Two new guys...make that three thousand

[Krystin]

This morning I found two new creatures in my tank. The first was moving around on the glass (like a snail without a shell) and was about the size of a grain of rice.

The second is a small almost feather-duster looking thing that is growing up next to my button polyps. It retreats very quickly when it hears something or if I move quickly. It is in the photo below near the smaller, baby polyps, it is whiteish.

EEEEK! I also just noticed the thousands of "pods" that look like "microscopic white bugs" on the glass (taken from previous post). There are so many of them, should I just leave them?


~Krystin

 

[djconn]

Hey Krystin,
Sorry to be the one to have to tell you this but I'm almost positive that your photo is a flatworm. They can really become a nuisance in your tank and will mulitply like rabbits if given the chance. Some folks don't worry about them and let them 'run their course'. Others, like me, use a product called Flatworm Exit which will kill them or at least keep them at bay. I'll let you do the research and decide what route you want to take.
Here are a few posts from other members with similar problems:

http://www.nanotank.com/viewtopic.php?t ... =flatworms
http://www.nanotank.com/viewtopic.php?t ... =flatworms

Number 2 just looks like a tiny feather duster just as you said. I've got tons of those little guys in my tanks. They are awesome.

 

[Krystin]

Well, since I've only seen one flatworm so far and I don't have much in my tank yet (as far as fish and inverts go), I think I'll wait a bit and see what happens. Apparently I've had a huge increase in the copepod population, which I think the flat worms like. I read wetwebmedia a lot and they seem to say not to get too excited and upset about the flatworms until they become a noticable problem. Mine looks like the "Amphiscolops sp., a harmless acoel that "shows up" at times in reef tanks. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/flatworms.htm"
So, I won't use any chemicals in the tank until I have to. Also, I found this remedy:

"To rid your aquarium of pesky flatworms, try removing all your fish and placing them in a temporary holding tank. Then, increase the water temperature above 95°F for several hours. "

Don't know if that would work or not.

Well, I'm glad that you think I have a featherduster growing! You said you have a lot of them, did you purchase them or did they just keep appearing?

Thanks!
Krystin

 

[djconn]

Yeah, hopefully you won't see to many more of those little buggers. At least you've got them identified now.

Those tiny featherduster are just hitchhikers and came in/on my liverock. Most of them are very small. They are nice filter feeders.