Parasite on mushrooms Identify?

[Voodoo]

For the last few weeks I've noticed these little brown patches on some green fuzzy shrooms. At first I thought it was a type of algea, but noticed that they would come and go, usually appearing in the late afternoon and going away after dark. Then I noticed them moving slightly.
After a coulple weeks I noticed that there were a few of these brown patches on a couple other mushroom colonies.

I took a turkey baster and blew them off the colonies. They would twist and flutter as they floated around. They are very small, slightly bigger than the tip of a pen. I was able get one, here is a pic.

Any ideas what they might be?

[GaryP]

They are flatworms. They are not really a parasite. They are a detritivore and are also photosynthetic. here is a link:

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

[Voodoo]

Thanks for the quick reply. That helps quite a bit.

[GaryP]

I did a talk on them at a meeting last year.

They are quite common and are not usually a problem unless they reproduce to plague numbers. If they do, its usually an indication that you have a detritus buildup problem in your tank.

[Voodoo]

That makes sense. I've been feeding a little heavier than I should have. I just started cutting back this week.

Thanks again for the helpfull info.

Jason

[GaryP]

Jason,

I feel the key is to feed smaller amounts but multiple times per day. Your fish will do better that way and you will have less problems with detritus and excess nutrient build-up.

[Richard]

There are parasitic flatworms which feed on the slime of a host coral instead of detritus. The ones that infect mushrooms are said to be the most common in the the hobby. They eventually smother the shrooms as the reproduce.

I would take a good look at your tank at night with a flashlight and see if you have lots of flatworms in the tank or if they are only on the shrooms. If they are on only on the shrooms I would treat them in a 5 gallon bucket with Prazi-Pro or flatworm exit.