WTB Springeri Damsel or other flatworm eating fish

[Pygo]

Looking to pick up a single springer’s damsel or other nano-compatible flatworm eater like a six line.

my LFS has yellow coris wrasses rn, so considering one of those if someone can vouch for them.
I have a ton of “red planaria” at the moment and nothing to eat it. Help a guy out!

I have an arrow crab, elephant slug, and fire shrimp, so something that won’t eat my larger inverts would be appreciated

located in Huntington 92648, but am in the Long Beach area for work, so somewhere in that vicinity is ideal.(

 

[joseserrano]

Planaria is an easy flatworm exit fix

 

[Pygo]

Planaria is an easy flatworm exit fix

True, but I have a metric shit ton of them and want to avoid the chemical route if possible.
Finally restocking the tank after an ich outbreak a few months ago, so I figured I might as well pick up a utilitarian fish while I’m at it

 

[BST310]

If your in LB check Age of Aquariums they usually have both of these available.

 

[Pygo]

If your in LB check Age of Aquariums they usually have both of these available.

Oh hell yeah they’re right up the road from me. I’ll check em out after work, thanks.

i have heard good things about this place, but have long since forgotten to visit lol

edit: bummer they’re closed on weekends apparently. If tong’s has nothing I’ll hit them up tomorrow

 

[drexel]

Spotted mandarins usually do a good job and I would avoid any chemical treatments with large populations.


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[BST310]

Oh hell yeah they’re right up the road from me. I’ll check em out after work, thanks.

i have heard good things about this place, but have long since forgotten to visit lol

edit: bummer they’re closed on weekends apparently. If tong’s has nothing I’ll hit them up tomorrow

That’s news to me you should call if you just checked google. They’re usually open Sat/Sun. Being one of the only LFS in my area open on Sunday has saved my butt countless times in a pickle.

 

[mattyzang]

 

[Pygo]

That’s news to me you should call if you just checked google. They’re usually open Sat/Sun. Being one of the only LFS in my area open on Sunday has saved my butt countless times in a pickle.

Yeah google is probably wrong.. their yelp page says they’re open w/ hours recently updated. I’ll check em out!

 

[Pygo]

Certainly worth noting. But I don’t necessarily consider his experience to debunk them as being flatworm eaters. As with any pest eater/utilitarian fish, it ultimately comes down to the individual fish and the conditions of the tank. The flatworms he mentions are not the usual “red planaria” that I have. So it’s possible they just don’t eat that specific type of worm. It’s possible whatever fish I end up getting is a flatworm demolisher or completely ignores them. I accept that risk and am cool with them being just another ornamental if they end up being useless I’ve had a few lawnmower/starry blennies that are absolutely useless for algae, but they’re goofy and fun to watch so I keep them anyway lol.

All that being said… if you have any other fish in mind, I’m open to suggestions! It’s a 30 long(IM30L) with a single clownfish and some inverts, so my stock choices are relatively open at the moment

 

[Pygo]

Certainly worth noting. But I don’t necessarily consider his experience to debunk them as being flatworm eaters. As with any pest eater/utilitarian fish, it ultimately comes down to the individual fish and the conditions of the tank. The flatworms he mentions are not the usual “red planaria” that I have. So it’s possible they just don’t eat that specific type of worm. It’s possible whatever fish I end up getting is a flatworm demolisher or completely ignores them. I accept that risk and am cool with them being just another ornamental if they end up being useless I’ve had a few lawnmower/starry blennies that are absolutely useless for algae, but they’re goofy and fun to watch so I keep them anyway lol.

All that being said… if you have any other fish in mind, I’m open to suggestions! It’s a 30 long(IM30L) with a single clownfish, a small starry blenny, and some inverts, so my stock choices are relatively open at the moment

 

[qchau]

Ellis aquatics can order for you if no one has them…i got 4 from him and all are doing great

 

[mattyzang]

Certainly worth noting. But I don’t necessarily consider his experience to debunk them as being flatworm eaters. As with any pest eater/utilitarian fish, it ultimately comes down to the individual fish and the conditions of the tank. The flatworms he mentions are not the usual “red planaria” that I have. So it’s possible they just don’t eat that specific type of worm. It’s possible whatever fish I end up getting is a flatworm demolisher or completely ignores them. I accept that risk and am cool with them being just another ornamental if they end up being useless I’ve had a few lawnmower/starry blennies that are absolutely useless for algae, but they’re goofy and fun to watch so I keep them anyway lol.

