Flatworms in the fuge :(

[TOOMANYFISH]

I get them on and off all the time.If you really want to get rid of them just feed your tank less and they will die off slowly.

[dakar]

Welcome Aboard TOOMANYFISH!

Very few of them survived when I turned off that fuge and started a larger one. for the new tank So far only seen one, not too worried about them anymore.... if they become a nusance I'll siphon them out and feed them to my display tank.... bet they'd last about 2 seconds up there.. hee hee

[TOOMANYFISH]

Thanks for the welcome Dakar.

[JustDavidP]

Dudes and Dudettes..

Those clear flatworms are harmless...like they said. I've had two kinds in my fuge for years. One is exactly what you have above. The other had a neat thread/pattern in it that actually fluoresced or glowed for about 1/2 minute when the lights went out. That was KEWL!!

They typically keep low in numbers. I've never seen more than a half dozen at a time. They feed on lil' isopods. Watch them on the glass and they will envelope the smallish pods. Kinda neat to watch. If you have them in great numbers, I'd think that they would indicate a system problem. Even at that, the biggest problem with flatworms is that they "smother" corals etc. by denying them light. These guys would not have as dramatic an effect.

My population waxes and wanes often. I've never treated for them, nor have I put chemicals in there to rid my system of them. They seem to be a part of a decent system and the biology therein.

D

[JustDavidP]

The Flatworm Terminator.. AKA Hendrix

[Reef_Angel]

What an awesome shot!! Great job!! You've just been on a roll lately David!

[JustDavidP]

Love reefin....love reefin photography

[dakar]

I haven't seen any more of these guys anywhere in the fuge for quite a while.... I was pleseantly surprised to find the other our six line wrasses had managed to up up in the sump, likely via the fuge since I watched the flatworm and pod population gradually diminish instead of increase over a period of a couple months. Yeah I'm a fuge watcher too.

How it managed to avoid the intakes on all the pumps and skimmer in the sump is completely beyond me, there is a LOT of water moving through there. But he/she doesn't appear any worse for wear, color is a little off (kinda pink instead of red), I'd imagine a little time should fix that, but the pair is once again happily zipping around the tank.

[perpetual98]

*drags thread up from the dead*

I just noticed some flatworms in my 26 Bow last night. They're the same shape as yours dakar, but they're light brown. They're also REALLY small. Maybe 1-2mm in length. They're also clustered into a small area on the front glass where they're receiving a direct blast from a powerhead. I think for the time being, I'm just going to keep an eye on them. The problem comes in that I had just taken some zoos out of the Bow a couple days ago and moved them to one of my 120G tanks. I haven't seen anything on the frags, but I'll keep my eyes open.

[JustDavidP]

The light brown ones are not 'good' per se, but not as bad as the reds etc. Their populations will spike and crash with nutrient loads. Keep an eye on your feeding/water quality.

I'd not 'watch' them. I'd siphon them out as soon as you could. While they may not be a problem now, you don't want to wait until they quickly become one. And...besides...I see no 'redeeming qualities' in them. They, tics, mosquitos... burn em all!

D