|
|
FAQs about Flatworm Chemical Control
Related Articles: Pest Flatworm
Control by Anthony Calfo, Flatworms
(incl. Planaria), Worms,
Featherduster Worms, Related FAQs:
Flatworm Control, Predator Control,
Chemical Control, Flatworms/Planaria
1, Flatworms 2,
Flatworms 3, & FAQs on: Flatworm
Identification, Flatworm Behavior,
Flatworm Compatibility, Flatworm
Selection, Flatworm Systems,
Flatworm Feeding, Flatworm Disease,
Flatworm Reproduction, & Fish Worms
Diseases, Worm Identification,
Worms,
Fire/Bristleworms |
"There are a number of chemical controls for these pests, but the
"cures" do carry some risk of collateral damage. I'd check on the
many hobbyist message boards to hear what other hobbyists are
using."... Make arrangements, contingencies... should troubles
arise. RMF |
Flatworm Treatment,
3/8/09
Hello Crew,
<Hi>
I would like to know what is the
active ingredient in Salifert's Flatworm exit.
<Don't know, and as far as I
am aware Salifert's does not publish this information.>
I have a few
flatworms in my tank though I'm not to concerned about it because I have dealt
with this problem before in my previous tank and had success getting rid of them
with out having to treat with chemicals.
<Good>
I am just curious to know
what is in this product. If I ever choose to use it I would like to know what is
going in my tank rather than just putting a product in because someone
recommended it.
<If the bottle does not list what is in it, don't add it to
your tank, best advice I can offer here.>
Thank you kindly
Pat
<Welcome>
<Chris>
Re: pests/ Bob's email address, pest
flatworm control 7/20/07
Hey Bob, hope all is well in Cali. I sure do miss the beach. You're so lucky to
live there!!
<Sara M. here now. I hope I can help...>
I keep trying to
get my hubby to get a superintendent job at a golf course by the beach, but no
luck so far!! I have a technical question for you. Every month we meet here in
Phoenix and swap frags. This last frag meet, we had a few tanks with red bugs,
Monti nudis and now Acro eating flat worms. Do you know of any treatments for
the flat worms that will not kill the acroporid?
<There's what seems to work
for at least some people:
1) Remove all the acropora colonies and put them
in quarantine (even the ones that don't yet appear to be affected. The reason
you have to remove ALL the Acropora colonies is because you'll want to starve to
death any AEF that might remain (or hatch) in the tank after you remove the
Acroporas (this usually takes at least five days). After all, there's little
point to treating an affected coral only to return it to an infected tank.
2)
In a second quarantine tank, medicate the corals with Levamisole (available from
a local vet or possibly a livestock and feed supply store) for about 6 hours or
so.
3) Use a smaller MaxiJet (or other small powerhead) to blow the worms off
the coral.
4) After you've blasted off all the adults, look very carefully
for any eggs. If you find any, scrape them off with one of those plaque scrapers
you can buy at a drug store for your teeth.
5) After all this is done,
return the corals to the first quarantine tank.
6) Repeat steps 2 through 5
until you stop seeing any worms or eggs.
Of course, this is going to stress
out your corals to no end. But there really isn't any other way. You might lose
some of the colonies to stress. But you're likely to lose them to AEF if you
don't do anything.>
There is a fellow reefer in town that has these and has
Acro colonies that he is thinking about throwing away because he hasn't found a
treatment yet.
<Please tell him not to throw them away just yet. Do try the
above. I know it's worked for some people and it's worth a shot.>
I figured I
would ask the expert!! Any help you can give our group would be helpful.
<You might also want to try and contact Marc Leverson. I know he's been
successful fighting AEF in his own tank using the method above. Also, some
people claim to have some success with heavy dosing of Flatworm Exit (in
quarantine) in addition to or instead of the Levamisole. If someone is thinking
of throwing out infected corals, you might as well do some experimenting to see
if something works before tossing them.
