Orange spots on my mushrooms (pics)

[Anonymous]

They are definitely some kind of animal, the spots are mobile. But the way they move is interesting. They don't just slide around, they actually ball up into a little sphere and bounce a little, then flatten back out again.
These shrooms are pretty new, so these things came in from the LFS with them.
If you look really close, you can see each of them has a line in the center of it's body. I'm leaning towards flatworms/planarians. Does anyone know if any of these species predate on shrooms or are otherwise parasitic?

 

[MartinE]

I would say flatworms, dont now about parasitic or if there are parasitic ones, but they can overpopulate and smother corals.

 

[FragMaster]

Me too. Flat worms.
TRUST ME on this one, rid your tank of them with flat worm exit before it gets out of hand. it is not an "if" it is "when". The breed like rabbits and before you know it those little bastages will be all over everyting.

 

[Mihai]

Don't trust anybody . But yes, they are flatworms and, yes, they can get out of hand. However, at this point, I'd try to syphon them out. If they do get out of hand, this will probably not be an option.

M.

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah, I'm hoping I won't have to use any kind of chemical/poison to kill these.
So far though, they do not leave the surface of the shrooms. I was able to syphon off the half dozen I was able to see with the little dropper that came with a test kit. Guess I'll just have to wait and see if any come back.

 

[FragMaster]

Look closely at your substrate and you will see a BUNCH more.
Where the is 1 there is 100 more hiding.

 

[Anonymous]

Well, I had none before I got the shrooms. They had to come from the LFS. I'ts only been 6 days, so hopefully they can't reproduce that fast.
*crossing fingers*

 

[FragMaster]

LOL! Nah they cant that fast.

Thats how most people get them. From new specimens that came from infected tanks. Always dip your new coral. You can avoid , flat worms, zoanthid eating nudi's ( but not thier eggs), sundail snails, unwanted crabs and shrimp, a whole bunch of nasties.

 

[Anonymous]

Fresh water dip?

 

[FragMaster]

That will definately send them packng off of the rock and the coral.
But I would recommend a saltwater iodine dip before freshwater.
Less harsh on the coral.
You could also try some "Tectra-D" made by Kent Marine. Works great.

 

[Josh Weber]

agreed. iodine dips are common and work good. if you have a quarintine tank it would help, but if not, just keep an eye out for them

 

[jumpincactus]

Fragmaster talk to me more about the dipping process in more detail. Ratios,,, types,brands of iodine etc. I will as a newbie want to have every weapon I can have in my arsenal. I have never heard of this.

Thanks

 

[FragMaster]

Process using "Tectra-D": place 1 quart of tank water into a large enough container to submerge the coral fully. Place one capful ( 8 and 16 OZ bottles have the same capsize ) in water you have in the container.
Immerse the coral you wish to dip in to the solution and let is sit for 6-7 minutes.

Process using "Kent Marine Lugol's Iodine": (DO NOT dip anemones, or clams in an iodine based dip)
Use 40 drops per 1 gallon of tank water. immerse coral for 10-15 minutes.

You can use "Kent Marine Concentrated Iodine" as well. Use 1 gallon tank water and 20-25 drops of iodine.
Immerse the coral for 5 minutes or so.

 

[Quicksilver1972]

How fast will these bastages reproduce? We have seen 2 on our shrooms did not know what they were, thanks for the advice! (us damn NEWBIES)

 

[Anonymous]

See if this is what yours looks like. If it does, then it's not going to hurt anything in your tank.

http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet.cfm?base=onchid

 

[FragMaster]

How fast will these bastages reproduce? We have seen 2 on our shrooms did not know what they were, thanks for the advice! (us damn NEWBIES)

Very fast. With in a month you will have 50 more teeny tiny ones and so on. thats why I said check your substrate real good.When you cant see any on your glass they are usaly all over the substrate.

Its not a slug though its a flat "worm".
Use "flat worm exit" now before they multiply into greater numbers.

 

[Quicksilver1972]

Nope it looks like the pictures posted on this thread with the mushrooms, think we got them out today, will be watching, thanks for the advice!!!

 

[Anonymous]

Just as an update, I eventually was able to syphon up all 10 of the little guys that week. Haven't seen any since then, so I think I may have got them before they had a chance to breed. The shrooms are all clean now.

 

[FragMaster]

COOL!

 

[fyrefysh]

Hey jasen, how's the battle goin?