I have a bloom of these ~3 mm by ~5 mm flat orange rectangular inverts throughout my tank. There doesn't appear to have eyes or features that I can tell with 10X magnification. There is a slight bump on the narrow side of the rectangle. They move by undulating.

Below are pictures- one is through a hand lens at 10X.

Can anyone ID or give me a link to some info about ID'ing near microscopic "bugs" ? I'm just starting my EcoSystem 60 Hang on Refugium and I'm almost more excited about the little guys I find in there than in my main tank.

Flatworms.

My condolences ahead of time. :)

I second that .... Both the ID and the condolences :(

Google "Flatworm Exit" and before you do anything...listen to Rob's podcasts in re: Disaster (#78) and read this thread:
http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/marine-tank-problems/2648-distaster-strikes-all-even-me.html?highlight=flatworm

Search the forums for other information as well.

Dave

Is there any chance at all that you could siphon out some of them and mail them to me? I would send you a bag, a box, warm pack anything you need :-) (and of course the cost of shipping). I've been trying to get hold of some of these and yours is the exact variety I've been searching for......

yes, i agree with the ID
here is a good thread on dealing with them early
http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/new-saltwater/3129-yet-another-question-2.htm

its best to deal with them as soon as possible, or you may end up with a whole mess of them

sounds scary.. we should all be careful wt these boogers =[

yes.. exactly...
i have one word...
QUARANTINE

As just in case you were wondering.... I WAS actually serious when saying I would like a bunch of those *bats eyelashes*

I'm not crazy.... I'm putting together a Hitchhiker ID Guide. :-)

As just in case you were wondering.... I WAS actually serious when saying I would like a bunch of those *bats eyelashes*

I'm not crazy.... I'm putting together a Hitchhiker ID Guide. :-)
yes, i remember that...lol
just please.. keep them away from your tanks...lol

I've tried vaccuming them up via a airline taped to a long wooden spoon with a panty hose legging attached. The hose collects the flatworms and I put the water back into the system. I did this twice but realized that these buggers reproduce my splitting off from each other and I've probally just broken their little orange bodies into a millions pieces and put them back into my system to reproduce.. AAUUGH:sick:

I'm hesitant to use the Flatworm Exit after hearing Rob's disaster, but I may try (allowing for plenty of post water changes, etc.) but I'll need to get a bunch of carbon before hand. Do you think I can run loose carbon in bags inside my emporer? I heard that about 1 Pound of GAC for 50 gallons, is that about right? or should I rotate a smaller amount of GAC after dosing the Flatworm Exit a few times?

My other idea is to continue the siphoning but instead of pouring the water back, replacing it with mixed salt water. Do you think that if I do one or two 5 gallon changes a day is too much water chaning?

Sorry seahorse dreams I cannot in good heart proliferate these pests by shipping them across the country. They also don't like the panty hose because when I invert it they are all smeared and don't swim out of it. Sorry- It would have been a fun project in how well they can reproduce given different light conditions nutrient loads etc..

I'll let you know if I have any other pests for you to play with:)

yes, flatworms are VERY delicate, the slightest pressure and they are smooshed..

as for the treatment, sucking them out alone will only dwindle there numbers, not get rid of them. but its best to spend time everyday sucking out everyone you see. do this for a week before you start a flatworm exit treatment. then yes, using lots of GAC and water changes. you want to start running the GAC right after you dose the flatworm exit (once they start to die off) then after about 30-45 minutes start your water changes

Thank Rob et. al.

This is a great example of how this online community can promote the advancement of reefkeeping through learning from other people's lessons learned. I will in return pass on anything I learn from my flatworm mishap.

Thanks All.:love!:

i have one other suggest...
fish seem to fall victim to the flatworm toxins fore most coral or other inverts.
if you have sensitive, delicate, expensive, or prized fish, i would HIGHLY suggest QT'ing them for a few days (get them out before the treatment and leave them out for a few days).

one way i have found IME to determine the quality of the water after words is comparing the color.
before your treatment get an empty clean white bucket (like an IO salt bucket) fill it half way with tank water and note the clarity of the water. it will likely have a yellow tint, just try to note how yellow it is.

after you start killing those little buggers it will change the water to be more noticeably yellow. if you perform this test 1-2 hours after the treatment you will likely see that the water in the bucket is noticeably more yellow.

after running carbon and water changes you will see that yellow lighten back up, then you should be able to get a rough estimate on how well your clean up process is going.

please note, this is a VERY high level test, and does not actually test the density of toxins in the water, please don't take this as a hardened test, but just as a tip to help you gauge clean up efforts

yes, flatworms are VERY delicate, the slightest pressure and they are smooshed..

as for the treatment, sucking them out alone will only dwindle there numbers, not get rid of them. but its best to spend time everyday sucking out everyone you see. do this for a week before you start a flatworm exit treatment. then yes, using lots of GAC and water changes. you want to start running the GAC right after you dose the flatworm exit (once they start to die off) then after about 30-45 minutes start your water changesI had an outbreak of these undesirables awhile back and I considered the Flatworm Exit route. Decided the risk wasn't worth the cure. Then I remembered a few years back I had a nasty invasion of them (thousands) in my 75 reef. I siphoned them off every surface I could for a couple of days. Then lowered the salinity in the tank to 1.020 overnight, had a fresh batch of new water mixed and ready to go. In the morning, did a 20% water change with the new water at 1.035 and watched the salinity get back to normal. Result? No more flatworms.

Lately, in my 135 set up last March, I had an outbreak of the little buggers (saw a few dozen) and decided to siphon them every time I saw them. In a few weeks, nothing. Siphoning works if you catch them early and in low numbers. It's been several months and haven't seen a one.

Even though FE is supposed to be reef safe and has been reported to be, I would use it only as a last resort. Our critters can stand a hypo-salinity better than they can stand a foreign chemical in the mix.

That's my word on it. :)

Amphibious..
you are absolutely correct. and i apologize.
it was rather irresponsible for me for me to not explain other treatment methods, i think my recent experience has a bit biased.

these are all methods i tried before using flatworm exit
1.) raising Alk
2.) hyposalinity
3.) hypersalinty
4.) manual control by siphoning
5.) increasing water flow where they collect
6.) increasing water quality using GAC
7.) predation using Mandarin (2)
8.) predation using six-line wrasse (2)
9.) predation using blue velvet slugs Chelidonura varians (4)

all of these methods had been said to work for some people, either as a manor of ridding the system of the worms, or be providing a balance where they never plagued the system. in all cases these methods failed for me.

looking from the outside in, your right, its best to weigh the options.
and determine if you want to rick it or not.
funny thing is both methods are risky, treating "can" be disastrous, and not treating "can" be disastrous...

Thanks Amph for keeping me honest.. :)

Gneiss Warthog, i apologize for my short sightedness, i hope i didnt lead you too far down the wrong path

Amphibious..
you are absolutely correct. and i apologize.
That wasn't necessary, Rob.