Flatworm ID

[theswiftduck]

Good morning,

Hoping to get an ID on these little buggers. They don’t seem to be bothering the coral yet and I don’t even see them on coral. Mainly on rock and the glass. There aren’t that many as of now but I have heard nightmares. I just bought a 6 foot reef tank and am about to start the transfer process within the next few months. I would like to not bring any pests to the new tank either. If anyone can ID these guys and give me a good general attack plan to get rid of them. I would greatly appreciate it.

 

[cdemoss01]

Good morning,

Hoping to get an ID on these little buggers. They don’t seem to be bothering the coral yet and I don’t even see them on coral. Mainly on rock and the glass. There aren’t that many as of now but I have heard nightmares. I just bought a 6 foot reef tank and am about to start the transfer process within the next few months. I would like to not bring any pests to the new tank either. If anyone can ID these guys and give me a good general attack plan to get rid of them. I would greatly appreciate it.

A better picture is necessary, (closer up) if you can pull it out!

 

[cdemoss01]

Could be a planarian, however definitely a flatworm.
does it have any of these?

• Flat, elongated body that tapers at both ends.
• Often moves with a gliding motion.
• Typically light brown or tan in color.
• Can regenerate if cut into pieces — a well-known trait of planarians.

 

[theswiftduck]

A better picture is necessary, (closer up) if you can pull it out!

Here is a picture of it on a microscope slide.

 

[theswiftduck]

Here is a picture of it on a microscope slide.

 

[theswiftduck]

Could be a planarian, however definitely a flatworm.
does it have any of these?

• Flat, elongated body that tapers at both ends.
• Often moves with a gliding motion.
• Typically light brown or tan in color.
• Can regenerate if cut into pieces — a well-known trait of planarians.

I haven’t cut it in house. Does seem to glide when it moves. When it moves the body because long and elongated. Brownish color.

 

[theswiftduck]

Could be a planarian, however definitely a flatworm.
does it have any of these?

• Flat, elongated body that tapers at both ends.
• Often moves with a gliding motion.
• Typically light brown or tan in color.
• Can regenerate if cut into pieces — a well-known trait of planarians.

 

[cdemoss01]

Got it thanks for the photos.

 

[cdemoss01]

Definitely a planarian, but get @vetteguy53081 confirmation. Take it out of it it's a planarian as they can cause ulcers and death in fish.

 

[theswiftduck]

Definitely a planarian, but get @vetteguy53081 confirmation. Take it out of it it's a planarian as they can cause ulcers and death in fish.

I had a yellow tail tamarin wrasse die a few weeks ago unexpectedly. I had her for two years or so. No idea what happened. Could be linked?

 

[cdemoss01]

I had a yellow tail tamarin wrasse die a few weeks ago unexpectedly. I had her for two years or so. No idea what happened. Could be linked?

Unsure. Medical isn't necessarily my specialty what other fish are in the tank.

 

[cdemoss01]

Id recommend tagging jay hemdal or vetteguy for medical information.

 

[theswiftduck]

Unsure. Medical isn't necessarily my specialty what other fish are in the tank.

Melanurus wrasse, two clowns, coral beauty, and a tomini tang.

 

[theswiftduck]

Melanurus wrasse, two clowns, coral beauty, and a tomini tang.

I’m about to pull them all out and go fallow. I need to reQT my fish for when I upgraded to the 230. I’m planning on a powder blue or an Achilles tang. I have flatworm exit but I’m nervous about my sps. What do you think?

 

[vetteguy53081]

This is an acoel flatworm and not as harmful as planaria but they in numbers can smother bases of coral and block the needed light for production of zooxanthellae which is their energy source.
Removal can be accomplished by siphoning them with a 3/8" tubing into a nylon stocking and discard
OR
Add a wrasse such as Yellow coris, 6 line, lunare or malanurus OR even a springieri damsel which will eat them

With the number you have, for the next 2 weeks you will have to look for eggs and scrape off as there is likely some and would be future acoels. Eggs are really tiny

 

[theswiftduck]

This is an acoel flatworm and not as harmful as planaria but they in numbers can smother bases of coral and block the needed light for production of zooxanthellae which is their energy source.
Removal can be accomplished by siphoning them with a 3/8" tubing into a nylon stocking and discard
OR
Add a wrasse such as Yellow coris, 6 line, lunare or malanurus OR even a springieri damsel which will eat them

With the number you have, for the next 2 weeks you will have to look for eggs and scrape off as there is likely some and would be future acoels. Eggs are really tiny

Thank you so much! I am about to reQT my fish for an upgrade to a 230 but need to reuse some rock to kick start the tank. I have a lot of sps and want the transfer to go well. I have ich in the tank and plan on getting a powder blue or Achilles in the new tank. Is manual removal good enough while I go fallow or should I keep the fish in there until I eradicate them?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Thank you so much! I am about to reQT my fish for an upgrade to a 230 but need to reuse some rock to kick start the tank. I have a lot of sps and want the transfer to go well. I have ich in the tank and plan on getting a powder blue or Achilles in the new tank. Is manual removal good enough while I go fallow or should I keep the fish in there until I eradicate them?

Manual removal acceptable and keep in mind eggs. PBT and achilles very prone to ich and velvet- quarantine well with coppersafe at 2.25ppm

 

[theswiftduck]

Manual removal acceptable and keep in mind eggs. PBT and achilles very prone to ich and velvet- quarantine well with coppersafe at 2.25ppm

Definitely will be doing that and am adding a UV to the tank on top of it. I even plan to QT any new corals coming in for 76 days with no fish.

With manual removal is scraping the eggs off going to be enough or do I need to suck them out as well?

Do you think I could go the flatworm exit route once the fish are out? Little worried about my corals with it too.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Definitely will be doing that and am adding a UV to the tank on top of it. I even plan to QT any new corals coming in for 76 days with no fish. Do you think I could go the flatworm exit route once the fish are out? Little worried about my corals with it too.

Flatworm exit I find safe- just siphon tank daily to remove the dead ones before they cause any potential parameter issues and release of low level toxins

 

[theswiftduck]

Flatworm exit I find safe- just siphon tank daily to remove the dead ones before they cause any potential parameter issues and release of low level toxins

So, I think the plan of action is going to be siphon as many out as I can with air tubing for a few days.

Then run FW exit in a few days and continue to siphon them out and conduct large water changes after a few hours with the exit in the water.

Then repeat that process over a few weeks.


I have 6 pounds of carbon on hand. I don’t have a reactor but have filter sock cups that hold media. Do you think I should run a bunch of carbon durning this period?