My own AEFW (Acro Eating Flatworms) images

[ltelus]

Originally posted by Sparkss
I have had poor results with the levamisole treatements also (poor results == lost acros). Not sure why, I have a heater and fan set up on a temp controller, 2 powerheads on a wavemaker, a remora HOB skimmer with carbon and purigen in the output and an eco canister filter filled with carbon. The last 2 were added at 1 day intervals after the initial treatement, adding carbon, then purigen bags then the canister filter, giving each one a day to see the affect. The water is not so cloudy, but it is still far from optimal, and we are still loosing corals. All corals were shaken in the treatment tank then rinsed in tank water (any with pourous plugs or base rock were soaked for 5 - 10 mins in fresh tank water) then they were all placed into the second, clean, freshly filled, treatment tank. They were no closer than they occassionally got in our prop tank, so I am doubtful of the proximity to each other being the issue.

We are extremely reluctant to do the second levi treatment for fear of losing even more corals, but I will say that the first treatment tank had thousands of dead and/or dieing AEFWs of all sizes on the bottom of it when we were finished. *shudder*

Tom your statement is echoing what a lot of folks are finding.
Initially it was stated that the levamisole killed these things in no time and the 5 hour dip was just for the monti nudi's but i know a lot of folks are finding that after 5 hours they are in fact not all dead.
Good luck,Liam

[Sparkss]

I gotta say that at this point I am going to make a statement that will undoubtedly bring down grief from someone, somewhere, but here I go anyways :

Levamisole is not a good treatment for AEFWs on acros. It is far too harsh on the corals and not harsh enough on the AEFWs.

There, I said it, and I am not taking it back !

This is based on our many battles with these pests over the last many months (almost 1 year now ?) leading up to our caving and chipping every acro out of our tanks to put into a treatment tank. This past weekend was the second Lev. treatment that we have done and the first in this treatment tank (the previous one was a "test" a couple of months ago that had actually gone rather well, but of course the AEFWs came back a couple of months later since we only did one treatment then and didn't remove all acros).

[melev]

Here is the Tyree frag picture I promised. It looks nothing like it did, but it seems to still be alive.

[ltelus]

Marc are you still seeing the AEFW dissolve in a short period of time with the betadine?
Do you know the main difference between the betadine and lugols because in the past folks have stated that lugols just aggrevates the worms and does'nt kill them(maybe it was a lower dose then).

Anyone know the deal with the providone?is this what sets betadine apart from lugols in its effectiveness.

Good luck Marc,Liam.

[gflat65]

I had about 75-80% losses on my acros through the Levamisole treatment. I know others have had better luck, but... I seem to have gotten them all (nothing since March/April), but I lost alot, too. I have been using Levamisole on monti nudis with better luck. The nudis seem to be gone (not gonna get too happy yet) and have only lost one monti. It's TMPCC for all incoming now and all go into a QT...

[MSHUR]

Originally posted by Sparkss
I gotta say that at this point I am going to make a statement that will undoubtedly bring down grief from someone, somewhere, but here I go anyways :

Levamisole is not a good treatment for AEFWs on acros. It is far too harsh on the corals and not harsh enough on the AEFWs.

There, I said it, and I am not taking it back !

This is based on our many battles with these pests over the last many months (almost 1 year now ?) leading up to our caving and chipping every acro out of our tanks to put into a treatment tank. This past weekend was the second Lev. treatment that we have done and the first in this treatment tank (the previous one was a "test" a couple of months ago that had actually gone rather well, but of course the AEFWs came back a couple of months later since we only did one treatment then and didn't remove all acros).

Tom,
based on ur experience and dealing with AEFW,what would be the best treatment?
I've been using TMPC 6 month ago and dip all my coral once a week for 6 weeks,two month later i found them again on my two millies Dipping is very stressfull for corals,they loose slime right aways and it take time for them to come back with it.
I was planning to do levamisole treatment ,but seems to me its waste of time .

Whats is the verdict for this busters?


mike

[raddogz]

I am not Tom, but I think the consensus among fellow AEFW's affectee's (sp?) is to pull all of the acro's, quarantine, and then treat.

You can dip everyday, but if the babies are in water stream they will always have something to chew on.

[MSHUR]

Originally posted by raddogz
I am not Tom, but I think the consensus among fellow AEFW's affectee's (sp?) is to pull all of the acro's, quarantine, and then treat.

You can dip everyday, but if the babies are in water stream they will always have something to chew on.

well, unfortunately i dont have Qt tank for all my corals. I only have 10g tank. I only hope we be able to fing a natural predators . i have so many difrerent wrasses in tank and still not much luck..

mike

[melev]

Originally posted by ltelus
Marc are you still seeing the AEFW dissolve in a short period of time with the betadine?
Do you know the main difference between the betadine and lugols because in the past folks have stated that lugols just aggrevates the worms and does'nt kill them(maybe it was a lower dose then).

Anyone know the deal with the providone?is this what sets betadine apart from lugols in its effectiveness.

Good luck Marc,Liam.

I tried dipping it in Lugol's and tank water the first time, to see the flatworms for myself, and then about a week later I tried the betadine dip. With Lugol's, they didn't dissolve but they did get off the coral. With betadine, they apparently dissolved because I didn't see a single one after the 25 minute bath.

