Flatworm question

[bigned]

I recently had a flatworm outbreak and used flatworm exit which killed most of them but a few still remain(that I can see at least). I am in the process of a tank upgrade but will not have the new system running for another month or so. I am breaking down the old tank tomorrow and wanted to keep the water and LR in a rubbermaid container w/ a powerhead and do water changes. Ideally I would use that water and rock to get the new tank started. I am wondering if I should ditch that plan all together since the rock will still have a few flatworms with it. Will a month in a rubbermaid with just the rock and water starve them as I will not be feeding anything? Or would increasing the salinity in that water kill them off at a certain point? Basically is it worth keeping the LR and water that I know has flatworms and attempt to treat it or just scrap the idea and start from scratch with the new tank? Thanks for any input.

[tmgrash]

Most flat worms are harmless if not helpful, eating detrius, algae, providing food for your fish, etc... Unless they were aefw I dont think you should be concerned.

[divewsharks]

+1. if they are normal flatworms, they are nothing worth stressing over unless the population gets out of control.

[tarantula]

If your keep your water quality up the Flatworms will eventually die off. Make sure also thier is little detritus, as you may notice they seem to thrive on it. Back in the day when I had a prism skimmer they were rampant until I hooked up my Remora and noticed a huge die-off. The few that were left I used Melvs. Idea of a homemade trap using airline tubing and pantyhose. That did them in LOL! Also like the prev. posts said, they never did any harm, just really ugly!:sad1:

[SDguy]

I'm assuming these are the standard nuisance red planaria? If so, they are not beneficial, and in large numbers can actually block light from corals by covering them. Not to mention they are just unsightly!

Sounds like you just need a stronger dose of the FWE. Since most of them are already gone, you are past the "dangerous" stage of mass die-off. Here's what I would do. Collect several live FW into a cup of tank water with known exact volume. Then add the FWE drop-wise until all are 100% dead. You can then estimate how much FWE you will need to really kill the remaining FW. FWE is a surprisingly specific killer, so I wouldn't worry too much about going over the recommended dose.

[Beaun]

When my brother changed tanks he had a huge population, too big for FWE without die off. He had a 5 gallon bucket with water from the tank and a HUGE does of FWE, as in we just squirted a bunch in there. When each rock came out of the tank we washed it in the FWE bucket for a minute or two, rinsed it in a second clean water bucket and then put them into their transportation containers. This worked really well as no fish got exposed to the FWE or the toxins from the FW dieing.

[bigned]

Thanks for the responses. I just wanted to try and avoid buying more FWE if possible. I thought I heard high salinity will kill them, can anybody confirm that? Since it would be just the LR in a rubbermaid container that would be an easy option just to jack up the salinity for a little while.

[bigned]

And yes the are the red planaria and they multiplied quite rapidly and were not pleasant looking in my tank. Just want to avoid bringing them into the new tank.

[SDguy]

I personally would take the awesome opportunity of having all the rock in a bin and just nuke it with a heavy dose of FWE to be certain they are all dead. But that's just me :)

[38bill]

How about buying or borrowing a nice wrasse? I have flatworms in my sump but not a one to be seen in the display because of the fish.