My AEFW journey

Dowtish · Nov 25, 2012

Well, it's happened to me. Unfortunately, there are just too many of us in the middle TN area that have had this problem. I have dipped every Acro I have ever gotten, but that doesnt mean I killed any eggs that may have been on one. I began to notice a few signs of something just not right a couple of weeks before I hosted the meeting a few weeks ago. I began racking my brain of what I had done differently, and there was all kinds of things. Added a fuge, changed my bulb combo, had a slight swing here and there etc. But the last thing I thought was AEFW. When I finally saw them, it's super easy to see the bite marks, but I need a magnifying glass to really see the eggs.

So I have been super busy, but wanted to set up a QT for dipping the corals over the next 2 months. I have already dipped all the acros that I could easily pop off, and place on a frag rack. I am using Bayer Insecticide for my dipping. 5-6ml per cup of saltwater, and heavy flow and blasting for 10 minutes. Here is what I use and the result of my first round of dipping. Crazy amounts of flatworms!

Dowtish · Nov 25, 2012

I was able to set up my QT this long weekend. I am using a 36x18x12 tank with a 20L sump with a Ecoplus 396, SWC 160 and T5 LED combo. I am planning on dipping every 7 days for the next 8 weeks, and I am going to add a six line wrasse to help me out during the days between dips.

I acquired a stand from Jay from his old cichlid tank. I wanted to paint it black so it would match the spare bedroom since my mother would be staying for both Thxgiving and Xmas.:angel:

Then I got it all plumbed up and running as of today.

Clearwater · Nov 25, 2012

CRAZY! I dip all incoming sps with that stuff now. What a great way to rid of those little *******s!

iiluisii · Nov 26, 2012

You know this is one of the reasons that im thinking about selling all my acros before is set up my new tank and just go with high end lps and zoa and non acro type sps. It seems that this is a problem withing all the reef community I see so many people fighting them I think even that guy melev reef and paul b with that 400 gallon tank of the month had flat worms on their tanks

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nguyendiem334995 · Nov 26, 2012

Up ph? b?n hi?n, chÃƒÂºc b?n hi?n d?t hÃƒ*ng

schooleyosis · Nov 26, 2012

Sounds like a good setup Chris. Hope it all works out for you. If you posted pictures I for some reason can't see them. Guess that means I just need to swing by and check it out!

Rob.D · Nov 26, 2012

That sucks, I was able to kill off all the AEFW from my old 75, about a year ago. Good luck bro.

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schooleyosis · Nov 26, 2012

I can see the pics now. Good looking setup.

pickupman66 · Nov 26, 2012

I feel your pain. I am battling them now too. I have them licked for the most part but one colony is extremely difficult to deal with. I havent setup a QT as of yet. I have learned that they have left my stags alone due to the amount of slime they produce.

Dowtish · Nov 26, 2012

The hardest part is all the colonies that were encrusted on the rocks, and I had to snap what I could off. And I will have to kill off what remains on the rocks in order for the AEFW not have anything to feed on and in case there are eggs underneath somewhere on the rocks. And in some cases, I have 4-5 inches of encrusting on the rock alone.:cry:

But other than that, I am just trying to be proactive, and stay positive. It's not the end of the world, I just might lose a few pieces. Just an excuse to get new ones!

I cannot just give up on keeping acros based on the threat of AEFW. I love them too much. When I see a small 1 inch frag grow and develop amazing colors and see their awesome PE, it just does it for me. So from here on out, anything that I buy, will be a frag, and if it is encrusted on a plug, I will snap it off, dip, and go from there.

pickupman66 · Nov 26, 2012

I dont like plugs. I have some that I use in my tank if I need to use a plug but I break off the new piece first. I tossed a few frags in my tank that I saw the worms on. I have one colony that is at leat 6" encrusted. I am dipping its entire rock in an ice chest.

sluicebox · Nov 26, 2012

Chris,

After you cure this problem with the AEFW, have you thought about new corals that you acquire? Will you keep your QT set up? It sounds like a significant investment and would be a pain to set up and take down. How long will you quarantine any new corals? Will you be dipping new corals on a regular frequency through the quarantine period? I'm sure you have this all thought out....i'm just wondering for my own knowledge.

gmoney243 · Nov 26, 2012

Just chisel the acro with base off the rock. Gl chris this is why I set up my QT also to prevent having to mess with big colonies.

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Dowtish · Nov 26, 2012

sluicebox said:
Chris,

After you cure this problem with the AEFW, have you thought about new corals that you acquire? Will you keep your QT set up? It sounds like a significant investment and would be a pain to set up and take down. How long will you quarantine any new corals? Will you be dipping new corals on a regular frequency through the quarantine period? I'm sure you have this all thought out....i'm just wondering for my own knowledge.

Bob, I have thought about it quite a bit. I was lucky enough to have everything for the setup already. Jay gave me the stand, So I have spent about $30 on plumbing, and that's it. I just recently upgraded my sump and skimmer, so the old sump and skimmer were available. Good timing for a crappy situation.

I have thought to at least keep it up long enough to order one really nice frag pack, and QT them. This will of course depend on if I have any major losses through this. My concern is with my smooth skin acros, that just dont like to be dipped. A. granulosa, Hawkins enchinata etc. I really dont want to have to keep up with a second tank and all the parameters to keep acros, and given that my tank is already limited for space I cant really add that much anyways. So after the 8 weeks process, I will buy a nice frag pack and keep them there for about 4 weeks in the QT, dipping and observing, and then I will call it good. Or at least that's what I'm thinking right now:wink:

Dowtish · Nov 26, 2012

gmoney243 said:
Just chisel the acro with base off the rock. Gl chris this is why I set up my QT also to prevent having to mess with big colonies.

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I am afraid that some of the rock wont just chisel so easily. I have tried that before and ended up with 6 new small rocks. HAHAHA!

I think I will just pull the two rocks that have all the encrusting on and let them dry out, and then recook them in a bucket.