Possible flatworms appearing on multiple LPS corals – need ID help

[Sebreef93]

Hi all,

I’ve found small, flat, oval-shaped organisms appearing on one of my candy cane corals, and I’ve now seen similar ones on another candy cane as well as a hammer coral.

When I gently blast them off the coral with a pipette, they detach and go into the water column. Once suspended, they don’t actively swim, but instead “glide” or slowly undulate through the water in a very weak, almost drifting motion — not like an actively swimming organism.

They appear very flat and cling to the coral tissue until disturbed. So far I’ve only noticed a small number, not an infestation, but seeing them on multiple LPS corals is concerning.

Does this sound like flatworms (possibly some form of coral-associated flatworm), or could it be something else I should be aware of?

Has anyone dealt with similar concerns? Presumably Coral Rx would be my best friend at this stage?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Tahoe61]

Yes to flatworm, what type I don’t know.
With flatworms there are always a lot more you do not see.
I would look to natural resolutions first. Damsels may develop a taste if you don't over feed the fish.

https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/flatworms-the-good-the-bad-and-the-pretty-terrifying-part-1.530/

 

[Sebreef93]

Yes to flatworm, what type I don’t know.
With flatworms there are always a lot more you do not see.
I would look to natural resolutions first. Damsels may develop a taste if you don't over feed the fish.

https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/flatworms-the-good-the-bad-and-the-pretty-terrifying-part-1.530/

Thanks! That's what I thought. I may be quite limited with the natural resolutions as I have Fluval Sea Evo 13.5G with Royal Gramma and Randall's Goby.

Just for a sanity check, you wouldn't go down the route of taking corals out and using Coral Rx but look into a natural predator or anything else?

 

[BriDroid]

Any of the Chrysiptera damsels would be more likely to eat them. Azure, yellow tail, Springer's, etc. Although my Azure and Springer's never developed a taste for them. I've read that the target mandarins will also eat them but then you run into the issue of "do I have enough pods when the flatworms are gone" issue. I ended up using Flatworm Exit in my nano to get rid of the ghost flatworms. It did work with very little damage to anything in the tank.

 

[Sebreef93]

Any of the Chrysiptera damsels would be more likely to eat them. Azure, yellow tail, Springer's, etc. Although my Azure and Springer's never developed a taste for them. I've read that the target mandarins will also eat them but then you run into the issue of "do I have enough pods when the flatworms are gone" issue. I ended up using Flatworm Exit in my nano to get rid of the ghost flatworms. It did work with very little damage to anything in the tank.

Thanks, really appreciate it. I may look into the Chrysiptera damsels as I'll be passing by LFS tomorrow so maybe I could pick up one. Hopefully it won't fight with my Royal Gramma. I'm quite keen to avoid any chemicals fi possible; although I have Coral Rx so was wondering whether I should take few of them out and dip them. Would Flatworm Exist kill them in the tank and contribute to releasing the toxins once they die?

 

[exnisstech]

Dipping the coral will not help much as the flat worms will still be in the tank. The tank has to be addressed not the coral. I've used flat worm exit with good results but never on a tank that small. If you only have two fish maybe remove it temporarily and dose the tank then vacuum and do a large WC before returning the fish. FWE works within minutes when I used it. I accidently overdosed it in a 40g and even killed all my bristle worms but nothing else in the tank seemed bothered.
JMO but I would be hesitant to add a damsel to a 13g tank with any other fish.

 

[Sebreef93]

Dipping the coral will not help much as the flat worms will still be in the tank. The tank has to be addressed not the coral. I've used flat worm exit with good results but never on a tank that small. If you only have two fish maybe remove it temporarily and dose the tank then vacuum and do a large WC before returning the fish. FWE works within minutes when I used it. I accidently overdosed it in a 40g and even killed all my bristle worms but nothing else in the tank seemed bothered.
JMO but I would be hesitant to add a damsel to a 13g tank with any other fish.

Thanks, I appreciate the advice. My thinking was that I've only spotted a handful on two candy canes and a hammer so far, rather than seeing them all over the tank. I was hoping that dipping the affected corals now might reduce the population before it becomes a tank-wide issue.

