Leopard Polyclad Flatworm

ascheff

ascheff

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I thought I'd share my latest unfortunate find, a Leopard Polyclad Flatworm.

I see a few guys on here have had them in their tanks. I was lucky enough to have found him in a filter sock, otherwise I probably wouldn't have found him at all. I have many snails, some that I am quite fond of, as well as a very nice clam, so unfortunately he has to go, as I'm not willing to risk it. All seem to be accounted for, except for my cowries, but they are experts at camouflage, and I sometimes don't see them for days.

Plus, however he got into my tank, he must have survived a 10 min Seachem Reef Dip dip, as I dip all new corals. I didn't dip my clam, but if he came with the clam he's been in my tank since February. I'm however starting to doubt the efficacy of this product, as some monti eating nudis also survived a dip, as well as many other more harmless critters.

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Some more info I found on it:

One of the most alien creatures I have ever encountered on my journey through reefkeeping are the Leopard spotted polyclad flatworms. Unlike the Acoel flatworms described above, these are large flatworms with a much more advanced body structure. They can reach several inches in size and generally have a ruffled or frilled ridge. They can grow so large that when they move it appears that the entire rock is simply flowing from one spot to another. They are remarkably adept at hiding and are voracious predators of mollusks.

Unfortunately, this includes the prize Tridacna clams we often include in our systems. There is no effective whole tank treatment for these predators. Fortunately, it is likely that any one tank will only host one or two at a time. Unlike the Convolutriloba, these flatworms do not make their presence known, a dead snail here and there is hardly cause for concern, however the untimely demise of a clam may indicate one of these guys is lurking in the rock work. There are no easy ways of eradication - they are too large for wrasses, FWE is ineffective and the only way to kill them is to isolate the rock they are hiding in and treat with one of the more toxic chemicals described above until you are certain the beast is dead. I have isolated these flatworms before and they are remarkably resistant to starvation - lasting several weeks in a plain glass jar with no heat or waterflow. Should you suspect you have one of these larger flatworms in your system viewing the tank at night, under redlight, should aid in identification. The possible baiting of the tank with live feeder clams may also draw them into the open. So, based on the difficulty of eradication, prevention, through quarantine is really the best course of action.
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Source: Reefs Magazine - Pest Free Reefkeeping III: The Flatworms

Here are some of the other threads I found with he same creature:
Hitchhiker ID - Marine Aquariums South Africa
Nudibranch ID. Any help? - Marine Aquariums South Africa
Another Critter - flatworm or what? - Page 2 - Marine Aquariums South Africa
 
feed him a piece of clam meat and check if he goes for it.
 
SantaMonicaHelp said:
Hey Ascheff, I think you did good on putting it on quarantine. Any update on this? Did you feed it with clam meat?

-NP
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I tried now, he didn't seem interested in it at all. I removed it again and gave him clean water. I left some clam meat in a bit of water to go off. Will try and feed that to him tomorrow; want to check if he's perhaps a scavenger.

I'll try a few things over the next few days. If he doesn't take anything I'll let him go in my refugium and keep an eye on him there.
 
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