Good luck! And do let us know how
things work out. :-)
Best,
Sara M.>
Acoel flatworms - so-called "Planaria" 2/24/04
I attached a
picture of my Umbrella Leather. I think the
red/rust spot on it
are flatworm (Planaria)! What do you think about it?
<you are
correct... acoel flatworms>
If it's Planaria, do you recommend
the Flatworm Exit product from Salifert?
<I would never recommend
it or anything like it. No such product has been demonstrated to my
satisfaction to kill one nuisance invertebrate while not harming
some others of like kind but desirable.>
I read a lot of thread
on RC and almost people didn't have any problem with this product.
<does the product list its ingredients? If not, I'm not inclined to
use or recommend any products if unknown composition on the live
creatures in my care>
Thank you very much. And thank you for your
website, it's very useful.
<do address the real problem (rather
than treating the symptom) here my friend... inadequate water flow
most likely. Seek 10-20x minimum and avoid laminar flow from
powerheads (make them converge to produce random turbulent at
least). We have a lot of info on acoel flatworms in the archives and
FAQS here at wetwebmedia.com. And no worries... without treatment,
these flatworms are still harmless and naturally wax and wane.
Anthony> | 
|
Ridding Acoel flatworms 4/8/04
I was wondering if you might be
able to help me rid of my on going flatworm problem; I've noticed Acoel
flatworms in my tank for over 3 months now, and well they're becoming
more of a problem.
<no worries... they wax and wane (in great numbers
albeit at times) on their own naturally. Still... improved water flow
and more aggressive skimming help this along. Their control is
documented in our archives if you care to browse/read more>
I believe
they are laying eggs of some sort in mass numbers all over my glass, and
I'm ready to take action against these annoying creatures.
<no egg
laying by Acoels my friend... simple fission>
I'm sending along a
picture of what the eggs look like that I drew on MS paint, hopefully
you'll get the point.. lol.
<excellent drawing... and the eggs sound
like clearly something else... perhaps Cnidarian larvae of some kind. Do
you also have an Aiptasia anemone bloom in the tank? That would explain
the buds/"eggs" on the glass and be consistent with a suspected nutrient
or water flow problem in the tank that has allowed/supported the
flatworms>
I plan on using Salifert Flatworm Exit soon.
<yikes!
Please do resist using any such chemical in the reef aquarium. You must
know that such products are not discriminating between desirable and
undesirable micro-organisms. And beyond perhaps crippling your
bio-diversity, you are in fact treating a symptom and not the problem:
not enough or not the right kind of water flow... 20X turnover would be
nice>
For a little description of the egg; They have a bunch of
little arms that move with the water kind of like an anemone.
<may
well be... kind regards, Anthony> Flatworm solution
I
was interested to see if you or any of your readers have used a new
product for flatworms called PraziPro. It is distributed by Hikari. I
have not applied it yet, as I would like to hear from anyone that may
have used it in a reef system. << I have not used it, but I'm not a fan
of medications anyway. >> I have a 180 gal. reef with soft corals,
leathers, etc. that I have had for a while (2 yrs.) and would hate
to see any harm done to them. << If you have a flatworm problem, I
would suggest other remedies such as wrasse and water motion. I
wouldn't chance any product that is aimed to kill flatworms. >>
Thank you,
<< Adam B. >> Re: Flatworm solution
Adam,
Thank you for your quick reply. I will try the wrasse first,
I too am not a fan of putting chemicals in the tank. Mother nature
just doesn't seem to appreciate them, there always seems to be a
reaction somewhere in the tank that isn't a positive one. << Well said,
good luck. >>
Regards,
Brob
<< Adam B. >>
Flatworms Exit stage left
Hi all!
Just finished a round with flatworms and Exit
which seemed to work pretty good. My tank was severely infested with
them, to the point that the sand on the bottom was turning red ( had the
red flatworms, worst of all). I tried everything else but wasn't making
a dent in the population so I had to go the chemical route. Just have a
couple questions.
