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Um, I've got a bit of a problem... I think...

In my sump I've spotted 3 little (1-2mm) of what appear to be nudibranchs or planaria in my sump (all in one bubble trap, so I'm assuming there's more elsewhere). They're brownish-blackish in color. I've attached a picture (yes, Adam, I resized it so it's small ) of one of the little guys.

I did some googling around, and I couldn't figure out what they are... bleh...

If anyone could ID it and tell me if it's good or bad or whatever, that'd be great! I'm hoping they're just a sign that I need to clean my sump more often (okay, I need to clean my sump period

If I can catch one, I'll post up some pics of it under my microscope. I can go all the way up to 2400x with the thing, but it gets blurry if I go farther than 1500x (because of the low quality of my third lens... the two main ones are Leica, so they're good)

If it helps, it's a 20 gal tank with a 10 gal sump. The sump is on a reverse lighting cycle from the main tank (recently changed from 24/7 in the sump... due to summer heat!). SG is 1.025, temp is a constant 80F... I have no idea on the other parameters. I dose purple-up and calcium daily, and iodine and strontium/molybdenum/potassium weekly. I don't use RO/DI water... just regular tap water (it's good tap water tho... most of the LFS's around here use tap in their SW systems w/out problems)...

Anyway, if anybody knows what these things are or have any suggestions of what to do about 'em, lemme know

Thanks

Piccy-
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y22/PoisonWaffle/DSC02288.jpg

Ouch, I hope it is not what I am thinking, but to me, it appears to be flat worms. Sometimes "Flat Worm Exit" will work if that is what this is. Just be cautious and use it exactly as directed if you try it. It can be harsh to the rest of the aquarium environment.

If it is flatworms, you will start seeing more in the months to come. And eventually you will see them by the hundreds and thousands. Do not crush them with your finger. I have a friend that almost lost his finger after doing this and getting stuck by it. Spent 4 days in the hospital over it.

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There is always a bigger fish...

I agree, it looks like a flatworm. I've had them come and go without doing anything, so I wouldn't get yourself too worried over it. Just make sure to try and find the type you have, as there are many varieties...and as ACID said, some can be nasty. The ones I had for a while were red. Thy seemed to hang around for a while then just drop off the map. I've also heard that the flatworm exit stuff works too.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Thanks, guys!

I'll google around and see if I can figure out what species they are...

I hope they're not a nasty kind... bleh...

I'll probably just leave them and see if they start taking over. If they do, I'll nuke 'em... otherwise I'll leave 'em...

Thanks again for the help

You might be able to find it on here

http://www.xtalworld.com/Aquarium/hitchfaq.htm

Thanks for the link, Melosu!

There's a lot of interesting stuff on there!

I think they're just a regular old kind... they don't seem to be multiplying very fast, and they're only in the sump, and not the main tank (that I can see, at least)...

I'm just going to leave them for now... I'll keep up on waterchanges, clean out my sump, and hope for the best. If they don't go away, I'll probably nuke 'em

Thanks for the help, guys