New additions!!! Flatworms lol

I'm not sure if this is in the correct forum? Cool new additions to my tank! : Redish/orange Flatworms! I first saw a few last night, and now that I know what to look for I'm seeing them everywhere. I have been researching removal methods. This is what I've found so far.
1. manual removal by siphon
2. addition of predators
3. flatworm exit
4. wait it out they will pass
I hope to get my friends at 3reef their opinions and experiences of flatworms. Thank you in advance.

 

I am not a huge fan of buying one critter to eat another. But some wrasses and even damsels are effective predators of FW.

I have used FW exit with good results. But you need to remove as many as possible first (as they die they release a toxin), inverts will act very strange during treatment and you need to do a large water change afterwards and run some good carbon. The ones you see are mostly likely a small percentage of the actual number present in the tank. Also it is common to have to treat more than once.

 

Thanks Coralline. As far as using FW exit I can't seem to find if there is a recommended percentage for the follow up water change. I've heard anywhere between 10% up to 50% of total water volume. What do you think?

 

My tank at the time was 40 gal and I did a 50 percent wc and another 20 percent the next day, I did not loose any inverts but the star fish and snails looked like history and took several hours to recover.

Here is a link and get as many opinions as you can. I had the red planaria, got them from the LFS and they spread fast. After fighting with them for a couple of months I just decided to treat.

Melevsreef.com - Flatworms | How to eliminate them!

 

I got a sixline when i had flatworm and snail problems. That took care of it. I got lucky though as "sixy" was not aggressive at all to her tankmates before she took her finale leap onto my floor. She was fun to watch.

 

aarow crabs eat flat worms and wont kil your bio load

 

Six lines are a crap shoot and will not completely eradicate them just control them if you get one that will eat them. Arrow crab have been known to eat and damage corals.

Flat worm is safe to use just follow directions, and repeat application several time over several weeks or you will be just beating your head against the wall becasue they will come back.

Me, unless they are bothering corals, I would just leave them, their numbers will peak in a few weeks then decline to normal levels and you will not even know you have them.

 

i had great luck with a blue velvet nudibranch. the problem is when the FW's are gone they will starve if you do not find a new home with FW's

 

for manual removal, once technique that gave me the most return for effort invested
was using an airline tube as a syphon and then syphoning them through a very fine net into a large glass jar (that way you can inspect the jar and ensure none got through the net)

when the jar is full of water, which takes a while, you just pour it back into tank and start again

this certainly helped me keep the numbers manageable and a six line claimed the assist

Steve

 

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I think my plan of action is going to be.
1. try to get a head count on the number of FWs I have now, to know in the future if I'm winning or not.
2. do the syphoning technique this weekend
3. add FW exit to my BRS group buy to have on hand if needed
4. keep you updated to help the next guy/gal
wish me luck