[ltelus]

that sounds promising

[Sparkss]

Originally posted by MSHUR
well, unfortunately i dont have Qt tank for all my corals. I only have 10g tank. I only hope we be able to fing a natural predators . i have so many difrerent wrasses in tank and still not much luck..

mike

You only need a tank big enough to house all of your acros. For our needs we got away with a custom 20 gallon tank. Our display and prop tanks still look pretty full (all the montis, birdsnest, LPS, etc). The important thing (and so far the only thing that seems to work) is to let your tank sit fallow of acros for at least 1 month. That is as important, if not more so, than the repeated dip protocols in the "treatement tank".

Just hunt for a used tank and set one up.. we set ours up for less than $150 (and that includes a wavemaker w/ 2 MJ PHs, old MH, and a used HOB skimmer). Most don't even go that far, skipping the skimmer and wavemaker and only putting enough light to keep the corals alive, of which there are many cheap options, especially for a smaller tank.

[MSHUR]

Thankx,Tom
I fugure thats the only way so far...It just kiils me to take my tank apart
I do have spare light to keep my corals alive ,but my tank is too small for all acros i have....

Ohh,well..... I guess ,if i see more of those busters i will have to do this,,,Otherwise ,they will keep coming back...

mike

[Sparkss]

Mike,

Hate to say it but we were where you are now about 9 months ago. We tried every conceivable in tank solution, doing everything we could to avoid tearing our tank(s) (prop and display) apart. In the end the AEFWs just kept coming back and we finally bit the bullet and started the QT. I only wish that we had done so back in the beginning as it would have saved several of our hard grown (and/or bought) colonies. The longer we waited the weaker our corals became (from being fed upon), making them less likely to survive the treatment.

[impur]

Yah, just a real basic setup is needed to QT. Here is mine, about 10 bucks in 2x4s, DIY 70w MH, ranco controller, minijet and a maxijet, 10 gal tank. Thats it. The controller is the most expensive at 70 bucks, but maybe 50 bux otherwise for all the equip.

Here are my acros after the first week. Most have lost their color, back to brown but hey they are alive! But they have some good PE. Next dip is Sunday.

[MSHUR]

Very nice QT set up...I wish u good luck with it.
In my situation, i needa bigger tank. I have about 35 colonies and about 15 frags. I have a table acro about 15'' acros and birdnest about the same the are big...i need at least 25g tank...

i guess i will have no choice

But what if i take all rock out and leave coral in my display tank?..
I can "cook" my rock in the rubbermaid container..
just an idea... what u guys think?


mike

[gflat65]

Here was my ghetto sled at first. It has since morphed into a normal looking tank (built a canopy, working on a sump, etc.). It still serves as a treatment/QT, though.



In action


Breaking out all of the aros was hard. Then clipping the rocks to get the encrustation was fun. A masochist would love Levamisole treatments...

[Dejavu]

starrd27- sorry about the delayed repley. I have been using levamisole as a OT/dip on all 27 colonies that were removed from my display tank. the first dip was a trial at 50 ppm for 5hrs on 10 colonies, all of them made it through ok. the second dip was on all the acros at 50 ppm for 5hr with no losts.

i not sure why so many people are have death w/ this dip. the only thing i can think of is that i am in the early stages of AEFW (only 5 acro are infected) and the acro are still heathly. I also have been removing egg for 4 week prior to to treatment. also i dipped all acro in FWE at 10x the recomended amount after each egg removal. i know that people are saying the FWE dosn't work but it was the only treatment i had at the time. it seemed the freak tham out enough to get them off the acro and the AEFW died after 2 hr.

[Sparkss]

Originally posted by MSHUR
Very nice QT set up...I wish u good luck with it.
In my situation, i needa bigger tank. I have about 35 colonies and about 15 frags. I have a table acro about 15'' acros and birdnest about the same the are big...i need at least 25g tank...

I don't believe that birdsnest are acropora, but I could be mistaken. Can anyone else confirm or reject that statement ?

[fishdoc11]

You are correct sparkss birdsnest are Seriatopora not Acropora.

Chris

[melev]

It is not Acropora sp. It is Seriatopora hystrix

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...cfm?pCatId=418

EDIT: Chris wins for posting first, but I get extra points for providing a link.

[Sparkss]

so the short answer Mike is that you don't need to size your treatment tank to fit your birdsnest

[fishdoc11]

EDIT: Chris wins for posting first, but I get extra points for providing a link

With the extra points awarded you win......

I bow to your DIY prowess and thorough documentationess

Chris

[MSHUR]

guys, i agree with all of u..but,,they still can laid eggs on the base of my birdnest.. Like the do on the Lr..no?
And its only one coral)
what about the rest of my corals?
So, u dont think its a good idea to just remove all my LR?

mike

[garvondavis14]

that's why you leave all your acros out of your tank for a while so they starve to death and then when the eggs hatch, the new aefws starve too

[Sparkss]

exactly.. that is the purpose behind the 1 month minimum treatment/QT

It has been anecdotally reported the following :

AEFWs starve after 5 days w/ acros
AEFW eggs hatch after approx 14 days
AEFWs can't lay eggs right away after hatching and also possibly won't lay eggs unless there is food nearby for their offspring

so, if an AEFW is in your tank, with no acros, it has 5 days to lay eggs before it dies (starves) (although likely won't lay any if there is no detectable food). Those eggs have 2 weeks to hatch. Those newly hatched have 5 days before they starve.

it all adds up to 28 days

Most people shoot for 5 weeks, roughly... we are going for 2 months, just to play it safe.

HTH