Ok, these white/clear flubber-like, horned flatworms went from just a couple that I saw last week, to about 30 Im looking at right now. I didnt see an answer to my last post about 6-line eating them. Wrasse sleeps at night, thats when these guys are all over my glass. Do these worms just come out at night? Am I just seeing them at night because my wrasse is sleeping? Are thewre actually hundreds in my tank? They must have hitched there way in here, can they really be reproducing as quickly as it appears? Can I go get a mandarin??!!??

Do I need to tell my son "Wake yourwrasse up, there are worms on the glass!!:D

how big are they ?? they sound like Planaria flatworms. are they red with 2 little horn looking tenacles on the head and tiny ?? if so ... MY six line AND mandarin both ate them. the sixline jumped, but i still do not see any more in the tank.

a pic would be great if you can get one. if they are Planaria ... they are harmelss, but a real eye sore.

the recent flatworms thread title that I had been replying to has a pic (I tried to copy/past-no good) they are kind of white/clear, yes they have horns. they stretch and contract on the glass.

I have some in my tank. a six line will eat them however unless they are causing problems (eating/smothering corals) they really are not an issue. I think they are kinda cute actually.

Laura,

Here's a picture of Flatworms I had a while back...http://www.theculturedreef.com/FlatWorms-9-26-06.jpg

I have seen white ones, too. All I did to get rid of these is to siphon them out each day I saw them. Soon, they were no more. Haven't seen them since. The date of the picture is 9/06. Is this what yours look like?

Dick

The Sixline may be eating them, but if hes well fed by you he wont have the desire to go after the worms. I personally would not add a Mandarin, unless you know it will eat prepared food, The wrasse will easily out compete it for food in your small tank.

FWIW - I have seen some of those white.clear flat ones in my fuge, but never in my display. I have a mandarin and peppermint shrimp. (Not sure if the shrimp would eat them or not?)

They are the clear type. I just cant believe I saw just a few (after never having seen them in THIS tank), then all of a sudden so many, in a matter of about a week. I first noticed them in my fabulous "clump" of red macro, where my ampnipods reside. I became somewhat alarmed because my pods are precdious to me. I was only half kidding about the mandarin. It is my goal one day, which is my reason for alarm. The wrasse was brought home to do a job he didnt do (too well fed I guess). I just tried an experiment and shook a couple of those guys out of my clump. wrasse just kind of looked at it and swam away, so he isnt even too good at job #2! I always intended that wrasse wouldnt be here forever, I really would like to try a mandarin one day, and wrasse would be in direct competition (except for these flatworms maybe:unsure:) Need to keep pods safe, and if these little flatworms are eating them, I guess I will turkey baster them off as I see them!

Dicks suggestion of siphoning them out is a proven way to rid a tank of them. you will have to be VERY vigilant with the siphoning, but it will work. there is also a product called flatworm exit, but i usually try to do things without the use of chemicals.

The type of flatworm (Acoel Flatworm) that you are talking about is actually quite harmless. They wax and wane with the tide.....no seriously, the come and go in a reef tank, and unless they're smothering some of your corals or mushrooms, I wouldn't worry too much about them right now.

I wouldn't worry too much about the wrasse either. If he's healthy, then he's obviously eating, although he might significantly reduce your pod population for a mandarin. You can always "beef up" your pod population with supplements, such as Tigger Pods from Reef Nutrition (http://www.reefnutrition.com/tiggerpods/index.htm)!

the wrasse definatly doesnt have ann eating disorder, which is probably why he let that worm sail right by! I thought that I understood that these worms do eat copepods also, in which case, they arent harmless for MY purposes (if this is correct). I will not mind the flatworms too much if they are not eating pods, but if they are...:mad:

yes, you're right, they do eat copepods, but from what I understand is that they proliferate when the copepod populations are also high. I couldn't imagine that they would completely decimate your copepod population, but then again....I could be wrong.

off with their heads!

:o

Careful, Laura. Since they kind of resemble Amoeba, cutting off their heads may double their population. :wow: :rotfl: Twenty years, or so, ago the Great Barrier was under siege from an invasion of the Crown of Thorns Starfish. Divers, fisherman and volunteers went out en masse and cut them into pieces thinking they would kill the scourge. Their actions, of course, had a devastating effect on the reef. Starfish, including the Crown of Thorns, regenerate into complete bodies from cut pieces. So, be careful. :rotfl:

Here's a picture of my brown flatworms...

http://www.theculturedreef.com/FlatWorms-9-26-06.jpg

It started with a couple. In a few days they multiplied to this many. I didn't see any elsewhere in the tank. Since I experienced a true plaque of them a few years ago, I decided this population expansion had to go. I siphoned them off one day. For a day or two after, I would find two or three juveniles in the same spot. I diligently siphoned them and have been rid of the nuisance ever since.

Dick

Irs quite amazing how they multiplied! I think they may have been on something I bought at that show. I had never seen one, couple days after the show, saw a couple, now a bit numerous. I 'sucked some up', but felt kind of bad as they went into the garbage disposal:eek: