small red creatures..

[PsychFish13]

I have these small red what appear to me as flat worms. they are really tiny and maybe a .5mm by .25mm and all over my glass and coraline rock. My camera will not focus or i'd post pictures. If i torment them, they curl up and are about 1/3 the size of a piece of rice. They move so i know they are not cyanobacteria incase you are wondering. :) They don't seem to be affecting any of my corals (all softies). Any thoughts?

[MIOR6485]

DO YOU BUY CORALS FROM ALAMO AQUATICS? MOST OF THEIR CORAL TANKS HAVE THIS INFESTATION. I CAN'T BELIEVE THEY CONTINUE TO STOCK THESE TANKS KNOWING THEY ARE PASSING THIS PEST ALONG TO OTHERS.

[GaryP]

Psych,

What you have are probably Aocel flatworms. I have them too. They are basically harmless detritovores. The main problem is that they can reproduce to plague proportions in a tank. The main things you should do is make sure your skimmer is working well and have plenty of circulation. They will congregate in areas of low flow where detritus builds up and there is lower light.

I have tried using Salifert Flatworm Exit with some success. I got about a 99% kill rate the first time, but basically none the second time. I'm afraid I'm just developing a resistant strain. The main problem with using flatworm exit is that the worms release toxic body juices when they die, so you have to follow a treatment with carbon treatment and a fairly large water change. I didn't have any problems after the treatment.

I have also tried natural predators with no success. I added a six-line wrasse and both types of mandarins. I'm planning on trying a leopard wrasse next.

Here's a link to a good thread on them on wetweb.

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/pestflatwrmanthony.htm

If I can help with anything else, drop me a PM.

Gary

[matt]

I'm about to treat with Flatworm exit for the second time; I'll let you know how it goes.

[dan]

i also need to treat for flatworms. they multiply faster than rabbits.