New to Forum...What is this Creature??

[zachcrosen]

Whats up everyone. I found this forum by trying to google something that is on the glass of my aquarium. Just to let you know what my setup is. I have a 125 gallon saltwater tank. We have a Tidal Wave or Pool filtration system with a skimmer. We have around 8 or so fish and a good amount of rock and corals as seen in the photo below. My wife and I did a water change today and I have noticed some small creatures on the glass of the tank. I have noticed them before, but I did not think anything about it. They range in size from about 1/16" to about 1/8". One of the pictures shows a bunch of these in the sand and I have 2 close up photos. Does anyone know what these are and if they are good or bad? Do I need to try to get rid of them? How do I get rid of them if they are bad?

As an FYI, in the 3rd photo below, just above the Frogspawn is the rectangular yellowish/brown bug. They also have a red dot on them.
Thanks for any help.
Zach

 

[zachcrosen]

Could these be Flatworms or Red Planaria?

 

[Ziggy953]

They look like flat worms to me.

You can use a product called Flatworm Exit to get rid of them. Follow the directions very closely and have some way to actively run carbon on your system after the treatment.

I've done it and it's not difficult.

 

[zachcrosen]

They look like flat worms to me.

You can use a product called Flatworm Exit to get rid of them. Follow the directions very closely and have some way to actively run carbon on your system after the treatment.

I've done it and it's not difficult.

We have a bag of carbon in the sump? What exactly are you mean when you say to "actively run carbon" in the system? I have read that Mandarin Gobies or sixline wrasses are good predators of these flatworms. I have not noticed the goby eating them though.

 

[Ziggy953]

It is hit or miss whether your fish will eat them or not. When I say run carbon actively in your system I mean via a reactor of some kind either a HOB filter, canister or phosban reactor where you can force water through the carbon. The method you are using is called passive filtration and isn't as effective. When you use a product like flatworm exit you want to run with active filtration.

 

[zachcrosen]

It is hit or miss whether your fish will eat them or not. When I say run carbon actively in your system I mean via a reactor of some kind either a HOB filter, canister or phosban reactor where you can force water through the carbon. The method you are using is called passive filtration and isn't as effective. When you use a product like flatworm exit you want to run with active filtration.

We do have a Phosban Reactor in our tank. I think we are going to try to get a Wrasse and see if he eats them. I would rather not treat per chemical means unless I have to.

 

[Ziggy953]

I am 100% behind you on that and I used it as a last resort as well. The only problem with the wrasse is, if they eat them chances are one will not be able to keep up with the population. I would start out with one wrasse and see how it goes. I did the exact same thing and ended up having to treat the tank.

 

[sqrle]

I have used this product the other day because of some flatworms I saw on a canycane coral. It works great. Just make sure that you can hang around your tank for most of the day to observe it and do some vacuuming and a water change. It is not a process that you can just put the drops in the tank and walk away.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Just suck them out during a water change with a siphon hose. They're pretty dumb critters. If you don't want to do it during a water change, then just attach a filter sock or old pantyhose to the end of the siphon hose in your bucket and start siphoning away. The flatworm will all get stuck in the filter sock and you can just return the water back to the tank.

You'll have to do this for a month or so, but eventually you'll get their numbers down enough that they won't be a problem and they'll burn themselves out.

(Great looking tank, by the way!)

 

[zachcrosen]

Thanks for the advice Kurt. I think that sounds much better (and safer) than adding the FWE to the tank. I remember seeing a filter sock on the end of a hose the other day and I now understand what that was!! I don't guess these flatworms are too tough to "unstick" from the rock or sand. I know they easily fall off the tank when we run the magnet over them.

BTW, thanks for the kind words about the tank.

 

[melosu58]

Read this on how to get rid of them.

Melevsreef.com - Flatworms | How to eliminate them!