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kellerexpress 
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 Topic: Polyclad Flatworm-CAUGHT-PICS!
Posted: October 01 2010 at 3:26pm |
So lately Ive noticed my snails have been disappearing at an alarming rate, just piles of shells everywhere. Also my cleaner shrimp went MIA. I was looking in the tank the other night with a flashlight and saw what I believe to be a large polyclad flatworm in the process of killing a snail! He was in a really tight area so catching him wasnt an option. Ive read these guys are bad predators of snails and clams, so he needs to go!
Anyone have any suggestions on how to catch this thing?
Edited by kellerexpress - October 21 2010 at 9:56pm
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IM 30L
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SGH360
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Posted: October 01 2010 at 4:06pm |
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Being a Flatworm, FWE will do the the trick just a predatory rather than a parasitic flatworm some are neat looking
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kellerexpress
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Posted: October 01 2010 at 5:35pm |
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I thought about using fwe, but this guy is pretty big Im worried about the toxins it will release when it dies in my tank. It is neat looking, too bad its killing things.
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IM 30L
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SGH360
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Posted: October 01 2010 at 6:14pm |
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well if thats the case do it at night when hes active, once you spotted the flatworm. dose the recommended amount if you know for sure thats the only one that you have, once its done get ready for that thing to float and grab so it wont realase the toxins inside the tank. once that is finish add Carbon to remove the medication. I personally did not have that dangerous amount of flatworms the parasatic kind, if they dont float manually remove them from where they are stuck.
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kellerexpress
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Posted: October 01 2010 at 10:23pm |
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After doing some more reading it turns out fwe doesn't work on these guys.
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IM 30L
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: October 02 2010 at 8:22am |
I wonder if Levamisole might work.  If it's large enough to see, eventually you will be able to catch it.
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SGH360
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Posted: October 02 2010 at 3:30pm |
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i guess physical removal is the only option. you can use a snail as bait and wait until it comes out and try to eat it
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kellerexpress
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Posted: October 02 2010 at 4:25pm |
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ya you may be right, I guess ill have to turn an astrea upside down, and let the waiting begin....
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IM 30L
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kellerexpress
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Posted: October 21 2010 at 9:54pm |
GOT HIM!!! Came home from work this morning and finally caught a glimpse on this pest. Half hour later, tank torn apart, half my corals in buckets, I got him! It was huge, like 3-4 inches when spread out. Too bad its a predator because it sure is cool looking, its killed like 40-50 snails in my tank at least. Check out the pics!
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IM 30L
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Jeffs_little_ocean
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Posted: October 21 2010 at 10:05pm |
I had one of those in my tank for months. It was very peaceful and never touched any snails. Yours must have been posessed lol
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Life is good....right?
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SGH360
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Posted: October 21 2010 at 10:11pm |
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yea i saw your post jefflittleocean, same kind it reminded of you right away. that thing is disgusting, i seen cooler ones than this one.
Edited by SGH360 - October 21 2010 at 10:13pm
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kellerexpress
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Posted: October 21 2010 at 10:37pm |
 Jeffs_little_ocean wrote:
I had one of those in my tank for months. It was very peaceful and never touched any snails. Yours must have been posessed lol |
Must have been, there are empty snail shells everywhere.
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IM 30L
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Jeffs_little_ocean
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Posted: October 21 2010 at 10:57pm |
It lived under a rock and only came out a night and cleaned the sandbed. I never noticed any empty snailshells in my tank, I must have had a less agressive one or something? I left it in there for so long because I thought it was a nudibranch lol
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Life is good....right?
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SGH360
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Posted: October 21 2010 at 11:38pm |
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if you still have it put it on Fresh water to see it squirm
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kellerexpress
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Posted: October 22 2010 at 12:17am |
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I flushed it, I'm sure it squirmed.
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IM 30L
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Deluxe247
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Posted: October 24 2010 at 10:46pm |
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Just curious how your snails are doing now with the flatworm gone. BTW, the empty shells didn't have holes in the top did they (signs of a mantis)?
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kellerexpress
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Posted: October 25 2010 at 10:20pm |
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No holes, I witnessed this flatworm killing them so I'm pretty sure it was the problem. They feed on snails and clams.
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IM 30L
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SGH360
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Posted: October 25 2010 at 10:22pm |
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do they reproduce like those planaria flatworms?
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SmokeyBear
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Posted: November 23 2010 at 4:02pm |
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I just pulled two of these out of my holding tank. And just as you said, they were huge. (as far as flatworms go)
They were beautiful though, one was bluish with speckles, and the other green with speckles. Leary of most hitchhikers, I threw them out and then started reading about them. I wish I would have read before tossing them out. May have kept them.
They were hiding under a flat rock.
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