I followed the
directions on the exit to a T. I even purchased a Marineland Magnum 350
and used it as a vacuum to clean the critters out after they started
dying and did a 25% water change. All reef inhabitants seem to be doing
fine except the anemone (seems hung over). I still see some worms
crawling around so I was wondering if I should do a second treatment
before the live ones start reproducing again? << This is iffy, and I
would say don't treat the tank until you have reason to. So, I say
wait. >> And, if I do, how long should I wait before doing another
treatment?
Second, I noticed another critter crawling on the
glass during the first treatment. The best I can describe it is that it
was white/clear, about the same length as the flatworms and had many
feet and antennae on both ends, almost resembling a centipede. Is this
some sort of plankton? I couldn't readily find anything in the forums.
<< Hard to say, but I'll bet it is beneficial. >>
Any help would
be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
James
<< Blundell >>
- Dealing with Flatworms -
I have an aquarium store in Arizona. I
specialize mainly in reef aquariums. I have a 300 gallon coral display
tank with many LPS and softy corals for sale. I also have a 110 gallon
clam display aquarium. I am noticing everyday more and more nuisance
flatworm. I heard that Melafix will get rid of them, is this true.
<I've never heard of this and would suggest, that if you're considering
a chemical solution, to pursue the Salifert Flatworm Exit product. Have
had many folks say this product does work very well and causes no
problems for reef inhabitants. Make sure your skimmer is clean an you
have a water change ready to go... when the flatworms exit, they really
exit.>
I want to get rid of them before they multiply to much and
cover and kill my corals. Please respond back as soon as you can, Thank
You, Matt
All Aquatics
allaquatics.net
<Cheers, J -- >
Flat worm eradication - 4/9/03
Thank you very much for the quick
response. <Thank you> I have had a look at the links in your note, great
information though it does seem to be a little contradictory at times.
<likely to cover all aspects>
One question, I posted the same plea
for help at reefs.org and received a response from Delbeek indicating
that as a last resort I might try a drug called Levamisole. Have you
ever heard of anyone using this drug successfully? <I personally have
never heard of this drug. I want to make a statement right here and now,
that I do not believe that these animals are at all harmful. Overall, I
too, have gone through various incursions of these little worms. I still
have a few here and there, but for the most part, there are very few. I
used no drugs and did nothing but what I am expected to do as a
Conscientious Marine Aquarist. I did water changes, had proper
circulation, (based on what is located on this site) and blew them off
and siphoned them up. Over time they minimized with no impact to any of
my animals (corals et al) Again, I have seen little evidence of these
animals decimating tanks and killing off inhabitants. I believe there is
no need to panic. No need for medication, no need to add a new animals
that may or may not eat them only to suffer other issues in the tank,
just give it time with proper water chemistry and I think you will be
happy with the results.>
At this point I am going to siphon off as
many as I can, do more frequent water changes (weekly 10 to 15%) and see
what happens over the next couple of months ...... and keep my fingers
crossed. <Beautiful solution and cheers to you for having this attitude.
So many people affect their tank adversely by adding chemicals or other
animals to their tank that could be potentially more trouble than the
Planaria. The old adage the "cure is deadlier than the disease" comes to
mind. I like your solution. Good on ya'. Paulo>
Cheers
Ken
Levamisole for Acoel flatworms
I recently found an article on the
web, that Levamisole will help eliminate Acoel flatworms. The article
actually used the name Concurat L. Do you know of anyone that has used
Levamisole to eradicate these pests? Thanks, Eric
<I do not recall
anyone specifically... but it is not too surprising. Levamisole is a
popular de-worming remedy for animals at large. Use only with caution...
test on specimens in a bare QT first. Anthony> - Malachite
Green for Flatworms -
What is the correct way to prepare
Malachite Green powder for dosing into a reef system to eliminate
flatworms? <Zero, nada, nothing... I would not recommend this treatment
AT ALL! Malachite green will kill the invertebrate life and
miscellaneous fauna in your reef tank even at low doses, and certainly
at a dose high enough to kill a flatworm. The proscribed path of action
would require the removal of the inverts, live rock, etc and so you
would also remove the flatworms and get them back again as soon as you
put this stuff back in the main display.>
What concentration should
be used, how often, etc. <Again... don't do it, you will regret it.