I'm a bit cautious about using Flatworm Exit in a 13g tank because of the potential toxin release if there are more flatworms than I've noticed. I'll inspect the tank after lights out with a torch tonight, and if I find they're more widespread then I'll definitely reconsider treating the whole tank. I was thinking about blasting them with a pipette and removing if there aren't many as I have managed to remove few today and it wasn't too bad.

 

[exnisstech]

Ya I've had them in more than one tank and removing coral and dipping them then returning them is akin to removing a fish from a diseased tank, treating it and then returning it to the diseased tank. Not trying to be a jerk just being realistic having delt with them. I keep a natural predator in every tank now but my tanks are all considerably larger.

 

[Tahoe61]

I agree adding a Damsel would be problematic in that size nano. I would manually remove what you can prior to treatment with exit like products.

 

[BriDroid]

There are TONS of that you can’t see, and eggs that have yet to hatch. I was shocked at how many I had with the first Flatworm Exit dose! It was the thing of nightmares! Flatworm Exit was my last resort, but it did work. Just followed the directions to a “T” and run carbon. I didn’t lose anything, but some corals were a little made for a couple of weeks, they all recovered. I ended up doing 3 doses each 7 days apart to catch the babies. On the 3rd dose there were 0 dead ones that I saw, so it was probably unnecessary but I wanted to make sure. I think I did lose one giant feather duster worm, but that was it.

 

[Sebreef93]

Ya I've had them in more than one tank and removing coral and dipping them then returning them is akin to removing a fish from a diseased tank, treating it and then returning it to the diseased tank. Not trying to be a jerk just being realistic having delt with them. I keep a natural predator in every tank now but my tanks are all considerably larger.

Thanks for the perspective; I completely get what you mean and it makes sense in a larger system where a natural predator is viable. In my case the tank is only 13.5G, so my options for a predator are quite limited without overloading the system or risking compatibility issues with my current stock.

I’m actually considering upgrading to a larger tank in the near future and moving all my LPS over. Would it make more sense at that point to do a full coral dip / reset during the transfer to reduce the chance of carrying them over, and just try to manage them in-tank right now?

Appreciate the insight!

 

[Sebreef93]

There are TONS of that you can’t see, and eggs that have yet to hatch. I was shocked at how many I had with the first Flatworm Exit dose! It was the thing of nightmares! Flatworm Exit was my last resort, but it did work. Just followed the directions to a “T” and run carbon. I didn’t lose anything, but some corals were a little made for a couple of weeks, they all recovered. I ended up doing 3 doses each 7 days apart to catch the babies. On the 3rd dose there were 0 dead ones that I saw, so it was probably unnecessary but I wanted to make sure. I think I did lose one giant feather duster worm, but that was it.

I’m currently weighing up my options and trying to decide the most effective approach for my situation. Would you say using Flatworm Exit as a tank treatment was more effective than physically removing corals and dipping them (e.g. Coral Rx) before returning them to the system?

My concern is whether dipping alone would just be a temporary fix if there are still eggs or hidden worms in the tank. Just trying to figure out the most realistic long-term solution in a smaller system like mine.

 

[Sebreef93]

I agree adding a Damsel would be problematic in that size nano. I would manually remove what you can prior to treatment with exit like products.

Make sense! On top of that my Royal Gramma might be a bully so could lead to another problem. I've removed some today and thought about removing them daily.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Its understandable the hesitation to use chemicals and also the concern for the toxins.

I've also use FE with good results and never had an issue. Unless the flatworms are so numerous they are like a blanket, then the toxins are not a real concern. It sounds like you've just seen a few so I wouldn't worry about it. I agree with others I would not add a damsel to that size tank.

Better to take care of it now while its a tiny problem rather than let it build up IMO.

 

[Sebreef93]

Its understandable the hesitation to use chemicals and also the concern for the toxins.

I've also use FE with good results and never had an issue. Unless the flatworms are so numerous they are like a blanket, then the toxins are not a real concern. It sounds like you've just seen a few so I wouldn't worry about it. I agree with others I would not add a damsel to that size tank.

Better to take care of it now while its a tiny problem rather than let it build up IMO.

