[Beamooplah]

I have a 20 gallon reef tank filled with fiji live rock. No fish or other coral. I have Brown Flatworm all over my live rock and plants. What is the best medicine to get rid of them? I understand once they all die that it will take up a lot of oxygen so I am prepared for this.

Thanks for you help, Shawn

[NATIVEVAMAN]

It seems we have a flat worm epedemic in the forum.The best meds for flatworms is flow lots of flow and no dead spots.Any med youput in the tank to kill flat worms will also kill all sorts of good critters, like 90% of what lives in your sand bed, shrimp and maybe even fish.I know in a small tank like yours it may not be easy to find a powerhead that wont blow the sand out of the tank but they are out there.

[Beamooplah]

Thanks for advice. I did not know about killing everything in the sand! I don't have any fish though and this is why I wanted to use meds before adding anything. I just have live rock with Xenia and some other live rock usuals. So you still say medicine is not the way to go.

I'll try the powerheads 1st. If it doesn't work, I still might use the meds but only if I could suck out most of the flatworms.
Thanks, Shawn

[Marc Smith]

Syphon out as many as you can. This step is important. Add "Flat worm exit" Per instructions. This stuff is a knock out, and a half. Run some carbon in your sump afterwards, and heavy skimming. Water change wouldn't hurt. Also if your useing ozone turn it off durning this period.

the reason for the syphon stage is as follows: When you use "Flat worm Exit" the flat worms when the die excret a toxic spew, and to much of this spew can cause issues in the tank.

Good luck my friend!

~The Hermit

[NATIVEVAMAN]

I agree with the siphoning part,but once again I will say,if you cant test for it dont put it in your tank.A poison is a poison and as stated there is no poison specific to flat worms,none.So flat worms is not all that will end up dead.

[Marc Smith]

Treated with it here with not one issue. Not one corals loss or fish looking ill. All flatworms gone. Not one to found.

A flatworm infestation can be a ton worse than you can imagine than adding Flat Worm exit.

[NATIVEVAMAN]

I am sure no corals suffered from it and I doubt any fish had a problem as well.There pathology is entirely different.What about all the benificial worms in the sand bed?Those worms that work as part of the denitrification system?What about an amonia spike from all those critters dieing at once?One of the worst things that amonia does is attack the gills of the fish,causing extreme discomfort,disrupting there ability to take in oxygen.It effects there eyes and maybe even there digestive tract.The chemistry of every tank is different and just because it didnt seem to effect your tank doesnt mean it wont effect others.Especially new systems that are not completely stable.Any unknown levels of anything in a tank totaly effect its biology.Your tank is a closed biosphere and a little bit of anything can cause severe problems.

[Beamooplah]

All point are good but it sounds like one is talking from knowledge and one is talking about experience.

[NATIVEVAMAN]

And what if that knowledge came from experience?Isnt that the way it goes,we learn from our mistakes?

[Beamooplah]

True. It just sounds like you've never had them and this guy has. I could be wrong, no big deal. I take life experience advice over book knowledge. Sorry if I have offended anyone.

If it will make you fell better, I going with more flow over meds. I just purchase more powerheads and it already seems like it's working.

Thanks for everyones help, Shawn

[AMS]

certain wrasses are big flat worm predators....siphon out as many as you can, kick the flow velocity up, and try maybe a six-lined wrasse. i can't remember exactly which wrasses prey on FWs, but it seems to me that every one of my tanks has a combination of a 4 or 6 lined wrasse and mandarin gobies as well as various pseudochromis, and i have never seen FWs in any of them. however, i know people who have reefs who have FW problems.

[NATIVEVAMAN]

Beam trust me,I am not offended.But let me say that I have had a salt water tank in one form or another since 1966.Back then there were no protien skimmmers or live rock,and a lot of the fish you see today were not even collected in those days because there life expectancy was about 3 days.If there is some kind of critter that can fowl up a tank,I have had them.And yes I have book knowledge because I read something about this hobby every day and not just here in this forum.Also I put some of those articles in this forum for others to read. I might also say that if it wasnt for a few people in this forum with a heap of book knowledge and practicle knowledge the forum would be gone.It would be unimaginable to me for someone to spend the enormous amounts of money they spend on reef tanks not finding every scrap of info they can from any source they can.Sure I take a hard line and get the reputation for being a purest,I dont like the idea of useing chemicals that cant be tested for.I often take a hard line against anecdotal information"my friend phil said...........".But by no means do I attempt to make law out of it.And just because I disagree with someone doesnt mean we need to meet out in the parking lot lol.If you ask a question in here you will get at least 5 opinions.Then it becomes your job to decide which one is correct.How do you decide that?Buy vote?A show of hands?No,you get a book and read it.Book knowledge.To tell you the truth I dont want you or anyone else to believe a word I say. I want you to find written proof that I am wrong.And it wont hurt my feelings a bit.

[AMS]

Originally Posted by NATIVEVAMAN

.Sure I take a hard line and get the reputation for being a purest,I dont like the idea of useing chemicals that cant be tested for..

absolutely.....rule #1 in any kind of ecosystem management is that chemicals should always, ALWAYS be a last resort. at best they are band-aids and while they may temporarily solve the problem, you're not addressing the bigger picture of management.