noticable" and "overpopulation". They grow smaller flatworms on their posterior lobes and then let them fall off so every flatworm can produce two other flatworms at once (maybe even three I don't remember).

I can only hypothesize about what happened but don't have a definite explanation.

 

[Steverd]

These flatworms make use of photosynthesis by keeping symbiotic algae in their tissue (visible in post #127 on page 7 of my microscopy thread in a similar flatworm: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/microscopy-thread.1138845/post-14464850)

I assume they were sitting somewhere in your tank where you just didn't notice them, but once the light went off due to the power outages they started searching for a brighter spot and spread throughout the tank.

They also reproduce exponentially if there is nothing limiting their growth, so you might have simply missed the phase between "not noticable" and "overpopulation". They grow smaller flatworms on their posterior lobes and then let them fall off so every flatworm can produce two other flatworms at once (maybe even three I don't remember).

I can only hypothesize about what happened but don't have a definite explanation.

Thank you for the information - I do really appreciate it.
Do you have a favorite fish to help with control?
A spotted mandarin or sixline wrasse?
Springer's Damsel and Melanesian Blue Damsel?

 

[EnterName]

Do you have a favorite fish to help with control?
A spotted mandarin or sixline wrasse?
Springer's Damsel and Melanesian Blue Damsel?

I think you will have to check the compatibility of those candidates with each fish in your tank and decide based on that and the available space you have in your tank. Many people seem to recommend a six-line wrasse for flatworms, but I don't know if that is the best choice as the proper choice of fish is definitely not my strength

I'm sorry, but I don't want to give you bad advice.

 

[Steverd]

OK, Thank you again for your help!.
I have a sixline wrasse in my 90g, so I think I'll try one in my 30g, at least it's a fish I can find easy local.