I got flat worms, need Ideas to get rid of them
- Thread starter dmm32
- Start date
I tried Matt's "Flat Out" a while back and it shows great promise.
If you have a sump and a drip tray you can siphon flat worms all day long without losing water. Just lay a double over piece of filter floss on top of the drip tray and siphon with about a .5" diameter hose from the main tank. The flatworms are too large to pass through the floss and get trapped there. Be sure to discard the floss after use. I would recommend using this techinque to reduce numbers prior to using medication to kill them. I would also suggest a water partial after the medication does its job.
If you have a sump and a drip tray you can siphon flat worms all day long without losing water. Just lay a double over piece of filter floss on top of the drip tray and siphon with about a .5" diameter hose from the main tank. The flatworms are too large to pass through the floss and get trapped there. Be sure to discard the floss after use. I would recommend using this techinque to reduce numbers prior to using medication to kill them. I would also suggest a water partial after the medication does its job.
Well
For what its worth I havent had a flatworm since I used the greenex. I treasure my tanks and I thought about for weeks and I tried and not on single animal suffed and the acros didnt flinch. The key is get the carbon running and skimmer wide open they die fast and the carbon and the skimmer will get the stuff out quick. Ive seen thid done 3 times with no problems.
David
For what its worth I havent had a flatworm since I used the greenex. I treasure my tanks and I thought about for weeks and I tried and not on single animal suffed and the acros didnt flinch. The key is get the carbon running and skimmer wide open they die fast and the carbon and the skimmer will get the stuff out quick. Ive seen thid done 3 times with no problems.
David
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by cwa46:
<strong>Please explain how you used the Greenex. I might try it.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Go back to page 2, about halfway down, and you will find a log of the way I did it which is essentially the same way dmm32 did it.
RR
<strong>Please explain how you used the Greenex. I might try it.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Go back to page 2, about halfway down, and you will find a log of the way I did it which is essentially the same way dmm32 did it.
RR
OK, let me start by saying I am not a big advocate for dumping in chemicals into my reef to resolve issues like Ich, hair algae, etc.
With that being said, I have just won a battle that I have been fighting for the past four months. I picked up some corals from a guy that was breaking down his tank and there were some flatworms that hitch-hiked for the ride. Within a month, my 75G tank was crawling with them. I tried siphoning, but it was a losing battle and fresh water rinses were impractical as I have 90 lbs. of LR. Many of the pieces wouldn't fit in a 5 gal. bucket.
I was very reluctant to use Greenex, but it was impossible to enjoy my tank! I would have to look through the front pane of glass that was covered with tens-of-thousands of FWs! The rocks were crawling with them. I even noticed that my yellow polyps and green mushrooms would detract whenever they made contact with the evil beasts!
I followed Righty's directions and had a large tupperware container filled with fresh salt water at the ready expecting the worst.
At first, I was disappointed because the worms didn't really convulse or writhe as descirbed by Righty
but at the same time neither were my snails and the polyps on all of my corals never flinched. After 4.5 hours, I turned on the pumps and the water column was filled with lifeless FWs. I let my carbon laden Magnum run overnight. When I woke up the next morning, almost all of the FWs had been eradicated. ...WITHOUT A SINGLE LOSS TO THE GOOD GUYS!!! Even the pods seemed relieved to be able to run around on the live rock now that the un-invited guests had been ousted!
Now I did say that ALMOST all of the FWs were gone. I followed up later that afternoon with another treatment, this time only a 25% dose for three hours. It's been three days now and I haven't seen a single rouge FW sliming around.
My hats off to DMM32 and Righty for having the guts to try something like this in the first place! And Righty, thanks for writing the procedure down in such detail. I am convinced that the method of delivery was key to it's effectiveness.
-E!
With that being said, I have just won a battle that I have been fighting for the past four months. I picked up some corals from a guy that was breaking down his tank and there were some flatworms that hitch-hiked for the ride. Within a month, my 75G tank was crawling with them. I tried siphoning, but it was a losing battle and fresh water rinses were impractical as I have 90 lbs. of LR. Many of the pieces wouldn't fit in a 5 gal. bucket.
I was very reluctant to use Greenex, but it was impossible to enjoy my tank! I would have to look through the front pane of glass that was covered with tens-of-thousands of FWs! The rocks were crawling with them. I even noticed that my yellow polyps and green mushrooms would detract whenever they made contact with the evil beasts!
I followed Righty's directions and had a large tupperware container filled with fresh salt water at the ready expecting the worst.
At first, I was disappointed because the worms didn't really convulse or writhe as descirbed by Righty
but at the same time neither were my snails and the polyps on all of my corals never flinched. After 4.5 hours, I turned on the pumps and the water column was filled with lifeless FWs. I let my carbon laden Magnum run overnight. When I woke up the next morning, almost all of the FWs had been eradicated. ...WITHOUT A SINGLE LOSS TO THE GOOD GUYS!!! Even the pods seemed relieved to be able to run around on the live rock now that the un-invited guests had been ousted!Now I did say that ALMOST all of the FWs were gone. I followed up later that afternoon with another treatment, this time only a 25% dose for three hours. It's been three days now and I haven't seen a single rouge FW sliming around.
My hats off to DMM32 and Righty
for having the guts to try something like this in the first place! And Righty, thanks for writing the procedure down in such detail. I am convinced that the method of delivery was key to it's effectiveness.-E!
E!,
Glad to hear my log of the greenex treatment was useful to you, and that the treatment worked.
I did the treatment again the other day to get rid of the stragglers. It worked. I am actually convinced now that you could mix up some greenex in a cup with some water and target blast FW infested areas, wait a while, do a water change and run some carbon with no problems. Perhaps even just target them and run some carbon.
Hopefully, though, I will never have to test this out.
RR :mrgreen:
Glad to hear my log of the greenex treatment was useful to you, and that the treatment worked.
I did the treatment again the other day to get rid of the stragglers. It worked. I am actually convinced now that you could mix up some greenex in a cup with some water and target blast FW infested areas, wait a while, do a water change and run some carbon with no problems. Perhaps even just target them and run some carbon.
Hopefully, though, I will never have to test this out.
RR :mrgreen:
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