Thanks, that’s really helpful; especially the point about dealing with it early rather than letting it build up. That’s kind of where my head is at too.

At the moment I’ve only seen a few on a couple of LPS, but I’m assuming there’s probably more hidden if they’re present at all. I’m just trying to weigh up whether to go straight in with something like Flatworm Exit or to try a more manual approach first and confirm the extent of it before treating the whole system.

Good to hear your experience with it went smoothly as well — that definitely makes the chemical option feel a bit less risky if I do go that route.

 

[exnisstech]

Two years after seeing the first one I still get a few on my shrooms even with natural predators of 3 types if damsels and a sixline. I think the only way to total eradication is chemical then dip every coral before adding it going forward. Even then I suppose there's no 100% guarantee but it's about the best we can do. I understand your hesitance to use chemicals and respect that. I'm much the same and always prefer a more natural approach vs dumping chems in the tank.
This was from a few minutes ago. They're only on my shrooms but not enough that they are causing a real problem so I'm just keeping an eye on them. I don't keep a lot of nice LPS tho.

 

[Sebreef93]

Two years after seeing the first one I still get a few on my shrooms even with natural predators of 3 types if damsels and a sixline. I think the only way to total eradication is chemical then dip every coral before adding it going forward. Even then I suppose there's no 100% guarantee but it's about the best we can do. I understand your hesitance to use chemicals and respect that. I'm much the same and always prefer a more natural approach vs dumping chems in the tank.
This was from a few minutes ago. They're only on my shrooms but not enough that they are causing a real problem so I'm just keeping an eye on them. I don't keep a lot of nice LPS tho.

That’s really useful context, thanks, especially hearing that even with predators they can still persist long-term.

At the moment I’m going to start with a more manual approach first (blast and physically remove what I can and keep a close eye on the LPS) rather than going straight in with full chemical treatment. A few people have also mentioned they’ve left small numbers and it never really developed into a major issue, so I want to see how it behaves in my system before doing anything more aggressive.

If it does start increasing though, I’ll probably revisit the idea of something like Flatworm Exit and potentially combine it with dipping and stricter coral quarantine going forward.

 

[BriDroid]

I’m currently weighing up my options and trying to decide the most effective approach for my situation. Would you say using Flatworm Exit as a tank treatment was more effective than physically removing corals and dipping them (e.g. Coral Rx) before returning them to the system?

My concern is whether dipping alone would just be a temporary fix if there are still eggs or hidden worms in the tank. Just trying to figure out the most realistic long-term solution in a smaller system like mine.

Removing and dipping and putting back isn't going to do anything long term. They are still there. I'm not kidding, for every 1 that you see there are at least 400-500 hiding! The only way that dipping would make sense is if you can find a fish that will eat them, then that would help to control them somewhat. Otherwise, get a cheap BRS mini-reactor, run the Flatworm Exit and run the carbon like they say. Wait 7 days and run it again to catch the babies. That is what i would do if it were me at least.

 

[Sebreef93]

Removing and dipping and putting back isn't going to do anything long term. They are still there. I'm not kidding, for every 1 that you see there are at least 400-500 hiding! The only way that dipping would make sense is if you can find a fish that will eat them, then that would help to control them somewhat. Otherwise, get a cheap BRS mini-reactor, run the Flatworm Exit and run the carbon like they say. Wait 7 days and run it again to catch the babies. That is what i would do if it were me at least.

Thanks, that makes sense about the numbers and eggs. At the moment I’ve only seen a small amount on a couple of LPS, so I’m trying to confirm how widespread it actually is before going straight to chemical treatment.

I’ll keep monitoring and manually removing for now, but if it does look like a bigger infestation I’ll likely go down the Flatworm Exit route with carbon and repeat dosing.

 

[unchainedcoot]

I had decent success dipping my hammer in potassium chloride multiple times. Not sure if the potassium chloride actually did much to the flatworms but they did come off with the slime coat that the hammer put off in the dip. But as others have said, you need to go through some life cycles for it to be effective since the dips won’t do anything for the eggs. I also have multiple fish in a much larger system that might have contributed to it not spreading but they never made it off that hammer and this was probably a year ago