My own AEFW (Acro Eating Flatworms) images - Page 27

zapata41 · #**651** 12/20/2006, 09:28 AM

well everything in the tank here has finished dying, so hopefully all the corals at my friends tank will keep living.

Thank you forthe offer, will pm you when it is time.

Yeah i am sure there are ppl out there saying, " what an idiot and how could he do that." but i didnt just go do it because i felt like it, i was trying to find a method that would work, must have overlooked things like LR sponging up all the meds.

We'll see how everything looks tonight when i go to check them out

TIm

Dudester · #**652** 12/20/2006, 02:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by zapata41
tomorrow i am gonna take the prop tank offline and change out all the water and clean the eggcrate, then i will pull all the pieces from the display, all the encrusting montis and such, and place them in there, then the display wil sit acro-less for a month or so. when i am sure there are no more bugs, i will start placing the corals back in the display.

If I were you, I'd leave the tank fallow of all acro tissue for longer than "a month or so." Let's assume that some eggs are left in the tank. Give them 2 weeks to hatch, then the new AEFW will feed upon any remaining acros that are in your tank. There may be areas of encrusted acro tissue on your LR from when you removed the colonies, and those might be enough to keep newly hatched flatworms alive. If those again lay eggs, then it would be another couple of weeks for hatching and the cycle to repeat itself. As devastating as this has been for you, I would think that you wouldn't ever want to repeat the process, so you might consider waiting 8-10 weeks before putting any more acros in the tank. This would ensure that any remaining AEFW have had time to starve and die. Just my opinion, and I'm sorry that the in-tank treatment didn't work out.

Serioussnaps · #**653** 12/20/2006, 06:24 PM

A vinegar or muriatic acid bath(another serious undertaking) of the Live rock would release all the stuff the rock absorbed and clean the rock. Thats what i would do and then let the tank re-cycle if your buddy will hold the corals for a few months zapata. If you want more info on the muriatic/vinegar bath Randy Holmes Farly can give you the rundown on the process. I would start "anew" on establishing the balance in the tank before putting the colonies back in if you have that ability. I forsee more problems for the tank in the future, however, i find your plunge quite commendable Zapata and if one is to ever know about in tank fluke treatment for AEFW;s then the only thing for one to would be to stay the course...me ...i would throw in the towel.

zapata41 · #**654** 12/20/2006, 07:34 PM

well there is no quiting in me, so i will place the few montis that i have into the prop tank, a bare tank with eggcrate in it. Then let the display run its course and in a month or so start to rebuild it.

Thanks for taking the time to read my posts, on the optomistic side o things, my pg&e will be cheaper this month.

also what other problems do you forsee the tank having in the future.

Tim

Stoney Mahony · #**655** 12/20/2006, 10:36 PM

Sorry to hear of the coral loss

. I am trying to get some facts from Aquarium products at the moment but everything I have been told by there chemists in the past is that your live rock will not sponge up the meds and the active ingredients will start to break down after a few hours. They are made to use as an in tank treatment in FW and SW and can be used on FOWLR tanks. Maybe since the dose is 4x it could have different effects but I am trying to find out what molecules it actually breaks down into. I was told by two different people in the company that you don't even need to use any carbon for removal, it will break down into a harmless substance at normal dose so I am going to bug them a bit and see what else I can find out.

Is your water still cloudy? Maybe it's just super saturated with the tabs so they can't break down? Did you do anymore water changes? Good luck!

fishypets · #**656** 12/20/2006, 10:49 PM

Tim,

Sorry to hear you are living my nightmare. One question though:

Does your buddy's tank have sps? If so how are you sure you did not introduce AEFW to his system?

zapata41 · #**657** 12/20/2006, 11:44 PM

stoney, the water is crystal clear. i dont know what went wrong, or what broke down into what, i just know that it didnt work out well.

fishypets, he does have sps, but i am not worried about introducing AEFW to his system because nothing could have survived that treatment, i also didnt bring any corals with me that had eggs on them, i left that coral in the display, no AEFW have been seen since the treatment. heck to snails or shrimp or anything but fish have been seen since the treatment.

Tim

wentreefgirl · #**658** 12/21/2006, 06:18 AM

Just a question. Why did you choose 4x the dose as opposed to just the dose?Was it tested to not work with the regular dose?

zapata41 · #**659** 12/21/2006, 09:35 AM

stoney was the one who did a bunch of test and found 4x to be a good dose to kill of the bugs in a 20min dip.

Well even after isolating the survivers in the prop tank i am still getting deaths, must just be too many changes for the already sressed corals, well i just hope i keep a few things in the end.
Tim

wentreefgirl · #**660** 12/21/2006, 07:27 PM

Thanks.

Tutmos · #**661** 04/03/2007, 01:23 PM

Any updates?

