OP
OP
Just tried Ivermectin above, but it was a fail. I’m going to buy some liquid next, and make sure it’s water soluble.
Coral Boring Spionid Worms- Anybody Killed them?
- Thread starter Reefahholic
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OP
OP
They bore right through the other side of the coral if you use glue.
They also bore into rock like butter. Especially Marco Rock.
They definitely like a lot of organics like everything else.
I used the injectable 1% solution which is 10mg/ml. I did not use it for spionid worms however, mainly for Fire Worms.
4 ml (40 mg) in 30 gallons was more than enough to stun them in an hour so I could pick them out. I'm sure that if I didn't do a water change within 6-8 hours they probably would have died, but so would have many beneficial worms.
radfly
Active Member
I use Exodus dip, as per directions, aerating with a pipette. After 15 minutes the worms start to wiggle out. About 20 minutes in I use a pipette to suck them out.
Worked on three corals, one was infected with 15 worms…
That was a month ago, no signs of stress in any coral after full 45 minute dip, no signs of worms.
Worked on three corals, one was infected with 15 worms…
That was a month ago, no signs of stress in any coral after full 45 minute dip, no signs of worms.
OP
OP
I used the injectable 1% solution which is 10mg/ml. I did not use it for spionid worms however, mainly for Fire Worms.
4 ml (40 mg) in 30 gallons was more than enough to stun them in an hour so I could pick them out. I'm sure that if I didn't do a water change within 6-8 hours they probably would have died, but so would have many beneficial worms.
Thx Brotha!
OP
OP
I used Exodus dip for 1 hr, and these were not phased.
You likely had a different worm.
OP
OP
I used the injectable 1% solution which is 10mg/ml. I did not use it for spionid worms however, mainly for Fire Worms.
4 ml (40 mg) in 30 gallons was more than enough to stun them in an hour so I could pick them out. I'm sure that if I didn't do a water change within 6-8 hours they probably would have died, but so would have many beneficial worms.
Oh, quick question…was it water soluble?
Yes, I mentioned I was using it for fire worms. My dose was about 60 times less than your 3 mg/500ml so I'm guessing ivomec won't be the answer for the spionids. My low dose was enough to kill spaghetti worms, feather dusters and bristle worms as well, so I would think any worm sensitive to ivermectin would succumb to your relatively high dose.
I would play around with other anthelmintics like levamisole or fenbendazole to start. (I haven't researched to see if anyone has tried these for spionids).
To answer your next question: Yes, the injectable ivomec seems to be somewhat water soluble (since it "works") but in veterinary practice, we dilute it with propylene glycol (which is not necessary for aquarium use). But again, I wouldn't waste any more time with ivermectin after reading about what you have tried.
OP
OP
Dr Jim, my dose wouldn’t dissolve sadly. So I will get some liquid soon and repeat this treatment at various strengths. I’m assuming very little was able to be dissolved in my 500mL of tank water sadly. Post Tx I didn’t see the two worm antennas for a few nights, but finally did this morning. I’m pretty sure it was an epic fail as the coral even looked perfect and unaffected from the Tx. Either that, or Ivermectin is extremely mild which would be great, but I doubt that’s the case.
I’ll update when I get some liquid. Thank you for the information. I think the last question I have would be is there anything that is “reef safe” that could make the liquid more water soluble if I have issues. The propylene glycol might be great, but maybe toxic to the coral. I have no idea. @Randy-Holmes Farley may know of something that is reef safe and help it become more soluble.
I didn't mean to imply that you should use propylene glycol. Sorry if that was misleading. Definitely do not use that in the aquarium. The injectable apparently dissolves in seawater just fine, otherwise I wouldn't have seen the favorable results that I saw. If the tablets didn't dissolve, that still gives us hope that the spionids may be sensitive to ivermectin if you use the injectable IVOMEC.
This should be interesting! Good luck!
OP
OP
Thanks Dr. Jim. I did understand what you meant, that’s why I was asking what would work similar for aquarium use. Sounds like the liquid is the way to go so I’m interested to see if I can get some to jump ship and see how long it will take. They seem to be pretty protected in their tubes. I wonder if anybody has ever tried ivermectin for Vermetid snails. That would be interesting also.
radfly
Active Member
Proof.. These are spinoid worms extracted from one coral… the guys that bury into the coral and expose two antenna.
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I think Reefahholic may have meant that it's likely you had a different species of Coral-Boring Spionid Worm (there are quite a few species of Spionids that bore through corals, and some of them would quite likely be more susceptible to chemicals in the water than others for a number of biological reasons).
OP
OP
Mine are smaller than that. Looks like a different worm species. Mine look like those and if you can post a video of these coming out that would be amazing.
OP
OP
The Exodus dip is made by my friend, and I really wanted it to work, but it didn’t. I did a 1 hr dip and none of the worms came out. So my next experiment will be liquid Ivermectin at various dosages.
I just found a small rock where there is like 20 worms all on the edge. Looks like smaller babies, but there is no coral on that rock so I can blast it with many different doses until they hopefully come crawling out of there. These things seem very protected from everything, and I think they might have a mechanism to where when threatened or if they sense the environment is unfavorable or irritating, they can retreat into their tube and close some kind of a mucus door that protects them from medications or unfavorable water conditions.
radfly
Active Member
Yes, yours is definitely different… if I see another one I will video the extraction… might need three hands as I baste with a pipette while holding a magnifying glass to see, lol. I will figure out a way..Mine are smaller than that. Looks like a different worm species. Mine look like those and if you can post a video of these coming out that would be amazing.
OP
OP
Nice, please video that.
fendanto
Community Member
Have some of my own. Hoping anybody’s had some success…might give Interceptor a try. Quite sad about this.Any updates with any successes? I may have the tiny variant worms and need to figure out if I should toss this hammer in the garbage.
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buruskeee
Well-Known Member
Let me know how it works for you
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