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MattM

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We are looking for 8-10 individuals with flatworm infested tanks to participate in a beta test of a new product that controls flatworms.

We have been working for a year or so on a reef-safe chemical product that is added to the tank to control the flatworm population - it kills 90-99% of the flatworms outright and can be re-applied as needed to keep them in check. In order to be totally reef-safe it is not strong enough to completely wipe them out.

We have already tested the product on many of our tanks and have found it to have no affect on fish, corals, bristleworms, featherdusters, or other inverts. In one system it caused many Cerith snails to fall off the glass, but they were back the next day. The only animal that the product is not safe with is Nudibranchs, but this is based solely on our research, and has not been tested.

In order to participate in the test, you need to have a reef tank no larger than 120 gallons, with a flatworm problem. The tank must have a protein skimmer or some other method that provides strong oxygenation. This is to prevent oxygen deprivation due to massive flatworm die-off. You also need to have the ability to add carbon filtration after the treatment is completed. We would prefer tanks with a wide variety of organisms in order to investigate the possibility of any unintended side effects. We will send you a 4-oz bottle of the product (enough to treat 120 gallons) free of charge, and you agree to report the results back to us.

If interested, please email us at <A HREF="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</A> . Please let us know your tank size and a list of the fish and invertebrates present.

Thanks!

P.S. Ask as many questions as you like here, but please send email to be considered for the beta test - don't post your request here.

[ June 21, 2001: Message edited by: MattM ]
 

MedicineMan1

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Sooooo.....
If this stuff nukes my tank are you going to replace the livestock?
icon_eek.gif
 

MaryHM

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I have an 80 that is infested... it only has a wrasse and some xenia in it now, but I could take different things and stick them in and see how they do.
 

MattM

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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by MedicineMan:
<STRONG>Sooooo.....
If this stuff nukes my tank are you going to replace the livestock?
icon_eek.gif
</STRONG><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

In a word, No. Please keep in mind the nature of a beta test. This means that preliminary testing (the alpha test) has already been conducted. It has been used on 7 different systems already with the following results:

<UL TYPE=SQUARE><LI> On 5 systems there was no adverse effects whatsoever in fish, corals, or other inverts.
<LI> On 1 system, Cerith snails fell off the glass shortly after treatment started, but since they climbed back up the next day, we do not consider this a serious side effect. Fish and corals showed no reaction.
<LI> On one system several fish died. In this case, the person conducting the test did not follow the instructions. He added the treatment in the evening with no protein skimmer or other oxygenation source running. He left it in this condition overnight and in the morning there were several fish deaths. The cause in this case was oxygen deprivation, made more acute due to the flatworm die-off. We replaced his livestock at cost and revised the instructions to emphasize the need to continue protein skimmer or other oxygenation during treatment. Corals were unaffected.
</UL>

Such is the nature of a test. We have sufficient confidence in the product to be at beta test phase, but it is a voluntary test and we are not in a position to replace livestock in the unlikely event of a massive die-off. If you are very concerned about this possibility in your sustem, then please do not participate in the test.

[ June 22, 2001: Message edited by: MattM ]
 

MattM

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Mary -

We will add you to the list and send a bottle your way.

All -

Thanks to everyone that responded via email. I think we have enough people to get started now. We are currently working on a evaluation form to be filled in by the participants (probably on our website), and we're getting the prototype instruction labels finished.

You will be getting an email within the next week if we are sending you a bottle. For some people we will need an address.
 

smokin reefer

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Man that sounds promising. Now if you could make a substance to zap the green hair algea I would be in most excellent shape.
 

MattM

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Not everyone that we sent it to has tried it yet. I am compiling the results, and need to add 3 more that came in recently. I'll work on that today and get the URL with the results posted here no later than tomorrow.
 
A

Anonymous

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You can treat any size tank, we merely restricted it to tanks of 120 gallons or smaller because that is the largest tank dosage that we can fit in a 4 oz bottle. Purely a testing issue.
 

jav

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I would think you would be better off finding some natural predatory.
then just dumping chemicals in.

joe
 

loosbrew

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not that i agree with chemicals in any way...but at the moment one of the only effective ways to rid flatworms is a nudibranch which isnt readily available and is just not ethical to keep capturing nudis for this sole purpose...if this works with no side effects then i think i can support it, but im always a skeptic.

Matt, congrats on your so-far success. when you first asked, i was very skeptical but now it may be that youre on to something here...good luck and i hope no more animals die due to misue, or a side effect of your product!

loosbrew
 
A

Anonymous

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Uh uh, in both cases, my sixline wrasses completely eliminated the "plagues". Adding a mandarin may or may not have accellerated the process.

Inland, are you the guys in Hawaii?
 

Rick O

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Hi Matt,

I saw this thread a little late. I have a 20 gal refugium that has quite a number of them. I could isolate it from the rest of the system and put a variety of corals in it to test. Let me know if you're still in need of some volunteers.

Rick
 
A

Anonymous

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Doc, YOUR wrasses did, but not all wrasses will. We explored every form of natural control. This has been discussed off and on on this board and others for years. We tried every animal we could get our hands on, some would work and others would not. Nothing has ever been proven as a consistent natural control, if it was they'd be pushed here like peppermint shrimp for aiptasia.

Julian and I discussed it a bit this weekend and he mentioned that very high currents tend to make them go away which jives somewhat with my own experiences with them, however not all tanks with worms are exactly stagnant.
 

angel-a7

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Can u tell us were these flatworms actually come from and what way do u think they are introduced to your tank? live rock ? plants ?
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Phishmon

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I works well

I've tried it on several tanks
with no adverse affects

that I can see

I've never been an advocate of chemicals
in my reefs

but if flatworms get out of control then they can be a problem
natural predators as mentioned are great but once the food is gone they tend to die
 

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