Is Flatworm Exit safe for clams?

[Gyr]

My tank has developed a red flatworm problem. They had been pretty well localized to my mushroom corals, but now are starting to show up on my montipora and fox coral in small numbers. I plan to do a treatment with Flatworm Exit and I've read that others haven't had a toxicity problem with other tank inhabitants as long as they decrease flatworm population as much as possible before treatment, run carbon and water change after treatment, but I've not been able to find any comments specifically about safety of use in tanks containing clams. I have a blue Maxima, and wonder if other clam-keepers have had problems with FWE.
Thanks,
Kurt

[rmyers3rd]

I don't know about with clams but be very careful with flatworm exit. When they start to die, there may be way more than you are expecting. I thought I had the population down to a minimum but when the die-off started I was shocked. Start to syphon as soon as they start floating and try to pull out as many as possible. It is gonna stink too. My girlfriend was gagging. Sorry I can't be any help with the clams but just wanted to give a heads up. Exit works great but man is it rough stuff

[Gyr]

Thanks for the heads-up. I plan to be ready with a new load of ROX carbon in my reactor and a large amount of fresh saltwater to do a big water change so I can siphon out as many of the dying critters as possible.
Do most FWE users replace the post-treatment carbon sooner than they would have if they hadn't used the FWE? If so, how long do you usually wait after the FWE treatment before pulling out/replacing the carbon?
Kurt

[moevilla]

I recently dosed with flat worm exit. I used 3x the amount they recommend to ensure I eliminated all flatworms. My crocea clam survived. But I lost a lot of sps, most of my bristle worms and serpent stars and some snails. Make sure you are ready with the water change and the siphoning. I waited about 45 minutes after the dosing. Probably 15 min too long.

[rmyers3rd]

If I remember correctly, I started carbon as soon as the die-off started and then replaced my carbon about an hour or so after treatment. I can't remember the exact timeframe but when you smell the dead critters you will understand why. It is a terrible smell. They say it is the toxins form the fflatworms that kill livestock and I am not surprised.

[rmyers3rd]

I think I replaced my carbon again the next day just to be safe. May have been a little over the top but I was trying to save my livestock. Still ended up losing my blue-jaw trigger and my powder brown tang

[Gyr]

Yikes! Now I'm getting worried. Right now, well over 95% of the (visible) flatworms are on my mushroom corals, and most of those are on easily removable rocks. I had planned on removing those and treating them in a bucket of FWE dosed tank water, then dosing the rest of the tank, running carbon, big water change, etc...But after hearing the losses you guys have had in fish and coral maybe I'll just try doing the removable mushroom rock treatment and skip the full tank treatment. My fox coral seems a bit unhappy about the flatworms, but if I can keep knocking out the majority of flatworms by bucket treatments of the mushroom rocks I think I can live with the few numbers of flatworms in the rest of the tank. I worry, however, that there are MANY more flatworms then I am actually seeing and that treatment of just the mushroom rocks would therefore not remove a significant proportion of the tank's total load.
Have others noticed that flatworms really congregate on mushroom corals? If so, I guess I could use the mushroom rocks as 'bait,' and perhaps by frequently removing the rocks for treatment when the mushrooms load up with flatworms I might be able to keep the whole tank's FW population under control.
If it works, I could buy an old ice cream truck, mount a huge flatworm on the roof and make a living driving from reefer's house to reefer's house trapping and eliminating the pest from their tanks....
Okay, I'm rambling here. Time to shut up and post a few photos of the FW's on my mushrooms and the relatively less amount on my Fox coral (the next most favorite place for my FWs to hang out):

http://reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=648&pictureid=7755

http://reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=648&pictureid=7754

[tektite]

Though I do think its a good idea to pull the rocks with the worst flatworm problem out and dose them alone, also dose the main tank. Otherwise you'll never be free of the flatworms. Hopefully with the mushroom rocks out there won't be too many left in the main tank to cause problems.

Also make sure to dose twice, about a week apart to catch any last flatworms. I needed to dose about 3x the recommended dosage in my tank to knock out the flatworms on my elegance, but you'll be able to see them die and know how much you need to use.

[Gyr]

Moevilla, I am glad to hear your crocea handled the FWE treatment well. Anyone else have experience with clams in tanks treated with FWE? I imagine tektite is right about poor success without treating whole tank.
Kurt

[Just Jim]

best bet is to pull the clams out and put them in your sump (with your tank closed off from your sump) while your powerhead circulates the poison in your tank. Then do a nice sized water change and put your clams back...

[returnofsid]

FWE will not have any ill effect on your clams. I've treated all of my tanks, each containing several clams. Never had any issues at all. I've always treated 3X the recommended dosage also.

[windupdevl]

I just recently used FWE on my 180 gallon tank. I had a pretty bad infestation of planaria, to the point it was killing my mushrooms off, so I decided to nuke them. I used the whole bottle.....no carbon afterwards....and did a water change a few hours later. I never experienced the "smell" that is being referred to above. I have multiple clams in my tank....a ton of euphyllia, mushrooms, zoas, palys and a couple large sarcophytons....not to mention all of my fish......The only death that I saw was the flatworms, a few of my bristleworms, and a few of my tiny serpent stars......Beyond that, everything started looking great again after the water change.....

[tufacody]

I dosed FWE last year. It knocked my snails for a loop, but clam was unaffected.

[rmyers3rd]

Just to add, after the treatment I saw a few flatworms about a week later. I added a yellow wrasse--no more flatworms to be seen. In fact, when he would swim under the light at a certain direction you could see his belly full of red flatworms. I wish I would have tried to get a pic because it was wicked. the yellow wrasse is another option.

[Gyr]

Thanks for the info, everyone. I have a wrasse already, a really nice looking and well-adjusted two spot hogfish, that apparantly has no interest in eating flatworms. My tank is a 55 gallon and I doubt 2 wrasses would do well in there. Even if I could catch my hogfish, I'd rather not replace him with a different wrasse. I hought about the blue vlevet nudibranch, too, but their poor survival in tanks and intolerance of high flow made this option less than ideal.
I was thinking about moving as much of my livestock to my sump as possible and then treating just the display, but I suspect I have some flatworms in there, too (I sometimes run my system without a sump sock), so I might retain a bioload of FWs in the sump if i do it that way.
I guess I'll procede with the whole system treatment (once I get the Flatworm Exit) and be agressive about carbon and water change.
Glad to hear others had no problem with their clams wityh this treatment.
Thanks again,
Kurt