Is my Reef Doomed?

[ReefJeff]

Hello Reefers,

I recently had an outbreak of Aiptasia anemones in my 50 gallon reef. I mean lots of them popping up everywhere. I picked up 3 peppermint shrimps as recommended by some members here, but still have many, many more.

Now, last night as I was working with a new wet/dry, I was getting tons of very small air bubbles coming out of the return hose, and with that, stirred up something in my tank and all of a sudden, I noticed quite a few red, spiny looking flat worms, about 4 to 5 inches.

Is my reef of only one year doomed with all this unwanted things growing in my tank?

My water parameters are all doing fine for now. Funny thing is, I have not added any rock in my tank in 6 months. Will all these kill my soft corals? Is this the reason why my fish hide all day long (3 maroon clowns, 3 damsels and a rabbit fish)?

 

[BackwerdsMan]

First off... Are you sure they are flat worms, and not bristle worms? Which are a good part of your CUC.

Second, if all your params are good, and your corals/fish are healthy... You really shouldn't be worrying too much. Aiptasia infestations are a pain to get rid of, but it isn't going to nuke your tank.

How long have you had the peppermints?

 

[Herefishyfishy]

No reason to worry, you have creatures propogating consuming excess nutrients. Remove what you don't like and lkeep the rest. The shrimps are a good addition. Make sure you have sufficient water changes and a decent skimmer and nature should do the rest.

 

[TJL]

+1 on Mikes (Herefishyfishy) advice. Being that your system is still fairly new and primarily softies ??? you might look into getting some Berghia Nudibranchs or a Copperband Butterfly fish to help you eliminate/control the Aiptasia. If you plan on adding or changing over to a mixed reef or SPS dominated system skip the Copperband. Aiptasia are a real PITA and if you can eliminate them before you add any stoney corals you'll be much happier. I successfully used a combination of the two in my mixed reef and haven't seen any for some time now !!!

Todd

 

[07FocusST]

smaller worms are mostly ok. Its when you find large bristle worms, thats when you have a problem. Typically smaller wrasses such as the 6-line wrasse will help out with some of the worm population. As for aptasia, ever consider a filefish?

 

[BackwerdsMan]

Its when you find large bristle worms, thats when you have a problem.

What problem is that? I have large bristles. No problems at all, everything is perfect. Hell, I haven't whitnessed my large bristles do anything but good things. Had a small Cyano outbreak when my tank first started... and I had my largest 5" bristle come out after lights out, and I sat and watched him devour most of it. Other than that, I always see them in low flow crevices where detritus piles up, chowin down.

They have a bad rap IMO.

 

[Herefishyfishy]

What problem is that? I have large bristles. No problems at all, everything is perfect. Hell, I haven't whitnessed my large bristles do anything but good things. Had a small Cyano outbreak when my tank first started... and I had my largest 5" bristle come out after lights out, and I sat and watched him devour most of it. Other than that, I always see them in low flow crevices where detritus piles up, chowin down.

They have a bad rap IMO.

You said it bro, they are just simple cleaners.

 

[Airphotog]

In my 130 that I had years ago I had quite a few large bristles and they never caused a problem unless I picked one up be mistake OUCH.

 

[moovinfast]

You sure you got peppermint shrimp and not camel shrimp? I got a pair and they took care of my aptasia. But if they dont work, or if you dont want to go the fish route, I would just inject them with vinegar from a small syringe. Thats what I do now. Works great, but it can be a PITA to get to them all sometimes.

 

[returnofsid]

Without pictures, or a better description, it's hard to be sure. BUT, what you're describing sounds like they're probably Bristle Worms.

Bristle worms are one of the most beneficial parts of a clean up crew, no matter the size. Of the thousand or so species of Bristle worms, there are a couple species that can become problems. However, those species are rarely found, in our hobby. NOW, as beneficial as they are, for our tanks, they can be very harmful to us tank keepers. DON'T touch them!! There's a reason they're nicknamed "Fire Worms!"

Moovinfast made a good point. Learn the difference between Peppermint Shrimp and Camel Shrimp. A lot of LFS even get them confused. Peppermint Shrimp are great, though hit and miss, when it comes to Aiptasia control. Camel Back Shrimp can and will eat your corals. They look quite similar.

There's a good chance that your fish are hiding all day, because they're having incompatibility issues. Having 3 Clown fish in a tank will almost always lead to problems. Having 3 of the most aggressive Clown fish, Maroons, is a disaster waiting to happen. Keep in mind that Clown Fish are Damsels. Most do and will get aggressive. Maroons are the most aggressive.

Depending on your 3 Damsels, and what species they are, they could be adding to any aggression issues.

I'd rethink your fish list and maybe try to remove a few fish, to be replaced by different options.

 

[King_Neptune]

3 little peppermints arent going to do much in a 50g that has a major outbeak.
They are hit and miss as it is.
I know im not going to be popular with my following recommendation:
Copperband butterfly.
They arent reef safe. But Mine has never so much as nipped at a coral. When I had him in QT for 3 weeks, I introduced LR infested with aptasia. When he went into my 125g tank...he destroyed it within a couple weeks. ANd eats prepared foods like a pig. I keep him fed and he keeps my aptasia down. But it is like having a loaded gun. But ive seen others do it...so I figured why not.

Was a great move on my part!

 

[King_Neptune]

And bristle worms are awesome! They keep their own population in check, over feed they increase...underfeed they diminish. A perfect balance to your eco system. The only real negative is it sux to get stung. But you should leave your rock work alone anyways.

 

[ReefJeff]

Thank you all for the great feedback on this thread. I belive after looking it up on line that they are indeed bristleworms. I won't panic now and will just work on those anemones.