And the ?'s begin! Flatworms....

[FSU]

Here's a pic of what I have seen in my tank. I have only seen one, but when ahead and got some FWE anyway. Anyone know anything on this particular one?


http://www.melevsreef.com/id/tbs/clear_flatworm_tb.jpg

[FSU]

ANYONE???

[::pete::]

Try this link (http://www.rzuser.uni-heidelberg.de/~bu6/index.html)

Sorry I couldnt tell you more ... maybe Marc from the site you posted can.

[SexyShrimp]

I have some in my tank but am not sure if they are the bad kind, I was told not to do FWE with sps cause it will bleach my corals so I bought a mandrin. I hope it works.

[::pete::]

Flat worm exit has never bothered my corals. Some people dont like to use chemicals, but if you are to get them early (less toxins) then Id use flatworm exit if you dont want them. My opinion ;)

[JimD]

Youre lucky, that doesnt appear to be the dreaded red Planeria flatworm. I see those occasionally, they do no harm and seem to come and go.

[mharris7]

It's amazing how selective FWE is. I've used it several times, and none of my other animals seemed to even notice anything. Even when I did a 3x dose! I'd say any damage done to other animals in the tank other than the flatworms is due to them releasing their toxins when they die. However, I noticed when I used it that it does not kill all of them, and the ones left seem to build up a resistance to the FWE....

[::pete::]

That makes me think there were more than you thought .. I see one and its time to use it ... always on hand.

[GaryP]

If you are going to use FW Exit the key is to follow the directions and use multiple times. Like someone else mentioned, I don't think you can ever kill all of them. I have gotten 99% kill of though. I have come to the conclusin that they are just part of the biodiversity of my aquarium and left it at that. The only effective predator I have found for them are blue velvet nudibranchs and they are almost impossible to find and more difficult to keep alive for more than a few months. They have a very short life span. The best thing I have found to control them is increasing your circulation so that you don't get dead spots where detritus buils up. They are detritivores afer all.

SexyShrimp - I'm guessing someone at an LFS told you that the mandarin would eat FWs. I fell for that once too. They might eat a few, but if you tank does not have a well developed fuge that is capable of producing enough pods to feed the mandarin it will eventually starve to death. What you need to ask yourself is whether you really want to watch one of your fish go through that. Mandarins will not survive on a diet made up exclusively of FWs. The leading cause of death for mandarins is starvation.

I hope this was helpful,
Gary

[SexyShrimp]

Thanks Gary, I will watch him closely. We have an abundace of pods now, but I will keep my eye on him and move him to a friends tank to eat thier pods for a while and so on to make sure he gets enough to eat. He has a fat belly right now. he he.

[GaryP]

They will eat good in the beginning when they first get in a new tank that doesn't have other pod predators. They also compete with other fish that eat pods as a large part of their diet such as wrasses. Wrasses aren't as picky and will eat other things as well. After a while a mandarin will totally deplete the pod population and won't have enough to eat. Remember that these guys may range over a much larger area in the wild than you are providing. Also in the wild, there is migration of food from the areas surrounding their territory.

Unfortunately, I was less educated about this the times I tried to keep a mandarin. They are definitely one of my favorite fish. I have a great fuge going now and after I let it mature for another six months I may give a mandarin another try. if I see that its starting to get thin I know where there are a couple of other folks here that have pod factories that I can take it. Occasionally you will hear of folks that have mandarins that will take frozen food. Those are extremely rare fish and you should never count on it. Unfortunately most LFS don't understand this and rarely educate their customers on the nutritional requirements of these fish.

Gary

[FSU]

Hey, I posted this thread over at RC also, to try and get more info on this particular type of flatworm. Found out it IS a HARMLESS type!!! :-D
Guess the FWE I bought just in case can stay in the box!

Also, to tag on what Gary what saying. I had a GREAT pod population in my 125 tank. I made the mistake of trying a "pair" of mandarins (though they were quite beautiful swimming together). They diminished my pod population in a short 3-4 months! Trading them in. I never could get them to eat frozen foods, although I never tried Cyclopeeze which may have worked better.

[GaryP]

I tried cyclopeeze too and it seemed like he ate it. The problem is that they are constant grazers and you would have to sit there and feed him all the time.

Gary

[FSU]

Good point Gary!

[GaryP]

I have one every once in a while. I guess I was over due.

Gary