AEFW

[Matman]

I had some success fighting them. Last year I dosed zeovit flatwormstop for 3 month at double or triple dose and it wipped them out for a while. In december, they came back on my hyacinthus and millepora (they seem the most susceptible of having them) and after on some other acros.

I went back to flatwormstop again at low dosage and I'm trying other tricks in fighting them. Apparently flatwormstop contains some phosphorus (a chemist did some analysis on it) and some reefers noted that a sudden drop in phosphates could trigger an infestation. So I guess it's a good thing to let some phosphates in your system (I'm at 0.03). Secondly, Claude Schumacher from Fauna Marin advised me to lower the temperature to 73-74 to limit their growth. I'm at 75-76 right now and with a frequent basting of corals, they do get rarer and now I just have 2 infected colonies and they do get better.

I don't like dipping solutions as it seems harsh on the coral and a PITA to do.

[Reefer Rob]

Great work Dan!

It should be noted that 2 different Bayer products were successfully used by people posting in the RC thread, and the common ingredient in both was B-Cyfluthrin.

The flatworms lay eggs in the "white zone" near the feeding area of live tissue. Dipping the corrals, and killing off all remaining live tissue on the rocks by basting with hot water is the best way to deal with these pests.

[Rice Reef]

Originally Posted by Matman

I had some success fighting them. Last year I dosed zeovit flatwormstop for 3 month at double or triple dose and it wipped them out for a while. In december, they came back on my hyacinthus and millepora (they seem the most susceptible of having them) and after on some other acros.

I went back to flatwormstop again at low dosage and I'm trying other tricks in fighting them. Apparently flatwormstop contains some phosphorus (a chemist did some analysis on it) and some reefers noted that a sudden drop in phosphates could trigger an infestation. So I guess it's a good thing to let some phosphates in your system (I'm at 0.03). Secondly, Claude Schumacher from Fauna Marin advised me to lower the temperature to 73-74 to limit their growth. I'm at 75-76 right now and with a frequent basting of corals, they do get rarer and now I just have 2 infected colonies and they do get better.

I don't like dipping solutions as it seems harsh on the coral and a PITA to do.

I've read up on the FWS and my understanding is that it minimizes the chance of these worms going after the sps as the sps builds a slime coating that the worms do not like but it does not kill them. Can you direct me to the link that tells me FWS does get rid of them? I am planning to get it anyways.
Thanks

[Aquattro]

FWS doesn't kill them, just "strengthens" the coral. Also, as far as lowering temps, this reduces the metabolic rate of corals and inhibits growth, meaning that if/when a coral is damaged, it's ability to heal itself is compromised. Not an option I would choose.
I'm hoping that on the small frag they came in on, that there was only 2 or 3 on that piece, and they were still there when I removed it. I counted 3. If there were 4, then I might have an issue, I might not. If one let loose into the water column, it's possible a fish would have eaten it. Fingers crossed.

[Pan]

I had great luck following this advice, thereafter i quarantined everything....

even got all of the fish he recommended ...for a coral qt tank.


http://www.leonardosreef.com/2012/01/aefw-treatment/



He knows his sps

[Duker]

Originally Posted by Pan

I had great luck following this advice, thereafter i quarantined everything....

even got all of the fish he recommended ...for a coral qt tank.


http://www.leonardosreef.com/2012/01/aefw-treatment/



He knows his sps

Good god just the mention of AEFW gives me the heebie jeebie's. I read through the leonardosreef info about the quarantine for sps coral...good stuff. Think my next addition is a halichores wrasse, or i wonder if a leopard wrasse would do tthe trick too???
First of all good luck wayne and brad both of you have georgeous corals it would be a shame if it did get out of control.
i recently added quite a few coral frags to my system recently over the last few months (from Wayne) weeks (from Denis)and days (from Gareth). I absolutly did dip each and everyone with TLF Revive, but i didn't look at any of them with a magnifier so now i wonder about eggs!!!!! EEEEEK
Dam those flat worms....looks like im going snorkling with a magnifing glass....

[Reefer Rob]

Originally Posted by Duker

Dam those flat worms....looks like im going snorkling with a magnifing glass....

You likely won't see the eggs in the water, the corals need to be dry. This is likely the most stressful part of the treatment

[Aquattro]

Rob, I've seen corals affected and easily saw the egg masses. They're a decent size, and en mass, quite easy to spot on the underside of a colony.

Ronnie, the eggs are only deposited on dead areas along the bottom edge of corals, not on the tissue, so any time I get a mounted frag, I cut it off it's base above this line just in case.

[Reefer Rob]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

Rob, I've seen corals affected and easily saw the egg masses. They're a decent size, and en mass, quite easy to spot on the underside of a colony.

During my inspections I would turn the coral under a strong light, and view them with a magnifier. It amazed me how the eggs would appear on the 2nd or 3rd pass in an area I had previously inspected. Even a water droplet would disguise them. When your only defense is stealth, evolution makes you very sneaky.

[Aquattro]

Perhaps the corals I saw were so heavily infested that they were so visible. One colony, you could see the egg masses as you approached the tank.