Can't seem to identify or get rid of this stuff

speedykeys

speedykeys

AC Members
Oct 23, 2007
89
0
0
Hello, It's been a long time since I've posted here, everything has been going good in my tank lately except I have these tiny brown plate things growing all over my tank. At first i thought it might be poop or something but every time I do a water change I syphon as much out and a week later it's all over the place again. I've been searching for a while to see if others have had this problem but can't find anything on it. My question is what is this and how can I get rid of it?

IMG_3598.JPG IMG_3599.JPG
 
Are they mobile? I ask because they look like red flatworms, which can reproduce VERY quickly.
 
No they are not mobile, the only thing that moves them is the water flow or me fanning them off the rocks so i can catch them with the syphon or net. There are also some that are much lighter in color, almost light orange or yellow.
 
Looks like it could be a red macro algae...can you cut some off and photo a close up?

Hmmm...just notice that you say they coem off when you fan or syphon, which a macro would not do...hmmmm
 
Those do look very much like red flatworms--I am almost certain of it. They have a lobed posterior end like many of the photosynthetic acoel flatworms. Also, they don't necessarily always move. If they like their location, they will rarely move or will simply move very slowly over long periods of time.
 
If they are flat worms, is there anything that I can do to get rid of them because I can't get all of them just by syphoning them out, they multiply way too fast. Yesterday I filled a 5g bucket full of new saltwater and took almost every rock out one by one and "washed" them in that bucket and then syphoned the whole sand bed. Once I replaced the rock and had everything set up it looked like they were all gone. In the end the bucket was full of those things. Then this morning I found a bunch of them again on the rock and glass. Is there any fish or other animal that might eat these things? The snails and crabs don't seem to like them. Maybe some kind of chemical or supplement? Thanks.
 
going on a conversation I overheard at a store over the weekend, a full, or near full grown mandarin will eat them, just what I heard the guy say, not sure how true this actually is, never been a better reason to get a pretty fish though :)
 
Certain wrasses have been known to eat red flat worms, but it is hit or miss (some individuals will, other won't). Even if you ended up with one that does eat them, it's only likely to control the population at a certain level. It's unlikely that it'll erradicate them.

There is a product called Flatworm eXit, made by Salifert, that is reported to work well at killing off red flatworms. This does, however, come with a downside... As the red flatworms die, they release a toxin. If enough of them die all at once, that toxin can reach concentrations in your tank high enough to cause some major problems (i.e. -- death). The best solution is to manually remove as many of them as you can by sucking and siphoning them out, cleaning them off your rocks and corals, then dosing your tank with the Flatworm eXit once you know you've reduced the population in your tank as low as you can get it on your own. Be sure to follow the directions and read the warnings carefully if you use this product.
 
I have a ton of those things in my 29g Display refugium. In the refugium is just a Xenia forest and 2 perc clowns.

There are none at all I can see in the main 75g tank. It must be because their are 2 Leopard Wrasses and a Scooter Dragonette in this tank, assuming it's true that these fish eat them.

I am getting a Potter's(Geofroyi) Leopard Wrasse next week. I am going to put him temporarily in the 29 to see if he will eat them.
 
I just called both my LFS's and they both said they keep Scooter Dragonettes in all their coral tanks mainly for this purpose. Looks like I'll be getting one to put in my 29.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom