PDA

View Full Version : Little red things everywhere??


mattincta
08/20/2006, 10:52 AM
I have little red things taking over my tank!! There about 1/8” long and there’re a translucent red color. They almost look tube shaped and they move similar to a snail. They are all over my sand, rock, and the grass and are multiplying quickly. What are they and how do I get rid of them?

shivametimbas
08/20/2006, 10:57 AM
they are probably flatworms. siphon them out, and maybe use flatworm exit. do a search for flatworm exit, or flatworms.

mattincta
08/20/2006, 11:09 AM
Thanks!! Thats what they are.

Ne0eN
08/20/2006, 11:34 AM
They are mostly harmless, but they do get out of control rather quickly. I believe there is nudibranch that feeds on them exclusively.

-- Rob

davocean
08/20/2006, 12:40 PM
Clear ones are fairly harmless, but the red ones can do alot of damage.
Flatworm exit seems to be what most use.
The blue velvet nudibranch is the one that eats them, but only eats them, so when flatworms are gone, so is their food source.
I'd do flatworm exit.

mattincta
08/20/2006, 02:26 PM
What do I need to do about toxins from the die off of the flatworms? There out of control in my tank and I’m worried that there are so many there will be a high level of toxins released after using the flatworm exit. How do I control or prevent this?

wakskat
08/20/2006, 02:37 PM
Siphon as many of the worms out as you can find before you dose the flatworm exit. Then dose, siphon all the extra worms that die and start appearing out of no where, replace the siphoned water with new water and put fresh carbon to absorb the nasties about 1hr after you dose the tank. Wait one week and repeat to get all the worms that have hatched since the last dose( flatworm exit doesn't kill all the eggs) and sometimes dose again a week after that to make sure you get them all. That is how I have gotten rid of them twice now.

Mark

mattincta
08/20/2006, 03:01 PM
Thanks Mark, I give that a shot

rdmpe
08/21/2006, 11:32 AM
If you want to avoid FWE, try this...

Put a kneehigh nylon stocking over the end of some tubing and siphone as many fw as possible into the stocking which is in a bucket (sump if you have one). So the FW will not die right away and you can dump the water back into your tank. Do this at least once per day if not twice. This should put a good dent in their population.

Now find yourself a coris wrasse, preferrably small since your tank is small. I have a Yellow Coris and an Elegant Coris and both eat those flatworms. Keep siphoning until you can't find any to siphon.