zygote2k January 7, 2012 January 7, 2012 My tank generally has small patches of cyano, some hair algae, a few clumps of valonia, aiptasia, and some other unsightly things floating around. I got rid of it all in one day by dumping 400 hermits, 300 snails, and several dozen assorted shrimps and crabs. They also ate half a can of fish food too...
Seahorseconservancy January 7, 2012 January 7, 2012 wow, maybe you could rent out that cleanup crew on a daily or weekly basis.
davelin315 January 7, 2012 January 7, 2012 Of course, when you displace all of the water in your goldfish bowl the nuisance algae flows right out!
zygote2k January 7, 2012 Author January 7, 2012 How much have you been drinking? many thousand gallons of good imported beer. Yeah, seriously 400 hermits fit into the palm of one hand- they're incredibly tiny. The snails are all small too. It's like a voracious swarm of locusts but in a good way as long as I provide enough food for them. Aside from pushing loose frags around, they have done a remarkable job. I think that we've drastically underestimated and chosen the wrong species when it comes to providing the right understory of the average reef tank. Marketing has dictated the current species and amounts.
Chad January 7, 2012 January 7, 2012 Marketing has dictated the current species and amounts. While I agree that this is certainly true, I have never seen a number density of benthic species anywhere near that high (or 1/10th that) on any actual reef while snorkeling or scuba diving. I realize it isn't apples to apples, but the disparity is very high.
Reefoholic January 7, 2012 January 7, 2012 Dude, did you seriously put all those in the tank and they ate the algae? How did you get them out later?
zygote2k January 7, 2012 Author January 7, 2012 Seriously though. It's real and it's in my tank. I haven't lost a coral yet. If I can only figure out what will eat the flatworms besides Levamisole HCI....
dmatt56 January 7, 2012 January 7, 2012 How large of a tank did you have? What types of snails and hermits? Thx Matt
Jan January 7, 2012 January 7, 2012 Blue velvet nudibranch are the only thing that eat planeria. I've seen it with my own eyes. Amazing to see. They are like little vacuums. Seriously though. It's real and it's in my tank. I haven't lost a coral yet. If I can only figure out what will eat the flatworms besides Levamisole HCI....
ctenophore January 7, 2012 January 7, 2012 Seriously though. It's real and it's in my tank. I haven't lost a coral yet. If I can only figure out what will eat the flatworms besides Levamisole HCI.... Didn't I give you 3 bottles of flatworm exit? That's 900 gallons of flatworm massacre!
Stu January 7, 2012 January 7, 2012 While I agree that this is certainly true, I have never seen a number density of benthic species anywhere near that high (or 1/10th that) on any actual reef while snorkeling or scuba diving. I realize it isn't apples to apples, but the disparity is very high. It's funny you mention this; I go down to the Florida Keys several times a year, and see the same lack of concentration on the reef. Go inshore, however, just to the tide's edge in areas with jetties or other rocks, and you will literally find thousands of blue legged hermits, cerith snails, and every other scavenger you can imagine covering these structures. You can grab at least 50 hermits with one scoop of your hand across the rock face. In July, I was snorkeling collecting some inverts and I came across 15 emerald crabs on a 2'x2' rock. I think it goes to show how unrepresentative of actual biotopes the typical mixed reef can be. Not that I really care, as long as it looks good
zygote2k January 7, 2012 Author January 7, 2012 Didn't I give you 3 bottles of flatworm exit? That's 900 gallons of flatworm massacre! Yes, you did. I also bought enough Levamisole HCI to treat 3000 gallons. I'm going to do the eXit first, then retreat twice more and post results. If it works, then I'll use the rest of the eXit on other tanks. I can give you some pure L-HCI in return.
zygote2k January 7, 2012 Author January 7, 2012 It's funny you mention this; I go down to the Florida Keys several times a year, and see the same lack of concentration on the reef. Go inshore, however, just to the tide's edge in areas with jetties or other rocks, and you will literally find thousands of blue legged hermits, cerith snails, and every other scavenger you can imagine covering these structures. You can grab at least 50 hermits with one scoop of your hand across the rock face. In July, I was snorkeling collecting some inverts and I came across 15 emerald crabs on a 2'x2' rock. I think it goes to show how unrepresentative of actual biotopes the typical mixed reef can be. Not that I really care, as long as it looks good When I was in Costa Rica, there were literally trillions of hermit crabs on the beach- the ground was crawling with them. Margarita snails were very common too.
beatle January 7, 2012 January 7, 2012 I had a similar experience with a cleanup crew, though not as many. My entire tank was covered in hair algae. I added a cleanup crew of various species (had nothing at the time) and they went to town. I placed a lot of them on single rocks to track whether I had any DOAs (none) and I watched as each section was scrubbed clear. 1 week later, no algae. No algae since, either.
Matt LeBaron January 7, 2012 January 7, 2012 If the Flatworm Exit doesn't work drop me a line, I'm putting serious consideration into getting a Blue Velvet Nudibranch to get rid of my problem. Finally think I figured out why I can't get rid of the little son of a guns, I think they're hiding in my gobies and shrimps lair where there isn't much water movement and surviving my multiple attempts to get rid of them. Thinking a Blue Velvet might be the only way to go about it at this point and he'll need a home once he (hopefully) knocks out my problem.
sen5241b January 9, 2012 January 9, 2012 My tank generally has small patches of cyano, some hair algae, a few clumps of valonia, aiptasia, and some other unsightly things floating around. I got rid of it all in one day by dumping 400 hermits, 300 snails, and several dozen assorted shrimps and crabs. They also ate half a can of fish food too... How big is your tank?
trockafella January 10, 2012 January 10, 2012 I'm drinking Bell's Third Coast Old Ale. I had a couple of those last night as well. My drinking resulted in waking up still on the couch rather than cleaning my tank.
Der ABT January 10, 2012 January 10, 2012 this thread is worthless without pics of the hoards spotlighted in a blue led glow
steveoutlaw January 10, 2012 January 10, 2012 What about a wrasse for the flatworms? I've seen a sixline make a quick meal out of flatworms.
trockafella January 10, 2012 January 10, 2012 Maybe 100 wrasses will get rid of the flatworms in a day.. Go for it.!!
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now