Please spend some time reading though this FAQ, it will provide some
background:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/pestflatwrmanthony.htm
Cheers, J -- >
Help with Acro Eating Flatworms 8/19/06
I just
discovered the eggs and subsequently the actual flatworms on what we
call here a New England Aquarium Acro (It's very similar to the famous
purple tip Larry Jackson coral that many know about, yet with thinner
and more numerous branches). I decided to check the coral because it
was bleaching near the base and had fairly poor and splotchy coloration
in general.
My question is: How do I treat these buggers and has
anyone found a way to kill the eggs?
<What little I know
re is summarized, posted here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/pestflatwrmanthony.htm
and the linked
files above>
I have heard that the Levamisole treatment that is
being used usually kills the coral before breaking the AEFW life cycle.
I have also heard on RC that Betadine dosed into a dip treatment tank at
3ml/liter of SW is having success in Europe.
<I have heard this as
well>
I can afford to replace these colonies, but there is a
desire to preserve the life I have nurtured all this time and to learn
as much as possible so that I can
share this info with others. I
currently plan to remove all Acro colonies to a QT tank and attempt the
Betadine dip weekly until I do not see any worms on corals or eggs on
their bases.
I am hoping that one of you may have had experience
with these and may be able to help me find a safe and effective QT and
treatment method to prevent the reinfestation of my tanks.
Thank in
advance,
Mauro DiBenedetto
<Do please follow up with your
observations. Bob Fenner>
Re: Help with Acro Eating Flatworms
8/20/06
> I have heard that the Levamisole treatment that is
> being used usually kills the coral before breaking the AEFW life
cycle.
> I have also heard on RC that Betadine dosed
into a dip treatment tank at 3ml/liter of SW is having success in
Europe.
> <I have heard this as well>
> I can afford to
replace these colonies, but there is a desire to preserve the life I
have nurtured all this time and to learn as much as possible so that I
can
> share this info with others. I currently plan to remove all
Acro colonies to a QT tank and attempt the Betadine dip weekly until I
do not
> see any worms on corals or eggs on their bases. I am hoping
that one of you may have had experience with these and may be able to
help me find a safe and effective QT and treatment method to prevent the
reinfestation of my tanks.
> Thank in advance,
> Mauro
DiBenedetto
> <Do please follow up with your observations. Bob
Fenner>
Bob,
Minor update: I tried the Betadine dip at
3ml/Liter on that NE Aq Acro. Almost immediately the worms dropped off
the coral. At 23 minutes they appeared very dead.
At 25, a puff of
a turkey baster rendered the worms into fleshy dust.
<Good... time
to move them...>
The game plan is to pull all Acros and put them in
a 20long with a bare bottom and no rock.
<Ahh, very good>
I plan
to dip all of these corals in the Betadine solution and quarantine them
for the next month, treating them weekly to make sure I get all of these
worms. I plan to empty the 20long and clean it thoroughly before
reintroducing the treated corals. If I see any worms during treatment,
the protocol will be extended by another month.
In the interim the
180 display, which thankfully has not had any Acros encrust within it
will lay fallow of Acros for the next 45-60 days to ensure any worms I
introduced will be dead. (I can be sure there are no hidden Acros
because I just set up this tank and had only moved over a 2 Acroporids
before finding the flatworms in my tank.
<I see>
All my best and
do drop a line to the Boston Reefers if you are ever in town.
M.
<Thank you for this follow-up, detailing your intended plan. Bob Fenner>
Re: Help with Acro Eating Flatworms. 11/5/06
Bob,
Here is an update on my Betadine treatment
http://www.bostonreefers.org/forums/showthread.php?t=33256
Here
is the RC thread on the
topic:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=899108&goto=newpost
Feel free to copy the text of my post to WWM.
<Will do. Thank you
Mauro. Bob Fenner> Flatworm busters...
