Red Flatworm eradication

[Generator]

Soooo I've read many threads on what fish to get or what method to use to remove red flatworms. Pretty sure FWE is out of the question given when I turned up the lights in the tank and saw thousands:flushed-face: I have 1 each of the 2 different springer's damsels and a green spot mandarin. I've not seen either damsel touch them. The mandarin picks occasionally. I'm trying to figure out if a wrasse is a viable option and if it is, which would be safest for both the wrasse and other inhabitents. I also have a yellow watchman, banggai cardinal and a pacific pygmy angel. Everyone is very peaceful. There are 2 porcelain crabs, 2 pom pom crabs, 1 pithos, several blue and red leg hermits, a large skunk cleaner, adult tiger pistol, and 3 neogonodactylus wennerae.(they have been lovely, trouble free, shy tankmates so far) Lots of different snails, large peach-colored fleshy limpets and a dozen or more approx. 1"keyhole limpets and bunches of brittle stars. There are a few sps, gorgonian and lps. The tank is an innovative marine SR60 gallon AIO (36L X 18H). I was leaning towards a yellow coris, from what I understand they are less likely to bother anyone. But I also don't want the wrasse to be at risk from anything else in the tank. I understand and accept I could have some CUC losses but trying to minimize and make the best decision, including other ideas you may have. TIA

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[Subsea]

In 55 years of Reefing, I have never found a fish to eradicate flatworms.

As much as I don’t like using harsh treatment chemicals in a reef tank, eventually, I used “flatworm exit”

 

[Generator]

In 55 years of Reefing, I have never found a fish to eradicate flatworms.

As much as I don’t like using harsh treatment chemicals in a reef tank, eventually, I used “flatworm exit”

My only aversion to FWE is the incredible number of worms in the tank. I'm afraid because there are so many if I were to siphon what I see, there would still be too many I can't see to safely use? Maybe I'm being paranoid, I'm just afraid carbon and water change may not mitigate the die off. I don't have any personal experience with it, just reading what seems to be a number of users experiences. Then, others who didn't have much issue at all so I'm a little lost on how to approach it.

 

[Subsea]

I have gone thru what you are paranoid about. Doing the same thing and hoping for differrent results is not a solution.

 

[Crabs McJones]

Siphon out as many as possible during water change and then use FWE. Be very careful though. If it is red planaria, they release toxins when they die and can wipe out your tank. Run carbon and be ready for water changes.

 

[Generator]

I have gone thru what you are paranoid about. Doing the same thing and hoping for differrent results is not a solution.

I think you may be misunderstanding. I'm not doing anything at this point but attempting to discern the best approach to cause the least impact on the current inhabitants given the large number of creepers. I figured at some point I will use FWE in a series of treatments to make sure everything is eradicated, but was hoping to find the best route to meaningfully lower their number first.

 

[Subsea]

I think you may be misunderstanding. I'm not doing anything at this point but attempting to discern the best approach to cause the least impact on the current inhabitants given the large number of creepers. I figured at some point I will use FWE in a series of treatments to make sure everything is eradicated, but was hoping to find the best route to meaningfully lower their number first.

I understood what you said. You are standing by awaiting a solution.

 

[Generator]

Siphon out as many as possible during water change and then use FWE. Be very careful though. If it is red planaria, they release toxins when they die and can wipe out your tank. Run carbon and be ready for water changes.

It is red planaria. I was going to see what kind of damage I can do to the population when I siphon water for the next change this week. Is a certain size tubing more effective or any kind of attachment that works better than just simple tubing?

 

[Subsea]

Siphon out as many as possible during water change and then use FWE. Be very careful though. If it is red planaria, they release toxins when they die and can wipe out your tank. Run carbon and be ready for water changes.

This is your solution.

 

[Crabs McJones]

It is red planaria. I was going to see what kind of damage I can do to the population when I siphon water for the next change this week. Is a certain size tubing more effective or any kind of attachment that works better than just simple tubing?

Nope just simple tubing should suffice with a strong enough siphon, may have to rub the tube on the glass/rock to knock them off and suck them up

 

[dthom]

Any chance you could pull out “sections” of your corals and rocks to treat one section at a time in a separate tank or bin? You could just treat it section by section then come back and do the tank as a whole when the numbers are knocked down.

 

[Subsea]

It is red planaria. I was going to see what kind of damage I can do to the population when I siphon water for the next change this week. Is a certain size tubing more effective or any kind of attachment that works better than just simple tubing?

I use 1/8” airline tubing to minimize water removed.

 

[Generator]

Any chance you could pull out “sections” of your corals and rocks to treat one section at a time in a separate tank or bin? You could just treat it section by section then come back and do the tank as a whole when the numbers are knocked do

 

[Generator]

I may be able to with a few pieces.

 

[Generator]

Nope just simple tubing should suffice with a strong enough siphon, may have to rub the tube on the glass/rock to knock them off and suck them up

Any thought on the most effective way to run carbon? Current filtration is just gravity through media baskets in the aio returns. If I need to get a powered filter to fill with carbon, any suggestions?

 

[Subsea]

I may be able to with a few pieces.

If you are going to remove rocks, experiment with hydrogen peroxide bath. I use a 10% solution of 3% peroxide for 10 minutes. It oxidizes everything, similar to chlorine, much faster than 48 hour FWE treatment.

When I finally treated my 20 year mature tank, I did two 48 hour treatments back to back.

 

[Subsea]

Any thought on the most effective way to run carbon? Current filtration is just gravity through media baskets in the aio returns. If I need to get a powered filter to fill with carbon, any suggestions?

I use HOB & canister filters. Gravity media basket in AIO should do just fine.

 

[Generator]

If you are going to remove rocks, experiment with hydrogen peroxide bath. I use a 10% solution of 3% peroxide for 10 minutes. It oxidizes everything, similar to chlorine, much faster than 48 hour FWE treatment.

When I finally treated my 20 year mature tank, I did two 48 hour treatments back to back.

I've read a little about hydrogen peroxide for ich and velvet. This keeps the live rock live? Wondering about doing a fresh water rinse in RODI.

 

[Subsea]

I've read a little about hydrogen peroxide for ich and velvet. This keeps the live rock live? Wondering about doing a fresh water rinse in RODI.

If I don’t know the source, I bath corals in peroxide. Coral slime coat protects them. Know this, you will destroy all micro inverts, including your pods.

I have 11 marine tanks and the last two with Red Planaria were treated at quadrupled dose.

This 30G tank is my sponge cleaning tank with hundreds of small blue leg hermit crabs and thousands of amphipods & copepods. Because this tank is fishless, the pods roam about during lights on. So, while observing copepods & Planaria on front glass, I added 4 times recommended dosage of FWE. The copepods responded first, moving about quickly. When red Planaria responded, they curled up and drifted away. That was 5 days ago. The copepods are still on the glass, but no flat worms.

 

[CHSUB]

I can remember more than 2 decades ago seeing a red dot in my aquarium and wondering what it was? Several months later, hundreds of red dots and knowing this may be a problem. I added a beautiful Mandarin to hopefully eat the dots. Immediately it ate one and spitted it out. It died months later of starvation and flat worms where covering corals now. I started cleaning and blowing the rocks and corals with a diatom filter and removing many during weekly WC with the filter. After a few months it was hard to find any but there were still some. I had mostly won and they were never a problem again. I did have a Coris wrasse that I think was eating some? Just what I did….