Flatworms -nuked my tank!

[GeoSquid]

Flatworms: What not to do!
I have a 10' long 360 gallon tank. I've had flatworms for over a year. Brown ones, not sure what kind, but they mostly like to live in my hairy green mushrooms. These shrooms are a bit of a plague as it is. For a long time I was sucking them out with a turkey baster and putting them in a glass for disposal. I dont do water changes and would pour the saltwater back in the tank. Then I decided to squeeze/squirt them into a handful of filterfloss and let the water go back into the tank. I've been using this method for at least 6 mos. Lately, I've been busy and haven't done it in a few months, but decided to do it last night. There were a lot more than usual. About a half hour later I noticed a tang laying on its side and another swimming funny. OH SH#%%@IT! I guess this time they released toxins. My only filtration is big refugiums with rocks, mactos and mangroves. I dont do water changes and had no carbon on hand. So far, lost 4 big tangs and a few other fish. Some corals stressed. Couldn't get carbon till the next day after work. Hoping no more fish die. Pics from before.

 

[EnterName]

I'm really sorry this is happening to you. Most flatworm toxins seem to be released when they die or get physically hurt in some way, but apparently you have a species that actively releases those toxins as a defense mechanism. If you find a way to get a decent picture of a flatworm people might be able to confirm or refute this.

For your own safety you might want to keep the area well ventilated. I don't know if this applies to the toxins those flatworms produce, but for Palytoxin (the toxin from Palys, Zoas, and some Cyanos) there are reports of the toxin going from the water column into the room air and causing issues.

Stay safe!

 

[GeoSquid]

These are them. Took the pic just now.

 

[helmsreef]

I doubt that those flatworms, which almost look like ghost flatworms, would release enough toxin to pollute your system. Maybe that cowfish was stressed when you went in to suck up some flatworms? That cowfish would def pollute your system. But to return to your original question, you can enlist some more wrasses. Not all of them will eat them, I had the same issue and I added 3-4 wrasses, which include a dusky, purple/yellow wrasse which it looks like you already have, and two sixlines. They made a huge dent in the population and eventually died out.

 

[BryanM]

If they are Acoel flatworms then flatworm exit works well... But you must follow the instructions very carefully.

 

[EnterName]

These are them. Took the pic just now.

Does not look like Convolutriloba retrogemma (this one is reported to release toxins when treated chemically)
Does not look like Amakusaplana acroporae / Prosthiostomum acroporae
But maybe Waminoa sp. if this guy is truly corallivore? If they are just sitting on the glass they could be harmless Ghost flatworms.

Unfortunately I cannot find any information on the toxicity of any Waminoa species...
Either way, water changes and activated charcoal are going to be your best option for now. Oceamo's Organo-MS analysis would probably be able to detect toxins if there are any.

That cowfish would def pollute your system.

I would also assume that only a chemical treatment of all flatworms in the system could cause trouble (this has been reported before). The cowfish might actually be the real issue in this case. Messing with the tank for quite a while could have stressed him too much. Good catch, I didn't notice this guy in the picture.

If they are Acoel flatworms then flatworm exit works well... But you must follow the instructions very carefully.

If the actual issue was the cowfish, Flatworm - eXit would probably be a good choice. If those flatworms caused the issue, Flatworm - eXit would nuke the tank if OP didn't manage to find enough to remove manually first

 

[GeoSquid]

I doubt that those flatworms, which almost look like ghost flatworms, would release enough toxin to pollute your system. Maybe that cowfish was stressed when you went in to suck up some flatworms? That cowfish would def pollute your system. But to return to your original question, you can enlist some more wrasses. Not all of them will eat them, I had the same issue and I added 3-4 wrasses, which include a dusky, purple/yellow wrasse which it looks like you already have, and two sixlines. They made a huge dent in the population and eventually died out.

Those pics are a few moths old. I got rid of the cowfish awhile back. It kept biting me and taking chunks out. Aggressive fish. I had a cois and 6 line but they didn't seem to eat them at all.

 

[GeoSquid]

Again, no cowfish in the tank anymore. I didnt want to treat the tank for this very reason and I thought, since they were there, they could slow down the green harry shrooms. The flatworms weren't bothering anything. They do like to ride on my orange starfish. I blow them off of him a couple times a week. Only thing i did was squirt them through floss - but it was a lot of worms and I was using the same floss for about 20 minutes.