Unusual flatworms. Should I be concerned?

[msumatt]

Hello,

I've looked through the different threads on flatworms, but haven't really seen one that addresses my problem. I will be doing my first frag swap soon and really don't want to contaminate anyone else's tank. Up till now, I've had no visible aptasia and only a few spheres of bubble algae that get removed on site. However, I just noticed flatworms on my tank's glass this last weekend. I say mine are unusual, because photos I see on here have them looking orange-red and almost circular. They also look rather large. Mine on the other hand are very small (even the largest ones would require 2 to 3 to equal the diameter of a penny) and are brownish. I used flatworm exit on them on Sunday. However, it didn't eliminate them as was mentioned in the directions though it did knock down the population a bit. I dosed the tank again tonight with about twice the dose (48 drops for 30 gallons), and still I have survivors. Doubling the dose actually made my micro brittle stars look quite unhappy. To account for possible resistance to flatworm exit, I plan to triple the dose on Thursday to see if that eliminates them. I also siphon whenever I see one. My question is, do I need to go through all of this? Are my flatworms benign compared to the ones I mentioned before? Again, I really don't want to develop a reputation of providing frags that have pest included so any help with be much appreciated. Thanks so much! I also included a photo to represent what mine look like by the way.

[iyachtuxivm]

Those are pretty common. A leopard wrasse, sixline, or a coris will keep the population in check. They arn't bad until they get way out of control. They dont eat coral but they will sit on coral and steal their food. Common flat worm. You should dip any and all frags you sell and especially the ones you buy to kill the flat worms on your frags.

[larryandlaura]

Very true dipping is important. Hitchhikers suck!

[WillBattle]

Originally Posted by larryandlaura

Very true dipping is important. Hitchhikers suck!

Very much so..

[bluwc]

Can you set up your swap tank as a temp housing for the frags you will be selling? Dip before then Run flatworm exit. You won't have to worry about the toxins because you won't have fish. Then you should monitor it and hopefully by the swap, you will be clean as a whistle

[larryandlaura]

Originally Posted by bluwc

Can you set up your swap tank as a temp housing for the frags you will be selling? Dip before then Run flatworm exit. You won't have to worry about the toxins because you won't have fish. Then you should monitor it and hopefully by the swap, you will be clean as a whistle

Great idea Troy.

[msumatt]

Thanks everyone. I've got the problem under control now thanks to increasing doses of flatworm exit. At least I didn't have to resort to more inconvenient measures. Although for anyone that looks at this in the future, I did come across a nudibranch that exclusively eats flatworms. It would have been a last resort, but go looking for it if you'd like. I'm pretty sure it was through the website aquatic connection. Thanks everybody.

[schminksbro]

In the future prior to dosing chemicals you might want to try waiting until the tank has been dark for a couple of hours. Then place a flashlight shining on a front corner. The flatworms are photosynthetic and will be attracted to the light. Then you just suck them out with a siphon hose.

[Sun357]

I picked up a six-line wrasse a few days ago and it's already hard to find flatworms in my tank now. The other benefit is it's a great looking fish. =)

~Fred