Nuisance Algae and Planaria in Refugium

SoCalVictor · Aug 23, 2019

How problematic is it to have nuisance algae in the refugium? It doesn't appear in the DT except for a few pockets of hair algae. The macro (red gracilia and blue hypnea) seem to be growing well alongside of it.

Same question for Planaria (which it looks like I have) and that I also don't find them in the DT. It's possible they get eaten fast because I have wrasses in my DT.

Here's a shot of it. I seem to have multiple types. Can I get help IDing them?

Bret Brinkmann · Aug 23, 2019

The algae isn't a problem. You can always get some herbivores to eat it. Looks like green hair algae, green filamentous algae, brown film algae, and some cyanobacteria. Not sure what the actual names are. A lot of different snails will eat the hair algae and brown film algae. The filamentous algae is usually eaten by herbivorous fish. Some snails eat a little cyanobacteria but not a lot. I hear people getting it mostly due to food not being eaten. I think it feeds off of the sulfur in the water, mainly from food from what I read.

The wrasses will definitely help with the flat worms. I can't make any out in the pictures so I can't ID them. Look up polycheate flatworms (wide flat brown/grayish bodied with white spots) which are bad because they eat snails. Red flatworms can be an issue if the population gets large enough. When they die they release toxins but running carbon will solve that issue. White flatworms are harmless and a good snack for your wrasses.

The wrasses would love to eat any of them and they shouldn't be affected by the toxins in the red ones from what I have gathered. Flatworms Exit is also a product that will kill them. Not sure if it affects other types of worms though.