Flatworms and Flow (Two Questions)

[Petrichor]

So I found some flatworms in my 24 gallon Cardiff, and I know from online research that they'll breed like rabbits if left unattended. I also read they like low flow areas, and since I was going to ask if my tank had enough flow in it I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone.

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1) I have two Hydor Koralia Nano 240s in a bullet-shaped tank. One is pointed facing left across the flat back of the tank near the bottom. The other is facing right and is at the top of the tank near the middle of the tank's length. I have three returns facing towards the surface, opposite the highest Koralia, and one pushing water towards the highest Koralia. Overall the water movement is counter-clockwise, but with some variance from the return pumps. That is, the water is not constantly being pushed in one direction.

Is this enough flow or should I order a Nano 425? All my corals seem to be fine with the flow I have (all LPS and softies), and have grown larger/more heads.

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2) The flatworms are in an area where I can't easily reach with siphons, plus my rock is full of crevices and hide-aways. My stock level is full so I can't add any fish in. Should I just buckle down and get some Flatworm eXit and nail this problem before it springs up or should I try increasing my flow first? I'm worried that even if I increase the flow the flatworms will hide in the rocks, but is that a bad thing? As long as they don't touch my corals, right?

I appreciate any and all help!

(I should add I don't really plan on getting SPS anytime soon, and if I did they'd have a nice spot right in front of a Koralia for their super flow needs.)

 

[Petrichor]

Bump.

I'm leaning towards just getting some Flatworm exit and extra carbon. There's not a ton of worms that I can see so the toxins shouldn't be such a huge problem if I use extra carbon and do two water changes in a week rather than one.

 

[sanderson417]

I have limited experience with flatworms, but I hope this will benefit you. I recently saw that I had flatworms on a few of my mushrooms. Instead of using Flatworm exit, I took the corals out and dipped them in CoralRx. I was shocked to see the amount of flatworms that came off the coral and small rock it was attached to. I probably saw 30 worms or so on the coral, but once I dipped it there were hundreds of them laying dead in the bucket. They have since then come back and I am debating using flatworm exit. They seem to come and go over time. Good luck with your issue.

 

[cashmoney6980]

I'm pretty sure I've said the same thing in another similar thread... But flatworm exit works great! Just be prepared with a canister filter filled with more carbon then you think you'll need, and some fresh carbon on reserve.

 

[carey]

I've been battling flatworms on and off in a couple of my tanks over the last 2 years. I have used flatworm exit many times and it works incredibly well. You MUST follow the directions though, thats a definite.

If you see a hundred flatworms then you probably have a thousand, lol no lie. They are that bad. :-(

I have also found that flow has nothing to really do with them. I have had them in front of a powerhead and far back behind rocks, they dont seem to care very much either way.

What I would do is, try taking the rock out and shaking them off in a bucket of mixed saltwater, then dose the tank with flatworm exit. The thing to know is that the flatworms will excrete a poison when they die so the least amount of flatworms dying in the tank is the way to go to avoid any problems. Carbon will negate the poison so thats why you should be prepared to run it after they start dying, and whats really neat is about 4 seconds after you dose the flatworms ill immediately start freaking out and dying. It's almost instant. I also have had a bucket of freshly mixed saltwater on the ready in case I needed it, but have never had to use it. I had literally thousdands of them in one tank and had to dose three times to get them all but it worked.

Good luck!

 

[Petrichor]

Thanks for the info. I'll have to go buy some Flatworm eXit and extra carbon today.

I would take the rocks out, but the flatworms are on the glass and sand mostly. I wouldn't know what rock to take out, and because my tank is so small (24g) most of the rocks are load-bearing, so taking one rock out means taking out three other rocks.

Thanks again!

 

[carey]

Good luck

they arent as bad as people make out to get rid of, but be ready to dose again in a few days if any are left. In a tank that small you should have good success!