Hey Scott;
Oh boy; I hope you haven't put the new brain you bought in your display tank yet...I was poking around in the tank you bought it from, looking for more of the nasty little polyp-eating snails when I realized there are planaria-
FLAT WORMS- in that tank. Bummer, I'm so-o-o sorry. There aren't many but.....better safe than sorry. Dip the base of the coral in freshwater and if you see any purple-ish rubbery looking things, pull them off. It would be best if you could keep the coral in quarantine for a few weeks, do you have a QT tank?
Planaria aren't dangerous per se; they are an unsightly mess that reach plague proportions. They don't feed on corals but they can build up to such an extent that they can suffocate corals or keep them from opening. The danger comes when a huge population of them dies off and you have a big spike in your tank...I can't remember off the top of my head if they release a toxin but I don't believe so.
Hand removal and syphoning them out during water changes is about the only way to handle them. Some people have had success with different types of wrasses or mandarins eating them but that's hit or miss and the fish often brings it's own problems. Woody's trying Tetra Zoo-Med in the tank, I don't know anything about that product, but I'll keep everyone updated.
Once again, I am sincerely sorry. Being in a wheelchair, Woody can't see what's going on in those top tanks, the rest of the help doesn't have much of a clue and I haven't been down there enough lately to have spotted it sooner. Just in case anyone is wondering, the tank has now been quarantined and I've got a long morning ahead of me tomorrow
~Alice
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Reefkeeping is my life; I can't afford a hobby too!
Hopefully none of these critters will make it.
