AEFW id please.

[Da8]

Hi. Not good post coming.

Had a colony on the frag tank that had never improved color, nor PE. The other day, was going to frag it when discovered bites and eggs. Could not see worms...but I didn't dip it to kill them and see .

To the bin directly.


3 days ago sudden RTN on another not going well colony (this on the main system). Went to frag and save what I could when discovered bites, eggs, and this two nasty worms

Think it is AEFW?

First colony came about a year ago....second least 4 months....
Never went well. But , if AEFW , shouldn't it more spreaded?

my Instagram photos @da8corals are done everyday. Color is nice, and PE is very good...

In frag tank just got a six band wrasse. but in the main...crisus, iridis, picturatus, marginatus...

Started with double dose of Flatworm stop as suggested in positive experience by @jda (money hurts, but it ain't problem compared to lose the reef) but wormwood is tempting...

Single dip is discarded, more than 100 sps.

Any opinion is welcome !! thanks!!

@Pedoconfuego @bubbaque

 

[C. Eymann]

Absolutely AEFW, lots of bite marks and egg masses too!

 

[bubbaque]

I’ve never had any experience with flatworms but that looks like the typical aefw and their eggs.

I believe @UWC makes a product that kills flatworms so maybe reach out to them about it.

 

[Da8]

doesn't seem like an infected tank....:S

 

[C. Eymann]

doesn't seem like an infected tank....:S

Beautiful garden you have there, I hit the reset button on a tank in 2013 due to AEFW, but it was a young tank and acros were still small frags/colonies, not really established like yours.

You can try to control them with certain damsels and wrasses, I also think trapezia and tetralia crabs can help control AEFW and other acroporid pests as well, I have been watching the wormwood thread from the sidelines as I find it to be quite an interesting concept.

 

[flockaveli]

FWIW, the times I've had AEFW it's never been a full tank infestation. They usually pick a favorite acro, or a few, and stick to those pieces.

If you can find the affected pieces with white spots, recession, eggs.. any sign of AEFW, take them out. Then keep a close eye on the rest of your corals after. I wouldn't feel too threatened unless I saw a hand full or more acroproa with FW on them.

Blast a turkey baster in between the branches of the colonies and the base of corals to see if any FW come loose. This will make them easier for fish to eat and you can get a better idea of the population.

 

[SeaDweller]

doesn't seem like an infected tank....:S

only time will tell. hope you don't have a full blown infestation. I'd try the wormwood or FWS if there's a problem. Have you tried turning off the flow and basting your acros?

 

[Da8]

Beautiful garden you have there, I hit the reset button on a tank in 2013 due to AEFW, but it was a young tank and acros were still small frags/colonies, not really established like yours.

You can try to control them with certain damsels and wrasses, I also think trapezia and tetralia crabs can help control AEFW and other acroporid pests as well, I have been watching the wormwood thread from the sidelines as I find it to be quite an interesting concept.

Thanks!!
Already got plentyof wrasses.
In frag tank just got a six band wrasse. but in the main...crisus, iridis, picturatus, marginatus...
Also some crabs but that are mainly on their own acro.

watching also very closely the wormwood recipe.
But, I'm not a chemist or nothing like, so even if it's more expensive, I trust @jda findings on zeovits FS.

only time will tell. hope you don't have a full blown infestation. I'd try the wormwood or FWS if there's a problem. Have you tried turning off the flow and basting your acros?

Hope so...But I'm usually not very optimistic.

Been using it for 11 days double dose.
I bast acros in sump, but nothing appears, the six band does not come to eat nothing that flies away when basted, nor the color os the frags is to be worried.

ps. bloody ciano....This is our hobbie...from pest to pest...
that's my satisfaction level up to today @revhtree XD

 

[SeaDweller]

Thanks!!
Already got plentyof wrasses.
In frag tank just got a six band wrasse. but in the main...crisus, iridis, picturatus, marginatus...
Also some crabs but that are mainly on their own acro.

watching also very closely the wormwood recipe.
But, I'm not a chemist or nothing like, so even if it's more expensive, I trust @jda findings on zeovits FS.


