Strange Critters

APC · 01-02-2006, 12:24 PM

Hey All,

I have had these strange little critters "pop up" in my tank. They are a translucnet orange, about 1/4 inch or less in size, and they are on the walls, on the rock, and on the substrate. They almost look like little slugs. The ones on the glass can be seen moving, if you look real close. If I had to guess, I would say there are about 100 in the tank now. I can not get a good picture of them unfortunately. Any ideas on what they may be? I am thinking baby snails of some sort? I have astrea's and mexican turbos in the tank now...that I know of..I am sure others came in with my rock too.

Also, I have made no new additions to the tank in the past 3 months.

Thanks

blue_eyes53813 · 01-02-2006, 01:09 PM

I hope there not flat worms

Speedy · 01-02-2006, 02:51 PM

LOL. yea they definitely do sound like flatworms to me. They are actually harmless ( according to some sources ). However, I have seen whole mushroom rocks tum in to just LR, due to their nuisance. They do irritate corals and of course tank owners, due to how unsightly thet are.

Biological/ longterm SOLUTION: Yellow coris wrasse. Mandarin Gobies. And the best: the neon (blue) velvet sea slugs.

Short-term SOLUTION: Siphon the little suckers out.

Careful, not to cut or pinch them they can multiply asexually.

APC · 01-03-2006, 05:35 AM

Thanks Speedy - you have pointed me in the right direction. Did some more searching based on your input and it looks like these guys are red planaria flat worms.

That being said, they are 99% gone today...just a few left. According to some of the articles I have read, it is not uncommon for these guys to be in a SW tank. Apparently you can expect occasional blooms. As long as your water quality and water flow are good, they should not stay too long. If they get out of control, that is a good sign that you need to make a change to your set up.

Thanks again