Sorry got another question. I have these really tiny brown things on my tank glass and the are slowly crawling towards the top of the tank. What are these? Oh I just started my cycle 5 days ago and I have a couple of pieces of LR.

little tiny brown things..........i hope they are not
these. If they are, they are flatworms, and your going to have a great time with them :(
(i know these are red, but if they are the same shape and stuff....)

oh man I think they are. how do I go about getting rid of them?

they seem to be only in one corner of the tank for some reason.

The only thing I have heard success with is something called Flatworm Exit. I'm not even sure what it is but have heard numerous stories if it working. Apparently it will drive your skimmer nuts so be prepared for that.

what do you mean it will drive my skimmer nuts? Are they harmful to fish, why are they such a neusinces?

After doing some reading it appears that it depends largely on what type of flatworm you have. Some can eat your coral, some are just fine. The biggest problem seems to be when there is an overabundant population. Try a google search for flatworm and see what you get. There is lots of info out there I was unaware of.
Learn something new every day. :)

Yea I just talked to my lfs about it and he was saying like you how I need to get the flatworm exit and that to do it now because there are different species that are immune to the treatment. He said it would be great now especially since I just started my cycle it wont hurt anything. He said that it was reef safe but the die off and the different species being immune could be a problem.

yes, handle it now..
use flatworm exit and do about 2-4 treatments with a few days seperating each one, one treatment will not get them all..
the common planaria sp is not directly harmful, but they are horribly ugly and will great an eyesore out of your tank...

you want to handle them now before you get fish in there. when you kill them they release toxins into the water that will kill fish and coral, so its best to get them now before you go farther.

Thanks Rob, I plan to pick some up tomorrow the stuff is pretty inexpensive anyway.

This is a slightly different species that is cruising around my tank right now.

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o292/critters_album/942305f5.jpg

whoa no Mine doesnt look like that.

A freshwater dip will remove them instantly to cull the herd for any rock you have.

whoa no Mine doesnt look like that.

How does it differ? Can you draw a little shape if you can't get a picture?

We better make a 100% ID before you add anything to your tank.

Do a Google image search on flatworms and see if any match what you have in your tank. I agree completely with Renee make sure you know what you are dealing with before treating. It may just be copepods or something else. Very hard to tell withougt a pic.

Just so we have a size comparison. Mine are very small. That's my finger. You can even see a few copepods running around there.

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o292/critters_album/planariafinger.jpg

Looks very much like Renee's picture to me. I would do some research on wet web media or perhaps on this site and see if they have specific information on that kind of flatworm. What I found is that some are bad. Some multiply very rapidly and some are just fine. It all depends on what kind yours are. Do a google image search until you find ones like yours and get the name and do another search. That should get you some semi-solid info. (All things in the hobby seem to be a matter of opinion so that is why I said semi-solid.)

Well I acted really fast today and it worked they fell off the glass and died in like 20 minutes. It worked out well because my nitrites are now showing at .25 finally. They are very small but not copeopods I am sure of that they looked like small frys flatworms except without the red. They were square shape and inched around on the glass. Very tiny

how often would anyone suggest that I does my tank in flatworm exit?

Only when you see a need. I avoid adding anything to my reef unless there is a real need or it is something I can test for.

and when its decided to dose, you want to dose as i stated above.

use flatworm exit and do about 2-4 treatments with a few days seperating each one, one treatment will not get them all..

that should get them out.. :)

oh yea lol, I should have went back and looked. Thanks Rob

There are a bunch of different varieties... some have three "tails", some are square, some look like little pumpkins.

If they are only on your glass in small porportions I wouldn't use anything on them to get rid of them. Most of the time they burn themselves out or their populations will stay minimal.

i dont have experience with the white/clear ones, but the little red ones were a nightmare for me..

these were brown and had no red at all on them, they were square or barrel shaped. I put in the flatworm exit and they almost immedieatly fell off the glass and I havent seen any sense.

yes, by red, they are a rusty color, not really "red" they look very brown, but are red when light shines through them..

anyways, glad the treatment worked, i would do at least 2 more treatments if i were you, more if you have the stuff left over (dont want to waste it :) )

Thanks Rob, yea I havent seen any sense, although I do have these little white specs on the glass, what could this be?

OMG im a lil worried now i just saw 2. one on my candy cane and one on my torch.. i hope it is not it.. but imma do a flatworm exit dose, just in case. what u guys think? i have a nano reef.. i should do it fast so the toxin wont be too bad to my coral

I would first 100% identify that you have flat worms. Then go from there.