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Anonymous
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I should probably mention that the Chromis I used were larger than the ones I commonly see at the LFS. Probably 1" to 1.5". Maybe their diet gets more cosmopolitan when they get bigger.
What to do about flatworms
- Thread starter artistreefer
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Anonymous
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Matt_Wandell":ujo3l334 said:I dunno. I can see the problem you may have with recommending some of the fish you mentioned--dragon pipes, dragonets, etc. But these are Chromis Rich! People buy them in boatloads already, and they're easy to care for.It can't hurt to try it first.
http://reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t ... ms+chromis
Thanks for the link! I remember that now (I remembered the damsel part
) Aside from that guy, you are the only other person to mention chromis as FW eaters that I have seen.Could it hurt to try them first? I think only if you actually want to keep them.
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Anonymous
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Matt_Wandell":kj0q7dkz said:
AHA! :wink:
Matt_Wandell":34f71mfc said:
Yeah, the one freakin' time I didn't dip something, and I get FW :lol:
I just didn't want to stress it out with a dip, since you mentioned it wasn't doing too well at the time. Live and learn.
Anyway, I also did the research, wait and see approach that Rich did. There were enough success stories from expert hobbiests that I finally took the plunge.
artistreefer":fm6y8a2h said:I think for now I will try the natural way first, I didnt know this would be such a touchy subject
My bad about that. I just really hate adding anything to my tank unless I know exactly what it is and how it works. Call me paranoid.
If Rich and Karl use something you can bet your bottom dollar it's okay to add to your reef tank.Please do try to add some Chromis though. I wish more people would try it. Specifically try large individuals of C. viridis.
Unarce":1lkc4dzx said:Well, I tried to live with them for a year (thanks to Mr. Wandell :lol: ), but once you have them, they never really go away. The numbers can die down to a point where you don't see them, but they're there. Even at super low nutrients, they'll just live off of photosynthesis.
I tried the natural method for a few months, as I was terrified with going the chemical route. The two C. varians and school of C. viridis helped out a bit, but never enough to get the ones hiding deep within crevices. The C. varians could only consume some much at a time, and the C. viridis will only eat them when they're in the water column.
I felt I had no other choice
Had em, went away, and haven't come back in two years. Had em when I first started, lasted a month, system never had them again. Dunno why they're so hard for others to get rid of, mine were easy :roll: Guess I got the luck
<knocks on wood>artistreefer,
Good luck with the natural method.
Another factor that you can bring is oxygen levels. The FW suffer greatly, and almost always die off in low oxygen tanks (i.e. high fish load). This wasn't possible for me, as my cube has a very large surface area, proportional to the tank, along with a needlewheel skimmer.
Good luck with the natural method.
Another factor that you can bring is oxygen levels. The FW suffer greatly, and almost always die off in low oxygen tanks (i.e. high fish load). This wasn't possible for me, as my cube has a very large surface area, proportional to the tank, along with a needlewheel skimmer.
The cute little blue ones?
Yes, the tanks that have chromis in them do not have flatworms. I can't put a chromis in my reef because I have the sexiest lionfish in there....(He thinks chromis are snacks....).
When I first realized I had them, they were in my reef, my seahorse refugium, my dwarf seahorse tank, my sump but not in my FOWLER tank. I was trying to figure out which fish or invert was keeping the FO clean of them for a few weeks while the other tanks started to go crazy with them.
One day I saw a chromis snick the rocks and I tried putting one in my seahorse tank. Took a bit before I knew he was eating them, then I put one in the sump, moved the dwarfs and put one in there...
I'll get a pic for you and you can help me ID the little guys?
Yes, the tanks that have chromis in them do not have flatworms. I can't put a chromis in my reef because I have the sexiest lionfish in there....(He thinks chromis are snacks....).
When I first realized I had them, they were in my reef, my seahorse refugium, my dwarf seahorse tank, my sump but not in my FOWLER tank. I was trying to figure out which fish or invert was keeping the FO clean of them for a few weeks while the other tanks started to go crazy with them.
One day I saw a chromis snick the rocks and I tried putting one in my seahorse tank. Took a bit before I knew he was eating them, then I put one in the sump, moved the dwarfs and put one in there...
I'll get a pic for you and you can help me ID the little guys?
My H. Melanurus:
Has done a great job of cleaning up the majority of the population and keeping it under control but doesn't look like it will make them extinct.
It has cleaned them up enough that I feel completely safe using eXit and doing a water change though.. - I had enough before this guy that I didn't feel safe with that at all.
Excellent personality, interesting behaviors and obviously vivid coloring. - I have a lemon damnsel bought on (bad) advice from Rick Preuss (and staff) which tried to get territorial with this guy but he just ignored it. (The damnsel has gotten even more territorial now that he's in there though, sucker took a nip at me while rearranging some zoas near its favorite hole.)
They can be hard to find at times from everything I've heard. - I had my LFS special order it and they had to fight off several other people who wanted to buy it out from under me.
Has done a great job of cleaning up the majority of the population and keeping it under control but doesn't look like it will make them extinct.
It has cleaned them up enough that I feel completely safe using eXit and doing a water change though.. - I had enough before this guy that I didn't feel safe with that at all.
Excellent personality, interesting behaviors and obviously vivid coloring. - I have a lemon damnsel bought on (bad) advice from Rick Preuss (and staff) which tried to get territorial with this guy but he just ignored it. (The damnsel has gotten even more territorial now that he's in there though, sucker took a nip at me while rearranging some zoas near its favorite hole.)
They can be hard to find at times from everything I've heard. - I had my LFS special order it and they had to fight off several other people who wanted to buy it out from under me.
Aerosmith":34j16oyz said:
Sure, although it sounds like C. viridis:
There is another chromis that is nearly identical, C. atripectoralis:
The only noticeable difference is the black spot at the base of the pectoral fin. It's doubtful this is the species you have, but just for clarification's sake I'd like to know.
Thanks for your story!
GratefulDiver":3mlsr5bt said:They can be hard to find at times from everything I've heard. - I had my LFS special order it and they had to fight off several other people who wanted to buy it out from under me.
Yeah. That and there are a lot of similar looking species that likely won't eat them. The tendency to eat FWs doesn't seem to be conserved throughout the genus. I know my H. iridis didn't touch them.
How big is your tank GD?
Yeah, I was worried I might end up with something different when I had my shop place the order (they weren't familiar with it) but they came through for me wonderfully.
I have him in a 12g cube... - He gets all but the ones in the tightest corners.
:lol:
j/k
Hes in a 72.. - He's ok for now but I may have to start looking before long, yeah..
Norm
I have him in a 12g cube... - He gets all but the ones in the tightest corners.
:lol:
j/k
Hes in a 72.. - He's ok for now but I may have to start looking before long, yeah..
Norm
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