Small red invertibrates

[kaisersigma]

My father owns a saltwater aquarium and to be truthful I know little to nothing about anything inside of it. But he asked me to figure out what the small red invertibrate things were. They seem to swarm around the coral and are all over the walls as well. again what are they and how can he get rid of them?

btw Im sorry for the image quality

 

[Fluff]

Is the red in the sand bed, these bugs as well?

 

[kaisersigma]

the "Bugs"

they're on the coral, sandbed, and glass

 

[kaisersigma]

Forgive me, Im not quite sure what they are or what they do.. but im going to go out on a limb here and say they are bugs

 

[Fluff]

Wow, never seen anything like that. When I first read your thread, I assumed copepods til I seen the picture. I'll try to find out what they are for you.

 

[kaisersigma]

They aren't very big but very noticable. They're able to move around freely but they cannot swim as far as I know.

 

[kaisersigma]

They aren't very big but very noticable. They're able to move around freely but they cannot swim as far as I know.

 

[Fluff]

Check out the bottom of this page, thread titled red/purple bugs.

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/crustfaqs2.htm

Not sure this is your bug but maybe. I've pm'd one of the other advisors to see if he can determine what they are as well. If your corals aren't showing any kind of stress, I wouldn't worry about it. In the one pic I see a Rainford's (Court Jester) goby. He's likely enjoying the treat.

 

[Melodyepta]

Is this what you are seeing? Without a better pic I couldn't be sure.

http://www.reefcorner.com/images/RedFlatwormCloseup.jpg

If this is what you have you need to take some steps to start clearing them out of the tank. These are red flatworms. Once they reach optimum population they will start to die off in large numbers. When this happens they will release toxins into the tank that will affect the corals and fish.

Please let us know if this is what you have and we'll go from there.[/img]

 

[kaisersigma]

Yes this is the type of worm that we have within the tank

 

[Fluff]

The red flatworms? If so, yeah, you want to get rid of them. There is a product called flatworm exit made my Salifert that works great on killing them. You'll want to syphon as many out as you can, a piece of airline tubing works well for this without loosing a bunch of water. Treat the tank and syphon out as many dead ones as you can. Be sure to have new water ready for a good water change afterward as well.

 

[Hara]

another option is a six line wrasse (fish), I had red flatworms, and this fish took care of the problem almost instantly.

 

[Melodyepta]

The sixline wrasses might, or might not eat them. I had one that wouldn't touch them. On the other hand I had a strawberry gramma that ate them like candy.

Flatworm Exit is a good product. You will have to use caution when using it. As Fluff said...siphon off as many as possible prior to using FE. Siphon off as many of the flatworms as possible as they die. Have sw mixed and ready to do a water change after the first 24 hours. Run carbon as well after the treatment to clear out any remaining FE. You may need to do 2 applications if the first one does not clear everything up. As many flatworms as I saw in your tank I fully expect that you'll need a second application of FE.

Good luck.

 

[Fluff]

I met a fellow this weekend who is looking for these worms. He is the Professor of Biology at St. Mary's College of Maryland and they are doing a study on the toxins in these worms. They need new specimens and it would be great if you could syphon these worms out and send them to him. If interested, PM me for his contact information. Thanks.

 

[DragonForce]

Some nudis eat them, it would be carnage!

 

[seaham358]

Ahhhh the ugly red FW.. I have them only in my fowlr fuge and they are a PIA. My buddy (who gave them to me) had them so bad the SB was covered with them to the point you could not see the SB and he has a 180.... 8O 8O
He did massive FW exit treatments, do like stated above and remember to dip all new incoming corals or LR to keep them out of the tank. All it takes is one of these babys to reproduce into thousands.
keep us posted on your progress..

 

[mykpoz]

these aren't the flat worms your talking about are they?

I have only heard these called the "red bug" that most stoney keepers fear...