EEFW infestation (euphyllia eating flatworms)

[i_declare_bankruptcy]

I see them on all my Euphyllia right now. Two euphyllia (hammer and torch) are very unhappy. Pics included. I think you can see eggs on the bottom pic. Thought it was because My nitrates are too low but not the case I guess. I believe these are EEFW but if they are another kind of flatworm let me know?

My plan is to dip all the euphyllia and get a yellow coris wrasse (will it get along with my melanarus?). Anything else I can do? The tank is obviously infested now; should I try a heavier approach? I am capable of doing 30% water changes daily if meds are needed.

Is there a recommended dip brand for this?

Ugh!

 

[i_declare_bankruptcy]

Or at this point, instead of dipping and stressing the corals even more, just use flatworm exit instead? I have carbon reactor and water ready. I'll see if my LFS has it in stock tomorrow.

I think my melanurus wrasse has knocked back my red planaria enough to where I wouldn't be worried about the toxicity of die-off being stronger than the water changes and carbon can remediate.

Seems like a risk though.

 

[Big G]

With that many flatworms it's often best to suction out as many as possible before using Flatworm Exit if that's your course of action. A massive die-off could cause all kinds of issues.

 

[i_declare_bankruptcy]

After more research... looks like polyclad flatworm. So far I've read flatworm exit will not work on these guys. So repeated dipping and egg scraping is the only option now?

 

[Big G]

Most make a "trap" out of a 20 oz. bottle with a feeder clam for bait. Takes awhile as the potential eggs hatch new polys.
Here's a link to a great article on them so you can do battle: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/polyclad-flatworm-p-mopsus-the-clam-killer.106256/

 

[i_declare_bankruptcy]

Read about it a bunch last night. Seems like people have success stunning them off the frags with dip and then redoing the process for a few weeks to make sure the eggs are hatched and killed. However as I understand after hatching the polyclads become free-floating so I think a trap a bit after the dipping would be a good idea to get the stragglers. I'll keep this thread updated.

Getting more dip today. Here we go!

 

[i_declare_bankruptcy]

Dipped with Seachem reef dip. Didn’t stun the worms to the point of letting go but it did make them move around, making them easier to stop. I was able to get them off gently with a tooth brush.

Recovering corals

Flatworm aftermath

 

[vetteguy53081]

I see them on all my Euphyllia right now. Two euphyllia (hammer and torch) are very unhappy. Pics included. I think you can see eggs on the bottom pic. Thought it was because My nitrates are too low but not the case I guess. I believe these are EEFW but if they are another kind of flatworm let me know?

My plan is to dip all the euphyllia and get a yellow coris wrasse (will it get along with my melanarus?). Anything else I can do? The tank is obviously infested now; should I try a heavier approach? I am capable of doing 30% water changes daily if meds are needed.

Is there a recommended dip brand for this?

Ugh!

Dip yes and consider flatworm Exit but use it at 3/4 dose. A melanurus wrasse should also be helpful with the battle

 

[i_declare_bankruptcy]

According to research flatworm exit does not work on the Polyclad flatworms. Even in the dip solution they weren't too bothered until I scrubbed them with a toothbrush the buggers! I have a melanurus wrasse who I'm hoping will attack the eggs that I couldn't safely remove from the coral. Corals are still pretty angry today after the ordeal lol

 

[Jlyons]

I actually experienced this when they were somehow introduced into my system and attacked one of my torch colonies. It took 3 good dips a few days apart to get rid of them. From what I learned they lay eggs in the skeleton of the coral they just killed so I ended up cutting off the two heads that were affected in hopes of saving the rest of my euphyllia. I used Coral RX and it wiped them out quick within a few minutes. The corals took a few days to recuperate but they have been healthy and back to growing for a while now. Just keep an eye out at the base of the polyps on any other euphyllia as they blend in super well but you can still see them if you watch for movement.

 

[i_declare_bankruptcy]

I actually experienced this when they were somehow introduced into my system and attacked one of my torch colonies. It took 3 good dips a few days apart to get rid of them. From what I learned they lay eggs in the skeleton of the coral they just killed so I ended up cutting off the two heads that were affected in hopes of saving the rest of my euphyllia. I used Coral RX and it wiped them out quick within a few minutes. The corals took a few days to recuperate but they have been healthy and back to growing for a while now. Just keep an eye out at the base of the polyps on any other euphyllia as they blend in super well but you can still see them if you watch for movement.

Yeah, they're tough to spot. My torch is on a long slow road to recovery. Didn't lose any heads but got very, very close. These little guys are extremely frustrating pests.

 

[Durandal]

Beat these guys twice. The first time, I found one that was almost two inches long and half an inch wide!
Both times they were eradicated by weekly dips of all Euphillia in Bayer, for about two months. Eggs were scraped when observed, but excessive effort was not spent seeking them out to minimize the handling of the ticked off corals.

Good luck!

 

[eggplantparrot]

*shudders* ughhh, flatworms are the few things in the world that make me super uncomfortable. I pray i never get these, cause i might throw my tank out the window...

 

[i_declare_bankruptcy]

Posting back to update this. Found more flatworms today. I think the egg hatching / lifecycle is slower than anticipated and my melanurus wrasse did not help. Some people mention Yellow Coris Wrasse can help so he’s getting picked up today (like I should have done earlier in the thread). Lost my torch coral but working to save the other three Euphyllia and closely monitoring my elegance coral (not sure if these can get infested but it’s unhappy. Hard to dip because it’s a huge coral). I don’t see any at the base of it but it seems to be irritated.

I’ll keep this thread updated with my endeavors.

 

[Torqued]

I just found the EXACT same things on my Frogspawn. I had never seen these before, but i just did a fresh (RO dip) on the 2 head frag and they all fell off. I then scraped the eggs off, there were a ton! The colony is super ticked off right now, snotting all over, but there is no doubt that these things would have done that colony in had i not taken action. The only reason I noticed it is because all the other corals were looking super healthy, and this ONE coral wasnt....so upon closer inspection i noticed what looked like large Coraline Algae patches....but upon touching them with tweezers they were indeed these worms. Hopefully I can keep them from spreading further. I do have melanaris wrasse (a large one too), so this alone isnt going to save you!

 

[Torqued]

Just discovered these on one of my corals today too. I too have a large melanaris wrasse, and he didnt help. No idea if these came with the frag or what, but hopefully now that I am aware of them I can keep them under control using dips.

I got these off with a quick fresh water dip and a good scrap of the eggs. I will def be keeping my eye out on all my LPS now.

Its always something with this hobby....

 

[rkpetersen]

Never even heard about flatworms attacking Euphyllias.
Great, another thing to worry about. ;Shifty

 

[cCRAWLINS]

I've seen good results with coralrx and scrubbing any eggs with dental tools while still in the dip

 

[Ross Petersen]

I have a similar experience. My research suggests these are flatworms of the Waminoa Genus, NOT polyclad flatworms. I could be wrong...

There’s a few research papers on these that a quick Google search brings up. Seems more benign but still worthy of eradicating from euphylia I would say.

 

[vetteguy53081]

No flatworm is a good flatworm and should be considered a need to remove ASAP.
Obviously, the three weapons against these are:
- wrasses or blue velvet nudibranch
-siphoning
- chemically assuring dead ones vacuumed daily .

Check for presence of eggs daily which are tiny