Hope so...But I'm usually not very optimistic.

Been using it for 11 days double dose.
I bast acros in sump, but nothing appears, the six band does not come to eat nothing that flies away when basted, nor the color os the frags is to be worried.

ps. bloody ciano....This is our hobbie...from pest to pest...
that's my satisfaction level up to today @revhtree XD

Well looks like your approach is a good one; I hope you defeat whatever small number of them there may be. I'm dealing with a very small amount of cyano right now too, but I let my tank handle it, ride it out. Just baste it off when I see some small patches, and it's just slowly going away.

 

[Graffiti Spot]

I have seen a number of beautiful tanks that had aefw in them and the owner never knew. I am talking about massive tanks with massive colonies. I have also seen I have gotten corals from a top seller on here and other vendors that have come with worms and bite marks, they are really hard to spot if your not looking for them. They really are not a huge threat in a healthy tank if you know they are there and can baste them off the colonies they are attracted to. Over time they will start to choose other corals and become a problem, but they start off on their favorite corals. Some say they go for their Mille first and some say their smooth skinned pieces, and this is why some people think there are more than one type but I haven’t ever seen evidence of it. I think they just go for what they can get too easiest. Sometimes there are tanks with enough fish in them that the owner never even sees evidence of them.
Great pics of the work and the eggs! Keep up with the fws and keep using it for a few months after you think they are gone. Just make sure if you can to find each colony that is infected and take it out to get rid of eggs, this will help a lot in the treatment time. It works really well over time so don’t worry.
These worms will hide on the backside of colonies like they know you can’t see them there, it’s really odd. They are sneaky but now that you know you have them I bet the reef will start looking even better! Sorry you got them but it’s part of reefing. I have learned to deal with a lot of pests and also learned to not freak out or even worry about them, that is how the hobby becomes too much. You can’t be a collector and have fun with this hobby if your always worrying about getting pests.
Everyone who sells corals should check their tanks often. If you don’t check your corals I hope you start after seeing pictures like this. Imo if your a collector and you don’t check your corals often for pests you shouldn’t be selling fragments. I don’t care how extensive your qt or dipping process is. These things are mainly spread by reefers who don’t care about anything but money or ones who have become complacent, but they can get through and effect the best of us as well. Pests in this hobby are kind of a weird topic because most don’t want to admit that they have had them and that doesn’t help anyone. Hopefully we can keep using this flatworm stop or wormwood hopefully, and get more people using it. Once they are easy to treat that certain pest isn’t as “taboo” of a topic as it was before.
I remember when aefw were so bad of a pest that no one would admit they had had them in their tanks because no one would buy from them. I remember people saying if a tank has had aefw in it then they would never buy from that tank again no matter what. Once we figured out a good dipping regimen and figured out we didn’t have to remove the corals from the system and put them in another one to dip from, things got a little better. I always recommended an 8 week dipping process from the tank if possible but now that we know flatworm stop can get rid of them I don’t think many will be willing to put all that time into it, unless they want it done fast or only have fragments or something like that.
Please keep us updated in the fws wormwood thread! Good luck!

 

[Da8]

Indeed. Many incredible tanks suffer from lots of pests. But with huge amounts of coral, and predators pests, like when having non safe reef fishes tend to be part of the environment and not just destroy it.
I'll go on with FS, hope it really works.
I'm very happy with the actual growth... And you know, Murphy had to make his appearance.
Hope rest of colonies resist. I've got valida tricolor which is main dish... And also lots of millepora. I will watch carefully.

I agree. We must watch regularly our colonies. Photography is key to control our animals.

But yes, this is a taboo. But I like to tell everything. Is the only way we can all learn.

But we have a show off hobbie.

Nobody admits their lose colonies, not they have pests...they are just perfect in their PS filtered photos.

But it is easy to know who are good reeffers....