Flatworm Exit - Tips on how to treat

[saltman123]

I was hoping a few people who have done a Flatworm Exit treatement could share any info and tips to make this process as painless as possible.

I plan to suction as many as I can out with a turkey baster. There are probably under 30 so I may be able to suck them all out. I suctioned about half out once and it looks like they have populated and are back. My plan is to suction then all out, and then do the treatement for the stragglers I don't see visually on the glass.

Someone suggested that I have a decent amount of salt water mixed up and ready. To do the treatement, then change out 50% of the water, and then a gallon or two ever other day for a week or two.

Anyone else have any specific pointers?

Turn the pumps off and dose the tank? Then wait for the worms to float up and take them out/suction them out of the tank? How long do I wait? How much should I dose? ANY POINTERS APPRECIATED.

I have a 12 gallon aquapod tank. I think I have flatworms. They are creme colored little flatworm looking things that are on the glass only. Not near the polyps or mushrooms but I don't have any hard corals.

[dc]

I believe following the instructions explicitly is important. Have you checked down in the salifert forum?

http://reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?forumid=196

[auto_loader]

if you have any crabs or shrimp that you want to save make sure you get them out or they will most likely die.
I think your plan sounds good and if your population of FW is small like it sounds then the treatment should be an easy one. Just follow the directions and have a water change ready.

[amike5]

I am also about to run flatworm exit on my 95 gallon; is it the flatworm exit or the toxins from the flatworms that are a danger to my shrimps and crabs? I don't think I would be able to get them all out; but I surely don't wanna loose them. It was my understanding that FW exit was safe for all reef inhabitants.

[Swanwillow]

I was naughty with mine.

the drops thing wasn't working, and I had a lot. so I squirted. Run carbon ASAP when they start flying into the water!!! nothing died, nothing even flinched in my tank when I did it, but other people may have had other problems

[auto_loader]

Actually I made a mistake in my response. The FW exit wont hurt the shrimps and crabs. There is a treatment for red bugs using interceptor that will kill the crustaceans which I was getting confused. Ive done both treatments in the past. The toxins from the FW is what is the area of concern. Just be ready with the Carbon and water change as the directions state.

[amike5]

Ok, thanks for the info; I'm much less stressed about it now. :-)

[Snakebyt]

make sure and have plenty of carbon on hand to run in some sort of canister filter

[saltman123]

I've read that the FW exit isn't the toxic part, it is the toxins that the dead flatworms produce once they are dead.

Sounds like I just need to jump in and do. Wish me luck:)

[MimicTang]

if you have no hard coral they might just die off. I advise against flatworm exit. Think of it was dumping raid in your tank. You might think of tossing a CBS and see how he likes them. Else you might try removing your corals put them in a bucket and hypo the tank real fast. The shock should kill them off. Then put the salinity back and give the corals all a freshwater dip.

[SuperNerd]

I had a flatworm infestation a while ago too. Never used that stuff. Worms went away on their own. I still have a few here and there but nothing overwhelming.

[saltman123]

I've decided to go the natural way first and try to siphon them all out with a contraption like this from Melv's reef:
http://www.melevsreef.com/flatworms.html

Anyone know where I can get that ridgid type tube? Petco? PetSmart?Home Depot?

Also, do you think I can heat it up and give it a nice bend on the bottom so it is easy to suck these guys off the glass?