steveoutlaw October 23, 2013 Share October 23, 2013 I bought some frags from another WAMAS member a while back. I asked if he had any problems in his tank and he assured me that he didn't have any issues. I brought up his build thread and the mention of flatworms and was assured they were gone and had been gone for a long time, so I took him at his word. MISTAKE #1. Being lazy, and a bit stupid, I put the frags right in my tank........I mean, I didn't see any pests and all the corals looked good, so why not? MISTAKE #2. Low and behold, there are a kajillion flatworms in my tank (I didn't think kajillion was a real number, but if you ask anyone who has seen my tank, they'll tell you it's an accurate description). I syphon out millions of them every week and they just keep coming back. Oh well, they aren't hurting my corals so no biggie, I'll just bomb the tank to get rid of them. Wait, flatworms release toxins when they die? Those toxins can kill my fish and corals? So now I have to take all of the corals out of my 210g tank and have to basically start from scratch. I have to dip every colony and put it in a tiny temp tank and hope they survive. I have to bomb my display repeatedly and hope I can get rid of them. And then put everything back in my tank hoping that I got them all and don't have to go through this again. So to all of you newbies and those that think dipping is a waste of time or that it can't happen to you, take a lesson from me. I'm really seeing the dollar signs pile up. I'm taking the blame for this because of my stupidity for not dipping, but make sure you ask the questions when buying frags from others and DIP YOUR CORALS!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocko918 October 23, 2013 Share October 23, 2013 Sorry to hear that steve, it does suck. Also to add to this, even if you do dip it does not mean you will kill everything. I got AEFW a year ago even after dipping. Take the extra time to inspect and break sps off plugs and mount on your own. I bought one of thoughs jeweler glasses and take a look before i add anything to my tank. Although i don't add corals very often anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JR-Tanked150 October 23, 2013 Share October 23, 2013 (edited) I read that A velvet nudi eats flatworms..... C. varians. Arrow Crab6 line wrasseYellow Coris Wrasse can t eat them. http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/5/short Edited October 23, 2013 by JR-Tanked150 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sachabballi reef October 23, 2013 Share October 23, 2013 when I was looking at his tank I didn't even see any flat worms...I thought he was crazy...just looked like some brown algae all over his sand...then my eyes focused....I will say his flatworm collection is beyond impressive...they are like a mat on his sand...all from a couple of frags...shocking. You really can't trust anyone that sells livestock you need to be proactive...only you care about your tank...remember that.... sorry my friend...I will be there to help out though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveoutlaw October 23, 2013 Author Share October 23, 2013 I read that A velvet nudi eats flatworms..... C. varians. Arrow Crab 6 line wrasse Yellow Coris Wrasse can t eat them. http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/5/short Thanks, but don't believe everything you read. I've tried the nudi, 6 line, melanarus, yellow coris.........nada. I think it's just hit and miss on those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Der ABT October 23, 2013 Share October 23, 2013 if i have something you loose let me know ill do what i can to make a trip to falls church worth you while.... STRONG agree with rocko...Removing the frag plug or not getting a frag plug at all is a VERY good idea...its amazing how much hides under the glue/frag plug etc. Steve are you talking AEFW or planaria etc (red or the other ones) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind October 23, 2013 Share October 23, 2013 I don't think all flatworms release the toxins. What are you planning to use to nuke them? If they are the tiny tan colored ones that I had, not red planaria, they were never killed by FWE even at several times the dosage. I added some clear flatworms and they wiped out the tan ones quickly. I could watch the clear ones run up and completely close over and consume the tan ones. Before dosing the whole system I would pull a few out and test a smaller package before nuking the whole tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sachabballi reef October 23, 2013 Share October 23, 2013 his are tan...not AEFW.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incredible Corals October 23, 2013 Share October 23, 2013 Just use flat worm exit. It's simple. 1. Put a media bag around your main drains 2. Remove any many inverts as you can. If you overdose it can kill some inverts or at least stunn them pretty good. 3. Dose how much is needed per instructions 4. Siphon out as many dead ones floating around with airline tubing 5. After about 30-45 minutes add a few lbs of carbon to your tank 6. Do a 30-40% water change 7. Don't forget to take off the media bags off your drains The mistake that people make is not adding the carbon to absorbe the toxins releaseed from the dead flat worms that you couldn't get out and not a big enough water change. You can do it all over in two week if you want but the first dosage should wipe them out. After I would just add a 6 line, Mystery, Melanurus wrasse to keep it in check if the little buggers show up again. I just did all thise for a clients tank. He didn't want to deal with it all. Didn't lose one invert, fish or coral and there were zillions of flat worms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveoutlaw October 23, 2013 Author Share October 23, 2013 if i have something you loose let me know ill do what i can to make a trip to falls church worth you while.... STRONG agree with rocko...Removing the frag plug or not getting a frag plug at all is a VERY good idea...its amazing how much hides under the glue/frag plug etc. Steve are you talking AEFW or planaria etc (red or the other ones) Thanks Evan........I may take you up on that. Mine are the red planaria.......not sure if the tan ones are different than that. FWE is the poison of choice. I'm going to try a small sampling tonight to see if it wipes them out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sachabballi reef October 23, 2013 Share October 23, 2013 seriously he has the BIGGEST and FATTEST melanarus I have EVER seen and it literally picks around them lol... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JR-Tanked150 October 23, 2013 Share October 23, 2013 If my tank was set up longer I would let you store some here, But my tank been up only 2 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sachabballi reef October 23, 2013 Share October 23, 2013 hmmm this must be why I thought they looked tan/brown to me.... Red Planaria = Convolutriloba retrogemmaOne of the more common pest animals in reef aquaria are small flatworms, often referred to as "red planaria," which is a truly excellent aquarium name for them as they are neither red nor planarians. These small acoel worms, (all "true" flatworms including planarians belong to a different group) have a brownish, tank, or pink coloration. They also contain zooxanthellae whose own color modifies the animals color in sometimes peculiar ways. They are small from about 1 mm to 3 mm long. One good identifying characteristic is the presence of three lobes at the tail end of the animal. The red planarian, Convolutriloba retrogemma. These little worms can rapidly reproduce asexually and reach huge populations in some tanks. They can literally smother some sessile animals. In small numbers, however, they are harmless. Presently there is no real defined cure for infestations with the possible exception of one species of head-shield slugs, Chelidonura varians , which eats them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Der ABT October 23, 2013 Share October 23, 2013 wasnt that Ryans melanarus...the one i brought out to you...i shoulda told you it died and kept it...that thing was beautiful. Ive heard red planaria are horrible to deal with....and the brown ones are like bristle worms....initial population explosion then then die of Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattiejay6 October 23, 2013 Share October 23, 2013 very sorry steve.. absolutely crazy.... 8-\ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sachabballi reef October 23, 2013 Share October 23, 2013 wasnt that Ryans melanarus...the one i brought out to you...i shoulda told you it died and kept it...that thing was beautiful. Ive heard red planaria are horrible to deal with....and the brown ones are like bristle worms....initial population explosion then then die of its gorgeous...the colors on it are insane....i have never seen one so pretty or so freaking fat... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt October 23, 2013 Share October 23, 2013 steve - that sucks...keep us posted Sorry to hear that steve, it does suck. Also to add to this, even if you do dip it does not mean you will kill everything. I got AEFW a year ago even after dipping. Take the extra time to inspect and break sps off plugs and mount on your own. I bought one of thoughs jeweler glasses and take a look before i add anything to my tank. Although i don't add corals very often anymore. No to hijakck, but Is it just acro plugs where you need to worry about AEFW? I normally toss acro plugs or buy unmounted...and I now have bayer dip from the last meeting too. What do people normally do with zoas on plugs? The one zoa I have now came in on a coral skeleton and I broke off as much as possible and simply threw it in. I'm now picking up some more zoa frags and I'd hate for my acros to suffer for it one day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squishie89 October 23, 2013 Share October 23, 2013 If you decide to use flatworm exit I have 2 unopened bottles I think. Sent from my toaster using tapatalk2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugar Magnolia October 23, 2013 Share October 23, 2013 (edited) That sucks Steve. I've been there and done that. Mine were so bad that even dosing multiple times with FWE at higher concentrations, the little son of a guns would crawl around the glass mocking me for me feeble attempts to eradicate them. Luckily, the melanurus I picked up devoured what was left. Good luck with your battle! Edited October 23, 2013 by Sugar Magnolia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trockafella October 23, 2013 Share October 23, 2013 Sorry to here this Steve, sometimes I think if you didnt have bad luck you might not have luck at all... Hang in there.. Hopefully you told the member who these came from so they dont continue plagueing other peoples tanks. Things like this make those good deals, not so good. Better to stick with a quality source for corals, even if you have to pay more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epleeds October 23, 2013 Share October 23, 2013 wasnt that Ryans melanarus...the one i brought out to you...i shoulda told you it died and kept it...that thing was beautiful. /quote] You brought that to me. It's beautiful and loving my tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime October 23, 2013 Share October 23, 2013 I would piggy back on this and say that not only is it important to dip all your corals, but QT every fish you put in your tank. Unfortunately most lessons are lost on me until I learn the hard way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huly October 23, 2013 Share October 23, 2013 I would piggy back on this and say that not only is it important to dip all your corals, but QT every fish you put in your tank. Unfortunately most lessons are lost on me until I learn the hard way. Times 2 LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmerek2 October 23, 2013 Share October 23, 2013 I'm suprised we don't have more outbreaks of coral eating flatworms with the amount of sharing we do. Or maybe members think its about as embarrassing as publicly stating that you have an STD. I'm going to call this a TSD tank shared disease. Thanks so much for the post I'm going to start dippin. What is the best way to dip? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveoutlaw October 23, 2013 Author Share October 23, 2013 We can always stick with STD.........Shared Tank Disease........it works. And it should be just as embarrassing. It costs people a crap load of money when a simple warning is all that is needed. I notate any sale thread I have, and will continue to do so, with the disclaimer that I have flatworms and the corals MUST be dipped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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