All that being said… if you have any other fish in mind, I’m open to suggestions! It’s a 30 long(IM30L) with a single clownfish and some inverts, so my stock choices are relatively open at the moment

fair enough, but i've had a springeri, an azure, and now a starcki and i can't say i've ever seen any of them behave overly benthic at all. i find the idea that they'd keep any flatworm population in check to be a hobby fairy tale, but just wanted to toss it out there so you weren't buying it with the idea that it'd be the cure for all that ails you. i'm all for springeris or chrysiptera in general, they're great little fish, i just doubt they do much on the flatworm front

i'd personally try to track down a pink streaked or possum wrasse, they'd probably be perfect for you. granted they seem pretty hard to find. if you're open to rehoming the fish when they get too large, and you have sand, i'd look into a small halichoeres or maybe a leopard wrasse. the yellow wrasse would probably work great, they come in tiny pretty readily so that'd work for a couple years until it gets large

a sixline would work, i just don't like that they get pretty aggressive in tanks. mostly to other labrids, but i had issues with one and a royal gramma in my old tank, so i wouldn't trust them much with a lot of other nano fish

i've never kept a mandarin, but i'd bet they'd put in more work on flatworms than most fish, maybe one of those tiny biota ones would work nicely if you're open to feeding it pellets pretty frequently as they're tiny

 

[Pygo]

fair enough, but i've had a springeri, an azure, and now a starcki and i can't say i've ever seen any of them behave overly benthic at all. i find the idea that they'd keep any flatworm population in check to be a hobby fairy tale, but just wanted to toss it out there so you weren't buying it with the idea that it'd be the cure for all that ails you. i'm all for springeris or chrysiptera in general, they're great little fish, i just doubt they do much on the flatworm front

i'd personally try to track down a pink streaked or possum wrasse, they'd probably be perfect for you. granted they seem pretty hard to find. if you're open to rehoming the fish when they get too large, and you have sand, i'd look into a small halichoeres or maybe a leopard wrasse. the yellow wrasse would probably work great, they come in tiny pretty readily so that'd work for a couple years until it gets large

a sixline would work, i just don't like that they get pretty aggressive in tanks. mostly to other labrids, but i had issues with one and a royal gramma in my old tank, so i wouldn't trust them much with a lot of other nano fish

i've never kept a mandarin, but i'd bet they'd put in more work on flatworms than most fish, maybe one of those tiny biota ones would work nicely if you're open to feeding it pellets pretty frequently as they're tiny

Sweet, thanks for the suggestions! And good looking out I would love for them to do their intended job, but im rarely that lucky lol. Although I have had good luck with peppermint shrimp and aiptasia.
I do love possum wrasses but I’m a cheap bastard and don’t see them often anyway. I try not to stock any fish that’ll outgrow the tank, but I have dabbled with the idea of leopard wrasses. Same deal with mandarins, they’re beautiful, but I know they generally aren’t easy to feed, so I’ve avoided them. I prefer simplicity rather than stressing about if my fish is eating enough lol.

at the moment, I’m kind of leaning toward a springer damsel *and* a yellow coris wrasse(or other wrasse if I find something at age of aquariums).

 

[drexel]

Damsels will only eat them if they’re in the water column, they are not active predators of any flatworm. Certain wrasse species and some mandarins will actively hunt them. I have never witnessed a damsel hunt flatworms, but that doesn’t mean they won’t eat them.


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[mattyzang]

john brings up a good point, if you wanted to get active in controlling the flatworms yourself, turkey baste the crap out of the rocks and corals. fish that otherwise wouldn't probably go out of their way to eat a flatworm would probably mow them down if they're in the water column

i once found a bristleworm under a small rock, so i pulled it out and dropped it in the tank only to see my heniochus butterfly mow that thing down. there was even crunching effect . not overly weird for a butterfly, but that heniochus is more of a planktivore so unlikely to hunt down a bristleworm, but when in rome and flying through rome's water column..

 

[Pygo]

john brings up a good point, if you wanted to get active in controlling the flatworms yourself, turkey baste the crap out of the rocks and corals. fish that otherwise wouldn't probably go out of their way to eat a flatworm would probably mow them down if they're in the water column

i once found a bristleworm under a small rock, so i pulled it out and dropped it in the tank only to see my heniochus butterfly mow that thing down. there was even crunching effect . not overly weird for a butterfly, but that heniochus is more of a planktivore so unlikely to hunt down a bristleworm, but when in rome and flying through rome's water column..

lol nice. I was taking an active approach previously, you shouldve seen the goofy setup I made. Basically zip tied my fish net to the discharge of a pump and attached some tubing to the feed side of the pump. That way it would catch the worms but recycle the water straight back to the tank. Like an eheim gravel vac but worse Went around the tank for probably an hour sucking up every last worm I could find/get to. Between that and basting them during water changes like you mentioned, i really did a number on them, but its a losing battle. I dont really care if theyre gone completely, they dont hurt anything, theyre just unsightly and I want to reduce/maintain a minimal population.

Age of Aquariums didnt have what I was hoping for yesterday(otherwise great shop btw, blows Tong's and Seaside out of the water). But they did sucker me into impulse buying a striated wrasse(Pseudocheilinus evanidus ). From what they said/google says, they should be similar to a sixline, so here's to hoping it doesnt suck!

 

[Ranch Reef]

mandarin dragonettes have worked for me in the past.