AEFW Vs Red Planaria

[madkeenreefer]

Do Red Planaria infact consuming tissue like the AEFW or are they just scavenging on the dead coral tissue?

[madkeenreefer]

Anyone? Red Planaria = Flat Worm

[MechEng99]

Red Planaria to my understanding are photosynthetic, so they just cover coral in search of a good spot to lay out and get some rays. (Corals are usually in higher light areas, so the red planaria often lay on top of the corals or around them to take advantage of the light - nothing to do with the coral itself.) As far as I'm aware, they don't actually eat any dead coral tissue. If you're having an issue with tissue loss on your corals, it could be from the toxins red planaria release as they die or from other issues.

[Coral Addict]

How do u completely get rid of red planaria?

[jbanks]

flatworm exit... Before treatment, try to siphon as many of the pests out as you can.. When they die, they release a toxin that is harmful to your fish. Try to get as many out as possible before treatment to avoid issues. Once they're gone, be sure to dip new corals in an iodine solution like Tropic Marin Pro Coral Cure for at least 10-50 minutes. This will help rid new additions of flatworms before you introduce any new coral to your tank.. After they're all gone it would also be a god idea to put a few wrasses from the Halichoeres family in your tank for good measure. They are good hunters and love to chow on flatworms (both Types)...

Just as a note, flatworm exit will not help you with AEFWs.. Good luck.

[MechEng99]

Great article on treatment methods - eradication depends on what TYPE of red planaria you have - flatworm exit doesn't work well on some types. Unfortunately, Flatworm Exit is the best known (at least to me) in-tank treatment. Some wrasses just take in the flatworms and spit them back out (so it just looks like they're eating them...so watch out for there.) There are also flatworm eating nudibranchs, but they won't ever fully eradicate them, but may starve in the hunt for them.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2009/4/aafeature2

[Reefaddictor]

velvet nudi branch will be helpful in eliminating those planaria. and again AEFW is totally different story.

[madkeenreefer]

Red Planaria to my understanding are photosynthetic, so they just cover coral in search of a good spot to lay out and get some rays. (Corals are usually in higher light areas, so the red planaria often lay on top of the corals or around them to take advantage of the light - nothing to do with the coral itself.) As far as I'm aware, they don't actually eat any dead coral tissue. If you're having an issue with tissue loss on your corals, it could be from the toxins red planaria release as they die or from other issues.
Thanks for the info, and all the responses