Mysterious killer! help ASAP!

Discussion in 'ASAP' started by Sheliaknows, May 19, 2010.

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  1. elweshomayor

    elweshomayor Giant Squid

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    YOU COULD.. speed up the process and manually remove all of your snails, and putting them on a QT tank or something of the sort.. just make sure you take a rock or something so that the snails have something to eat.
     
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  3. Renee@LionfishLair

    Renee@LionfishLair 3reef Sponsor

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    Good idea.
     
  4. kcbrad

    kcbrad Giant Squid

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    Thank you for creating this thread!! I found the SAME flatworm in my tank today!! IF I hadn't of read your thread I would have just let it be. I hope you got yours out!!
     
  5. GatorsUF9606

    GatorsUF9606 Plankton

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    your discription sounds like a flatworm did it look like this?
    [​IMG]
     
  6. blackraven1425

    blackraven1425 Giant Squid

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    That's exactly what it looked like in the video, which is what the OP said was what it looked like.
     
  7. Sheliaknows

    Sheliaknows Fire Worm

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    i still have not seen mine since the inital sighting. I ordered some Aquagloves and plan to tear my reef tank down and rebuild. I am going to start a new thread for this process as i am sure i will need the fellow members advice at some point.
     
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  9. LeslieH

    LeslieH Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    Hi Sheila -- Got your message, thought I would reply here as well.

    One of the problems with these mollusc-eating flatworms is that they seem to be switch hitters when it comes to food. People who have removed all their snails & clams still find Pericelis months later. Another problem is that they are simultaneous hermaphrodites so any time 2 of them meet they will mate & each will produce eggs. If you see one large one in your tank it's quite possible that there are many more small ones hidden away. They are so thin & flexible that they can easily slip into a rock crevice less than a hair's diameter.

    Many of them are toxic and many of the big ones are resistant to flatworm exit. You may have to use more than the usual dose which would affect other critters in your tank. The toxic ones will release the toxin as they die, another problem. There are 3 safer ways to get them out - 4 if you're desperate enough to crack the rock. 1) Bait them out. Sacrifice some cheap clams or snails. Put one into a tall, narrow-mouth container. Tie a string around the lip & put the container on a slant into your tank; drape the end of the string over your tank's rim so you can yank it out quickly. Hopefully the flattie will crawl in & you can get it out. Repeat to see if any more show up. 2) They don't have much traction. If you see one in the open use a turkey baster or water hose to siphon it up or blow it into the water where you can net it. 3) Inwall reminded me of this in another worm thread. Take the rock out & while holding it over a bucket or a pan pour soda water over the bare surfaces. Rock dwellers react quickly to the CO2 & jump out of the crevices.

    Another reason to try baiting or soda water is the second, orange worm. That sounds like an Oenone which is another mollusc eater and also bad news. Both Oenone & Pericelis will go after giant clams. If no molluscs are around it will definitely eat detritus, other worms, scavenge, etc., and survive for long periods of time. It tends to keep the hind portion of its body inside the rock so it can rapidly pull back if a predator shows up.
     
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  10. blackraven1425

    blackraven1425 Giant Squid

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    If you, or anyone else, needs snails to do this, I have breeding populations of whelks and limpets. I also really don't want the whelks, and there's too many limpets.
     
  11. Sheliaknows

    Sheliaknows Fire Worm

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    yeah that would be nice seeing as the snails are about 5 bucks a pop at the LFS and i have a feeling the shell pile i have in my tank is from the worms taste for astrea's and turbos. only thing is im way up here in canada. i'm going to try this...hopefully the worm goes right inside and i'll start baiting with some frozen shrimps. alot cheaper than live snails ;)
     

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  12. blackraven1425

    blackraven1425 Giant Squid

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    Oh, I have some limpet shells sitting around in the tank. I figured the gorilla crabs got to them, until I saw one of these flatworms in the tank last night. So, they'll eat limpets, and probably the whelks too.

    I don't know how it'd go over with customs, sending the snails to you.