GreyDC · #**662** 04/03/2007, 03:23 PM

Kind of a newbie question (mostly cause I am pretty new to SPS):

Can Acro-crabs take care of AEFW? Most of my SPS have come with a hitchhiker...didnt know if that would take care of that?

melev · #**663** 04/03/2007, 05:16 PM

Tutmos, if you are asking me about an update, I can say that I've not seen any trace of AEFW in my tank in at least 6 months. I think they are long gone.

However, my beautiful Tyree frag should aptly be named Medusa, as it is turning to stone. I had some strange tips growing out from the normal branches, and when I took the coral out to cut off those odd areas, they were much too hard, like cutting a tooth or something. This is what I would call a stony coral compared to any I've had in the past. I don't know what is going on with it, but the last bits of tissue are dwindling away and the entire thing is just becoming a calcified skeleton.

I hate losing it, and I guess I'll have to get another one. I've had it just over 2 years, even with all the issues (PO4, AEFW, redbugs, temperature swings, changes in salt brands...)

There is no definitive proof that acro crabs consume and remove AEFW from their host colonies.

Stoney Mahony · #**664** 04/04/2007, 09:19 AM

I havent seen any pests since my first treatment. Havent lost any corals, all of the Valida branches I fragged are fully encrusted on the plugs and have shot up new branches. I can't post any pics b/c I am at work but Ill put some up later tonight

Dudester · #**665** 04/04/2007, 10:47 AM

It's interesting how RC was literally painted with people's corals being killed by AEFW 6 months ago, and now there are few new posts. I wonder if people are no longer complaining or reporting their infestations, or instead if this plague is running its course. I'm hoping for the latter, and this may be a function of smarter reefkeeping with proper dips and/or quarantine.

Stoney Mahony · #**666** 04/04/2007, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Dudester
It's interesting how RC was literally painted with people's corals being killed by AEFW 6 months ago, and now there are few new posts. I wonder if people are no longer complaining or reporting their infestations, or instead if this plague is running its course. I'm hoping for the latter, and this may be a function of smarter reefkeeping with proper dips and/or quarantine.

Good observation, I was thinking the same thing

. I hope that the #'s are dropping but I will tell you that I have had about 30-35 different people PM me over the last 6 months for instructions on how to treat for AEFW. QT is a must now a days.

Dudester · #**667** 04/04/2007, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Stoney Mahony
I have had about 35 different people PM me over the last 6 months for instructions on how to treat for AEFW.

That's a little discouraging.

Stoney Mahony · #**668** 04/04/2007, 06:53 PM

Here is my 55 as of a week or so ago:

Here is one of the Valida frags:

- your tanks lookin good Mel(as always!)

hawk66 · #**669** 04/05/2007, 12:17 AM

Melev,
If I recall correctly, you started out with levamisole dips and finished up with fluke tabs. Hypothetically knowing what you know now if you were to get another infestation, would you use levamisole or fluke tabs? Which would you as a prophylactic dip? Thanks

melev · #**670** 04/05/2007, 12:24 AM

No, I never used Levamisole. I used Iodine first to determine what I was dealing with, and then later Betadine to treat the coral twice. Later I used the Fluke tabs after Stony Mahoney played guinea pig for me.

The Fluke Tabs are the better option in my opinion.

For dipping, I'd start with Iodine to see what's on the coral. Or Tropic Marine's Pro Coral Cure (TMPCC) if you can get some.

Kolognekoral · #**671** 04/05/2007, 05:22 AM

Marc,

I think your little Acro is getting stung by the surrounding corals! Especially the Euphyllia, which can be very aggressive. Move it to try and save it.

melev · #**672** 04/05/2007, 09:06 PM

That's an interesting point. I've looked at the surrounding corals and never see any type of contact, but perhaps some type of alleopathy is occuring.

Vlek · #**673** 04/08/2007, 02:39 PM

A friend of my has also this problem.

Bring some Halichoeres marginatus in to the tank, can these fishes solve the problem of acro bleaching?

Thx for the quick reply

Greetings

melev · #**674** 04/08/2007, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by melev
That's an interesting point. I've looked at the surrounding corals and never see any type of contact, but perhaps some type of alleopathy is occuring.

I think the problem in this case ended up being low salinity. After recalibrating my refractometer, salinity was 1.022sg instead of 1.026sg. Everything else tests out perfectly, so unless I have some kind of bacterial infection in my reef, I can't explain why some corals don't make it.

THEKIDSTA1 · #**675** 04/09/2007, 03:44 PM

Hey whats up guys and gals...I have a similar problem however i diped the coral in reef dip disinfectant..which is pure iodine to me i guess...anyway and blasted it with a turkey baster...nothing no flatworms..however i did see faintly several red specks...could this be red bugs???..any one have a pic of a redbug...it kind of looked like cyclopeeze...but smaller...i'll do my best to take pics and post...