Nuke the tank ?

[Jaybeastin]

Is this a type of flatworm?? My tank is infested with these !!! Should I nuke the tank??? And start over ?? What’s the best method I should do. It’s infested to the point dipping will be no help.

 

[stewy14]

@Jay Hemdal @vetteguy53081 @ISpeakForTheSeas
(sorry I keep tagging u guys )

 

[Jaybeastin]

@Jay Hemdal @vetteguy53081 @ISpeakForTheSeas
(sorry I keep tagging u guys )

Any help pleaseeee. I might quit the hobby because of this

 

[exnisstech]

I've heard Flatworm exit works but read about how to use it correctly or bad things can happen. I have good luck with six lines but it looks like you may have more than one could keep up with.

EDIT : I would at least blow them off if the corals until you decide on a plan of action.

EDIT 2: you can beat this and it will just make you more resilient. When I moved tanks a few months ago I had hundreds maybe thousands I didn't even know were in the tank I was breaking down. That tank was running for 8 years and I never knew they were there untill I started removing the rock. That tells me it is possible for them to be present but not overwhelming coral tho that is ussualy what happens.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Sorry, I'm mostly a systems and fish disease guy and like to stay in my lane (grin). Here is a thread on flatworms:

Flatworms: The Good, the Bad, and the Pretty Terrifying, Part 1

A description and discussion of marine aquarium flatworms and what to do about them.

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Jaybeastin]

I've heard Flatworm exit works but read about how to use it correctly or bad things can happen. I have good luck with six lines but it looks like you may have more than one could keep up with.

EDIT : I would at least blow them off if the corals until you decide on a plan of action.

EDIT 2: you can beat this and it will just make you more resilient. When I moved tanks a few months ago I had hundreds maybe thousands I didn't even know were in the tank I was breaking down. That tank was running for 8 years and I never knew they were there untill I started removing the rock. That tells me it is possible for them to be present but not overwhelming coral tho that is ussualy what happens.

I wonder if they’ll survive without corals in the tank. I want to treat the corals separately and hope these die off on its own

 

[vetteguy53081]

Is this a type of flatworm?? My tank is infested with these !!! Should I nuke the tank??? And start over ?? What’s the best method I should do. It’s infested to the point dipping will be no help.

Yes these are acoel flatworms. While they are not harmful as red planaria, they in numbers can smother bases of coral and block the needed light for production of zooxanthellae which is their energy source.
Removal can be accomplished by siphoning them with a 3/8" tubing into a nylon stocking and discard
OR
Add a wrasse such as Yellow coris, 6 line, lunare or malanurus OR even a springieri damsel which will eat them

With the number you have, for the next 2 weeks you will have to look for eggs and scrape off as there is likely some and would be future acoels. Eggs are really tiny

 

[exnisstech]

I wonder if they’ll survive without corals in the tank. I want to treat the corals separately and hope these die off on its own

That I do not know. I really didn't have experience with them until I moved tanks. I'm still trying to figure out how I had so many and didnt know it. I could not keep euphyilia so maybe they were the reason and I just want observant enough to see it . Sorry thinking out loud now

 

[Jaybeastin]

Yes these are acoel flatworms. While they are not harmful as red planaria, they in numbers can smother bases of coral and block the needed light for production of zooxanthellae which is their energy source.
Removal can be accomplished by siphoning them with a 3/8" tubing into a nylon stocking and discard
OR
Add a wrasse such as Yellow coris, 6 line, lunare or malanurus OR even a springieri damsel which will eat them

With the number you have, for the next 2 weeks you will have to look for eggs and scrape off as there is likely some and would be future acoels. Eggs are really tiny

I have all 3 wrasse in the tank lol I’ll try to siphon as much as I can . Will flatworm exit be a solution?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Is this a type of flatworm?? My tank is infested with these !!! Should I nuke the tank??? And start over ?? What’s the best method I should do. It’s infested to the point dipping will be no help.

@Jay Hemdal @vetteguy53081 @ISpeakForTheSeas
(sorry I keep tagging u guys )

Those are Waminoa flatworms:

Waminoa flatworms are photosynthetic (much like corals, they have symbiotic dinoflagellates living in them) and reportedly feed on coral mucus (not the corals themselves), so they tend to live on our corals - they're essentially harmless, but in mass numbers can basically smother the coral by blocking the light from getting to them.

Looks like it may be a Waminoa sp. - they are known to feed on the coral mucus rather than the coral itself of corals in the family Euphylliidae, as well as mushroom corals. Theoretically, in large numbers these guys could cause problems for corals like stated in the quote* below:
"Apparently, acoels can harm corals by smothering them, which may hinder their respiration, feeding and sediment shedding capacities."

*The link the quote was taken from:

Tissue loss in corals infested by acoelomorph flatworms (Waminoa sp.) - Coral Reefs

link.springer.com

The only confirmed effective method of removal that I'm aware of is a repeated dip and cleaning method (pull any infected corals from the tank, dip them, scrape off any worms/eggs that stay on through the dip, repeat as needed). It may be more effective if you can to dip, scrape, and then put the corals in a different, uninfected tank to wait out the starvation of any eggs/worms in the infected tank, but this may not be possible. The link below has some other ideas you can explore if you'd prefer, but I have no idea if they're effective or not:

EEFW infestation (euphyllia eating flatworms)

Dip them using coral revive. They peel off in seconds using it. I’ve tried other stuff but nothing works even close as good as revive. They spaz right out in seconds and come off the torches Flatworm exit doesn’t work on these at all...

www.reef2reef.com

Edit: Also, here's a link that shows some more known host corals (I would assume these will host on just about any coral they can get too to be honest).

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Photographs-of-Waminoa-specimens-and-their-hosts-a-Specimen-18-host-Echinophyllia-sp_fig2_324516348

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have all 3 wrasse in the tank lol I’ll try to siphon as much as I can . Will flatworm exit be a solution?

Its an alternative and at times not a solution. The issue is you will still have to siphon the dead ones daily which can release low level toxins

 

[taricha]

I had a similar number once. A couple of rounds of Flatworm Exit to get the 95%, and a melanurus to finish a few strays here and there.
I haven't seen one in years.

 

[Zhentaiuu]

If they are reddish brown, they could be red planaria flatworms. A reason to have an experience with a blue velvet nudibranch, blue velvet sea slug

 

[landlubber]

a couple of the more ambitious wrasses should saw right through those bad boys

 

[Jaybeastin]

I had a similar number once. A couple of rounds of Flatworm Exit to get the 95%, and a melanurus to finish a few strays here and there.
I haven't seen one in years.

Thank you , I’m dipping all my corals right now and will use flatworm exit when it arrives !! That’s such a relief to hear