Red Flatworms Help!

[Pellegrino]

These red flatworms have taken over my whole tank they are not eating my corals but they have overtaken the tank. I bought two melanarous wrasses to control the problem and they havent touched them. I do not want to use flatworm exit i want to know if there is another fish of invert that is know to eat them and eliminate my problem thanks!

 

[ca2or]

odd the wrasses are doing it. Are they new to the tank?

 

[ca2or]

RC says Melanarus....maybe just give them some time

 

[twilliard]

These red flatworms have taken over my whole tank they are not eating my corals but they have overtaken the tank. I bought two melanarous wrasses to control the problem and they havent touched them. I do not want to use flatworm exit i want to know if there is another fish of invert that is know to eat them and eliminate my problem thanks!

With a massive invasion of red planaria fish alone will not stop them. They may be too big in size and quantity.
Siphon out as many as you can daily through a filter sock if you have a sump down low.
I would not recommend treatment as the numbers are to big.
These guys are toxic when they die so for now your best method is removal.

 

[Drs2140]

Yellow choris wrasse

 

[twilliard]

Yellow choris wrasse

Will not stop it.. sorry

 

[twilliard]

I do have a treatment for all flatworm but would not jeopardize a persons tank with the "toxins of death"
Just too many right now

 

[Drs2140]

Spot feed your other fish, get the wrasse hungry. Worked for me, maybe not others

 

[twilliard]

Adding a fish to control or "eliminate " just adds bio load.
Full grown red planaria are seldom eaten by fish. Now if that fish was 8" long it might. But the average aquarist doesn't have a tank big enough.
Get that population down with some manual labor and then we can talk treatment.
I am not here to push a product just to help others and be there for the need.

 

[hybridazn]

Manual removal is your best bet. And dont feed the tank for a few days to get those wrasses hungry, that might get them to pick at them more

 

[Pellegrino]

Thanks for all the replies! I will try to remove as many as possible and starve the wrasses alittle dont want to harm them at all

 

[Reefing Madness]

Yellow Coris Wrasse
Blue Velvet Nudibranch
Male Melanurus Wrasse

 

[twilliard]

They reproduce way too fast for fish treatment :-)
People do you understand the plague proportions these can come to?
They just get too big and outnumber any fish population.
Fenbendazol when the population is low enough is the ultimate solution to flatworm.

 

[vedros74]

A combination of manual siphoning and yellow Coris wrasse worked for me

 

[twilliard]

A combination of manual siphoning and yellow Coris wrasse worked for me

How bad was your infestation?
Was it covering all the bottom and 1" up the glass?
The OP stated its taking over. It is way past just adding a fish or two

 

[vedros74]

Mine wasn't that bad. They were visible on corals and glass. My case may have been different from his because mine was in a frag tank and there was only a mandarin in the tank so I didnt have to feed the tank so I geuss this helped. Just trying to offer up some suggestions

 

[twilliard]

Mine wasn't that bad. They were visible on corals and glass. My case may have been different from his because mine was in a frag tank and there was only a mandarin in the tank so I didnt have to feed the tank so I geuss this helped. Just trying to offer up some suggestions

No problem at all.
I have been eradicating and studying these types of things for years.
People here may not agree with my methods BUT it is proven.
I specialize in flatworm (all species) and hydroids (all species)
Just started my research in peroxide, thank you Brandon!, against flatworm and algaes.
To date peroxide has had excellent results against flatworm but at this time I have no connection to obtain red planaria

 

[metrokat]

With a massive invasion of red planaria fish alone will not stop them. They may be too big in size and quantity.
Siphon out as many as you can daily through a filter sock if you have a sump down low.
I would not recommend treatment as the numbers are to big.
These guys are toxic when they die so for now your best method is removal.

^^this
When numbers are that many, you have to siphon daily. I used a toms aqualifter and siphoned them every day into a filter sock.
The numbers will slowly decrease as you do this.
Also, removing any loose rocks and frags for a FW dip will also help to reduce numbers.