Flatworms

[littletiger]

I been noticing there is a bunch of brown flatworms growing on my live rocks. Anyone have suggestions on how to get rid of them?

[fkshiu]

They are probably acoel flatworms. They are not harmful per se, but are unsightly and can smother corals by sheer numbers.

The simplest method of control is to siphon as many out as possible during water changes. Certain wrasses, such as yellow/banana wrasse, six-line wrass and christmas wrasses have been known to eat these flatworms although there is no guarantee.

Various de-wormer medications have been used successfully to combat flatworms infestations. Commercially available remedies include Salifert's Flatworm Exit and Flatworm Control by Blue Life. "Levamisole" is a veterinary de-wormer used for livestock which some people have also used with success. Google it along with "reef tank" and you should come up with other people's trial and error dosing instructions.

If you do choose the medication route, be sure to follow the instructions to a T. Flatworms release toxins when they die and a mass die-off could poison your tank. You MUST do a big waterchange after dosing when the worms begin to die.

Feeding less, lowering your bioload, increasing skimming and bumping up flow are other basic strategies that will make it more difficult for flatworms to prosper. They tend to thrive in nutrient-rich, low flow environment.

[Barrie]

We had excellent success with a yellow coris wrasse.

[littletiger]

Thanks I will try those methods. =)