I thought
you might get a kick out of this. A recommendation to use Dylox to kill
flatworms. I am sure that it will kill flatworms and just about
everything else in the tank.
Thank You,
Steven Pro
<Yes... I
have an old pond article posted on WWM re (mis-spelled here): DTHP,
Dylox, Dipterex, Neguvon, Trichlorofon... and other names... an economic
poison of organo-phosphate composition... useful for killing arthropods
(insect pests, crustaceans like Argulus, Lernaea on pond fishes...) Do
agree with your assessment here. Bob Fenner,
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/pndparasitcont.htm >
AMDA Members,
Marc Weiss and I have a common friend who is director of a zoological
institute near Cape Town, South Africa named Alan Jardine. Alan is an
accomplished fish breeder and a marine hobbyist for over 28-years. Alan
has agreed to join in the search for a control of the pesky flatworm
problem. Hopefully Matt and company already have it under control, but
just in case they don't, I will continue to try to get people involved
in finding a solution. I believe we will find the answer and the hobby
will be better off as a result. Please read Alan's letter.
Mitch
Gibbs
Hi Mitch
Dr Schleyer has checked around and apparently a
product called Trichlorofon which goes under the trade name Dylox and
which was manufactured by Argent (?) is effective against flatworms at a
dose of .25mg / litre. His concern is that this product may affect the
zooxanthellae in the coral, as they have never tried it on these
invertebrates. Possibly one could run a few tests with sacrificial
pieces of coral and see if they begin to bleach. His team is also not
sure how Trichlorofon will affect bacteria in the substrate. Once again,
a proprietary bacteria culture could kick start the system.
Although
he can't come up with actual species, he suggests that juvenile
butterfly fish may predate on the flatworms and if young enough, will
not bother the corals.
I'll keep checking around. Best wishes,
Alan Little Flatworms- Big Headaches!
Hi Guys,
<Scott
F. your guy tonight>
I've had those pesky red flatworms in my reef
tank for about a year now. I've tried to leave them alone and hope they
crash. I've tried to siphon them out daily. I even took my whole tank
apart and rinsed everything thoroughly in a very low salinity dip. They
still came back.
<These are tenacious, annoying little guys, I
sympathize!>
I've been reading about the Flatworm Exit product by
Salifert on Reefcentral's website. The forums suggest the product itself
is safe for fish and corals but the toxin from the dead flatworms is
definitely a concern.
<I am not familiar with this product...I
usually am skeptical about chemical formulations that are supposed to be
effective against one creature, but harmless to other reef animals...I
like Salifert products, but I don't know about this one...>
I was
thinking that if I siphoned everyone I could see for a week or longer,
the population might be low enough to use safely use this product.
<Or to safely use some natural control, like a predatory wrasse, etc>
I would also use Poly Filter and carbon to remove the toxins.
<Well,
if you're gonna use a chemical, I agree that PolyFilter is good to use
to remove excess concentrations of the product>
While I have never
been one to reach for a chemical like this to solve a problem, I feel it
may be my only options to finally rid my tank of these resilient
creatures. Any thoughts on the product or procedure?
<I understand
and appreciate your concerns. It's a really tough call. Do you know what
the active ingredient(s) in this stuff are? Perhaps, knowing what you're
going to potentially dump into your tank can help you decide if it's
worth the possible complications...maybe worth an email to the folks at
Salifert?>
This problem seems to be affecting SO many people. Has
this problem become more severe the last few years or is it just that
communication is so much better?
<Probably a little of each...And do
take heart- there is some promising research going on regarding flatworm
control using simple, truly "reef safe" ingredients...maybe it will pay
off down the line...stay tuned.>
Many thanks for years of help, Craig
<Hang in there, Craig...chat with some fellow hobbyists who have used
this stuff, exhaust all other methods before you use it, then proceed
with caution. Good luck! Regards, Scott F> Melting Xeniids &
Flatworms Galore
Hi there WWM Crew.
