My own AEFW (Acro Eating Flatworms) images

[Sparkss]

Thanks for the info on the black leopard wrasse Mike, but to be honest, we have gone the "natural predator" route with these pests and will be sticking with good old fashion QT for all new additions as well as the month+ long levamisole treatment protocol on our existing acro livestock (which includes leaving the main tank barren of acros for the duration). Although also having the "reported" natural predators can't hurt , as long as one's tank can support them normally (leopard wrasses are not for everyone).

[JeffCo]

Yes, these guys suck.

Marc,
take my word for it, unless you want to see your acro's die slowly one by one, you need to setup a quarantine tank.

I'm in the process of setting up a 75 g tank to dip and quarantine all my acro's out of my 375g. I'm using the Betadine solution, I heard they have been using it in Italy for awhile. I tested it and it works great. Now going to use it in mass quantites.

[PITSTOP]

Whoa...BETADINE? Do tell...

Tablets? Liquid? Need to get it from a vet?0

Works on AEFW? How about Red Bugs?

I too need to set up a QT, what a pain, but worth the gain...

[melev]

Whatever happened to "Ignorance is Bliss"?

[clkwrk]

Betadine is a form of iodine of some sort.

http://www.safety.vanderbilt.edu/pdf...on%207_05.pdf.

[goda]

the neon velvet nudi ( flatworm eating nudibranch)
do they eat these flat worms?

[raddogz]

Originally posted by goda
the neon velvet nudi ( flatworm eating nudibranch)
do they eat these flat worms?

Does not work on these flatworms.

[goda]

so what is a natural preditor.

and are you 100percent sure? melev think you could get one of the nudis and stick it in a jar with some of the flat worms for a lil. ( before giving it to some one who could actualy use it )

[raddogz]

When you get a chance read some of the threads that are posted on the AEFW, the flatworm eating nudibranch was mentioned that it would not work along with Flatworm Exit.

I think we have all come to agreement that there has to be a natural predator out there, just don't know what that is.

Methinks that red bugs and aefw are indeed somehow related. It seems that aefw, seemed to follow quite a few people's tanks after a red bug treatment.

[Sara B]

Interesting concept ... I got the AEFW's alittle over a month after I finished up the 3rd Red Bug treatment. I did do the Red Bug treatments in QT and not the main tank.

[poknsnok]

Originally posted by Sara B
Interesting concept ... I got the AEFW's alittle over a month after I finished up the 3rd Red Bug treatment. I did do the Red Bug treatments in QT and not the main tank.

did you add any corals or rock to your tank after your red bug treatment?

[Sparkss]

Originally posted by goda
so what is a natural preditor.

and are you 100percent sure? melev think you could get one of the nudis and stick it in a jar with some of the flat worms for a lil. ( before giving it to some one who could actualy use it )

Yers, we are 100% sure. Please read up on the other AEFW threads (there are only a couple of good ones) before posting here so that we don't waste any more time rehashing old ideas that have already been proven not to work. Thank you.

[goda]

wow so friendly...

anyways. i think we had these at work the other week. they looked the same. and seemed to hang out on an acrofrag and no where else. ( acro didnt look to hot either)

but a african lepord wrase ate them all and the coral is doing better.

yeah i know you said it wont touch it. but is it possiable for there to be exceptions. kinda like how only a few pepermint shrimp touch aiptasia.,
( coral was in a 20 gallon frag tank with just the acro and a few lps)

[wfgworks]

Hey guys, I'm one trying to read all these threads and havent gotten through all. Many different threads and SO MANY pages.

What would be great is if a MOD or someone put a sticky in the SPS forum with a summary as to where we are at in treating, what has been tried with results, ect. Basically a summary to date.

It than could be updated when new information is discovered.

It will help redue, was this tried, what about this medication, what was the dosing with that medication and so on.

Just an idea

[Sparkss]

Originally posted by goda
but a african lepord wrase ate them all and the coral is doing better.

Do you have a link to the fish ? (or the latin name for it ? as many fish can share a common name) Where did you get it ?

Did you have to blow off the AEFWs to get the wrasse to eat them ? or did it nip them right off of the coral ? Was any "training" involved ? (in other threads other "nratural predator wrasses" needed to be "Trained" to hunt out the AEFWs, basically by giving them a "taste" by blowing the pests into the water column fo the fish to eat). Please provide some details as it is definitely promising.

Other wrasses have been reported to eat the AEFWs on a hit and miss basis, and just about all will do it when the AEFWs are floating in the water column. I do agree that it may be like peppermint shrimp and aiptasia, but on that topic the shrimp from the Atlantic are more prone to eating the hydroids (never had one fail, as long as it was confirmed from the right region). We all know that for the most part no 2 fish/shrimp/critters are 100% alike in their appetites.

Thanks for sharing

[JeffCo]

Betadine works great and it's pretty cheap. You can find it at about any grocery store or pharmacy. It has 10% providine-iodine. The mix is 3ml betadine for every liter of water. Soak for a max of 25 minutes, then rinse the coral with clean saltwater. I tested this with about 30 frags and did not have any casualties.

I just finished setting up the 75 g and moved over all my acros, (man did that suck). Will probably dose the tank with betadine tonight or tomorrow.

[MSHUR]

jeff,
what is betadine,something new treatment for those devils?

mike

[clkwrk]

Originally posted by clkwrk
Betadine is a form of iodine of some sort.

http://www.safety.vanderbilt.edu/pdf...on%207_05.pdf.

[melev]

Here's the working link, without the period at the end.
http://www.safety.vanderbilt.edu/pdf...ion%207_05.pdf

[clkwrk]

Thx

[MSHUR]

thankx for link...
i think i wana try this solution this time
i've been doing pro-cure treatments for past 4 month ,on and off... after 2 month my pink milli re-infected again... last nite i desided to check this milli and dang!!!! they back...those devils(
but, if u look at this milli ,u will never know this coral got aefw.. clor is great ,pe is great..no signs at all..go figure
gonna get this solution..

mike

[itz frank]

Not sure if this is helpful or not but ponder this. What if FW don't just host one type of coral. What if AEFW, are just flatworms that found their way onto your Acros. I have flatworms on a colony of my mushrooms and they've seemed to add a few FWs to my PSPs as well. I have no acros though.

[goda]

ill try to get the exactname of the fish tomrrow. or better yet a picture since half the things at the store comein under the wrong name ( wholesale dosnt name anything right so the names just keep getting passed down.. )

we didnt train the wrase but we did have him in another tank with some other type of flatworms when he wasin htere it was a few days before he started eating them. maybe it jsut took him time to warm up to them as food,. but once he was in with the aefw he went right for them. but agian this was a small tank and they were the only food source

[melev]

I started counting the acros in my tank, and I have about 25 pieces. Here are the ones I'm unsure about:

Pocillopora
Psammacora
Pavona
Montipora foliosa
Montipora capricornis
Porites

What do you think?

[clkwrk]

A very very very very close inspection for eggs and you may be just fine with leaving them . I never ever found them on those species.