Flat Worms

[Anthworks]

Has anybody had flat worms just appear? I have a infesation in my fuge but nothing in my main tank. Tank is 4 years old. Havent added anything new to my fuge in 2 years?

[davelin315]

You may have introduced something into your system (I have found that there are a lot of flatworms in the WAMAS community, many people have them and are unaware that they are there, but I have found many of them in frags) at some point in time. However, there are many factors that limit their presence, including predators and good conditions in the tank. My guess is that you had something in your refugium that was eating them and it died so now they are starting to proliferate. Also, if they're in your refugium, they're also in your main tank, so if there are smaller numbers, something is eating them there.

[jamesbuf]

why are flatworms so bad? don't they stir up the sand??

[emissary]

All flatworms aren't necessarily bad things. Plus some things eat flatworms. However, there are SOME flatworms that will encroach corals... maybe eating them, maybe just living on top of them and smothering them. There are other flatworms that just multiply, and multiply. An increase in flatworm population can mean an availability of phosphates/nitrates that help bacteria and algae grow. As there's more food available, the flatworms continue to increase.

 

Well, all in all maybe not too much of a problem. If for some reason a whole bunch of flatworms die, they'll release toxins into your water causing some serious, serious problems. It's *best* if you see flatworms, IMHO, to attack the problem immediately. Siphon off what you see and treat with flatworm exit. With a lower number of flatworms, the toxins released should be severely reduced. If you can quarantine fish in the meantime, more the better. I flatworm exited my 75G tank JUST BEFORE moving my livestock into the 180. Thus I didn't do a big water change, but instead just changed the environment. That seemed to work pretty darn well (except, of course, for the loss of my one clown -- though I suspect that was more moving stress related).

 

And of course, with any pest -- treat the cause of the problem, water quality, too.

[Anthworks]

I had the falt worms in a tank I had about ten years ago. Those were hard to syphon off and covered corals etc. They were more a reddish brown color. These ones in my fuge are brown and are easily removed. If you stir the water they come loose and free float in the water. The strange part is I havent added anything to the tank in months and nothing to the fuge in a year.