<Hey, Mike G with you
tonight>
Have been enjoying your site and links but have run into a
couple of problems. To begin, let me give you the stats on the tank:
<I personally thank you for giving me the stats on your tank. Out of
many, many emails I have answered today, you are the first to provide
such information. :-) >
SG 1.025
<Fine>
pH 8.0 in the morning
(before lights come on) and 8.2 5 hours after lights on..
<You might
want to find a way to remedy this. That is a large pH swing, and would
cause undue stress to your pets.>
NO2 (0)
<Perfect>
NO3 (20)
<Okay, but it could be a
bit lower>
NH3 (0)
<Perfect>
Tank is set
up with l MH l4000K and 2 65W 03 actinic along with a Bak Pak 2R protein
skimmer that's skimming l/2 C
of green stuff a day. Tank temp.
fluctuates between 77.5 to 80F degrees lately. Water change weekly 15
gals. Sometimes time doesn't permit, and water gets changed every 2
weeks.
<Sounds fine. I am left wondering how large your tank is,
though.>
Problem l: For some reason, my pulsing xenias are dying
(melting) and I can't figure out why. Have had these Xenias now for
almost 2 years pulsing and dividing away and now... What's going
on here?
<This is a common problem with Xeniid corals, they seem to
"melt" when in unfavorable conditions or after drastic changes in water
parameters. Take a gander at the following link, namely the topic "Xenia
Health" about 3/4 down the page.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/xeniidfaqs3.htm >
Problem 2: My
frog spawn frag (originally only 2 heads - now 6 heads) has been invaded
with oval shaped pumpkin colored flatworms - have no idea where they
came from as I do quarantine any and all going into the main tank.
I've read that they come and go But, now they've migrated to my pagoda
coral and I really don't want it to take over the whole tank (60 gal)!
<Ah, there we go, 60 gallons. Flatworms have a habit of overrunning
marine aquaria.>
On my next water change or sooner, can I do a fresh
water dip or Lugol's iodine dip on these two corals without harming them
and hopefully getting rid of the flatworms?
<That is exactly what I
would have recommended you do.>
Thank you for your help/advice.
<Best of luck, Mike G> Downsizing 9/21/05
Hello,
<Hi there! Scott F. here today!>
I first want to thank you for the
information you put out in publication and on the web. So many people
love to get into the hobby, but they don't do their home work and end up
with more issues than they could ever have dreamed of.
<Amen!>
Many of us are conscientious, because of the fact that we bought the
tanks, fish, coral, etc. and now are trying to be responsible people and
provide a healthy environment, but many stores don't have educated
people to guide us.
<Glad to hear of your philosophy! However, many
fish stores do have dedicated personnel who are knowledgeable and
compassionate about the animals that they sell'>
Now to my issue. I
have had larger salt water tanks for about 5 years now. I have a 180
gal now that, unfortunately I have introduced flat worms and
Aiptasia. I have tried Berghia which had no effect at all
and Peppermint Shrimp that seem to be making a dent, not completely
sure yet. I have just decided
to downsize (too much to take care of
right now) to a 75 gal. I have decided to put in new sand and rock
(running a Berlin system). I was wondering if 1) I should transfer any
of the water from the old tank
<Well, it would be nice, but with the
flatworm issue, it would be too easy to accidentally siphon some in with
the water and start the problem anew in the 75. I'd make new water,
myself.>
2) What is the best way (if there is any) to eliminate the
flat worms from hairy anemones, button anemones and star polyps as I
would like to keep them.
<There are a number of chemical controls
for these pests, but the "cures" do carry some risk of collateral
damage. I'd check on the many hobbyist message boards to hear what other
hobbyists are using.>
Also, is there a quick way to get the anemones
to release from the old rock?
<Unfortunately, there is
no easy reliable way to get these animals off without injuring them.
Best to chip away bits of rock around them and to glue the small rock
onto larger rock in the new system.>
Any guidance would be
appreciated.
Best regards,
Melanie Roberts
Castle Rock,
Colorado
<Hope this helps! Good luck! Regards, Scott F.>
|
|
