Need a morale boost while dealing with AEFW :/

[DHill6]

After reading big through this...glad to hear the worms are losing!

 

[DHill6]

KZ Flatworm Stop really seems to help encrusting and PE, from what I’ve noticed. I haven’t had acro pests on this tank.

 

[NealH]

I beat it by dipping in Bayer for several weeks. I don't think anything kills pests as well as it does.

 

[DHill6]

The formula from Underwater Creations works well and it’s made for a reef, not a pesticide. Smells therapeutic, corals respond well and the pests fall off.

 

[maroun.c]

Glad to hear your making progress. Apparently fw aren't a tough pest when corals are treated out of tank in QT. I'd still dip for few more weeks as their egg can go for 3 weeks before hatching and that dips.wont affect eggs. So u want to make sure you dipped a couple times at least after all eggs have hatched.

 

[DesertReefT4r]

This sucks man, sorry to hear. Dont get down though you can and will get past it. I have beaten AEFW, red bugs and black bugs. Removing, cutting and dipping is the right path, QT is even better if possible. Get a few fish that are known to eat coral pests, wrasses do well. KZ Flatworm Stop helps make the coral skin taste bad to flatworm and many report good results. A multi sided approach is best.

 

[ScottB]

I am in my first week of aefw warfare right now. One Melafix dip has been done for ~100 frags / colonies. The infestation was very concentrated on a handful of colonies basted off about 30-40.

On my fourth dose of KZ Stop and the booster. Too early to note any change from that. Tried introducing two 6 lines but they were killed the same night even with lights off. Melanurus did it? Domino damsels?

A couple of folks recommend double dose of Stop. I am at single dose now until I gain comfort with what it is doing. I don't like NOT knowing what is in the product.

 

[DHill6]

I am in my first week of aefw warfare right now. One Melafix dip has been done for ~100 frags / colonies. The infestation was very concentrated on a handful of colonies basted off about 30-40.

On my fourth dose of KZ Stop and the booster. Too early to note any change from that. Tried introducing two 6 lines but they were killed the same night even with lights off. Melanurus did it? Domino damsels?

A couple of folks recommend double dose of Stop. I am at single dose now until I gain comfort with what it is doing. I don't like NOT knowing what is in the product.

Try Expel coral cleanse, seems theraputic for coral, reported by company to kill flatworms. I’ve used it and that’s my go to product.

 

[Backreefing]

6 lines imo aren’t the best at aefw. I would have tryed yellow wrasse first , then springer demsels . The Melanurus should have been a good bet . Good luck to you

 

[Backreefing]

I wondered how to teach the fish you have to eat the acropora worms ? In the wild they eat them . Just kicking this around . What if to put a springer demsel in a quarantine tank . Bare all glass . Leave him without food for days or a week the baste a infected acropora in there so it’s just the fish and the worms. Once 1 fish gets a taste For the worms the others will to . ?? Idk

 

[adtravels]

I ripped out and gave up on about 10-15 colonies of acro recently due to Afew. I pulled and dipped but they spread quickly and KZ flatworm stop at 3x dose did nothing. They were the smaller clear flatworms but the eggs were on several colonies that were mostly encrusted. I got rid of all the sps over 3 months ago (or so I thought).. Recently I have noticed 3 new colonies forming from spots of sps I missed. I hope there are no flatworms left. I would love to see some of my acros grow back from nothing really. But I would like to bet there are some sneaky FW loitering

 

[ScottB]

Well I dipped again yesterday -- 6 days after the first round. Must have done a good job the first time as I got no worms.

Given the amount of eggs I saw the first time tho, I know this party is far from over. They are so small and difficult to see.

The Melafix did work, although two frags did not enjoy it at all. One is now brown, the other no PE. Small tort and small milli.

 

[Graffiti Spot]

I ripped out and gave up on about 10-15 colonies of acro recently due to Afew. I pulled and dipped but they spread quickly and KZ flatworm stop at 3x dose did nothing. They were the smaller clear flatworms but the eggs were on several colonies that were mostly encrusted. I got rid of all the sps over 3 months ago (or so I thought).. Recently I have noticed 3 new colonies forming from spots of sps I missed. I hope there are no flatworms left. I would love to see some of my acros grow back from nothing really. But I would like to bet there are some sneaky FW loitering

How long did you use the fws for at a higher dose? Took a few months for me to see any difference and in a very infested tank I would bet it would take a bit more time.
I would think any tiny acro specs that should survive would be ok since one worm would eat it completely in a few min. Also with no food the babies die very quick so I would assume the adults don’t last too much longer. But man they are soooo sneaky, little worms are evil!

 

[Graffiti Spot]

Well I dipped again yesterday -- 6 days after the first round. Must have done a good job the first time as I got no worms.

Given the amount of eggs I saw the first time tho, I know this party is far from over. They are so small and difficult to see.

The Melafix did work, although two frags did not enjoy it at all. One is now brown, the other no PE. Small tort and small milli.

Thanks for updating us. The hard part for me was week 3-4 because that’s when I saw the tiny ones that had just hatched from eggs I couldn’t find. Them being so small it makes it very hard to know you got them all so be very diligent in your dipping process and make sure to shake the corals off in a second bath of just tank water just to make sure the little ones all come off. Good luck!

 

[ScottB]

Thanks for updating us. The hard part for me was week 3-4 because that’s when I saw the tiny ones that had just hatched from eggs I couldn’t find. Them being so small it makes it very hard to know you got them all so be very diligent in your dipping process and make sure to shake the corals off in a second bath of just tank water just to make sure the little ones all come off. Good luck!

Good advice.

Yeah, the 30-40 I blew off last week were very large and visible. It is highly likely there were some baby worms in the bottom of the bowl that I could not make out from the other "crud".

 

[drawman]

How long did you dip for @ScottB

 

[ScottB]

How long did you dip for @ScottB

Less than the recommended time -- about 4 mins on average. This is my first bottle of Melafix. Smells like tea tree oil or Revive.

I am typically a Bayer guy, and these worms obviously slipped through that somehow. Guess it could've been eggs that I failed to see. Bayer I dip more like 10 minutes.

In either a case, I baste pretty hard. Last week i placed the racks in 2' X 1' X 1' tupperwares and hit em with a powerhead the whole time.

 

[drawman]

Less than the recommended time -- about 4 mins on average. This is my first bottle of Melafix. Smells like tea tree oil or Revive.

I am typically a Bayer guy, and these worms obviously slipped through that somehow. Guess it could've been eggs that I failed to see. Bayer I dip more like 10 minutes.

In either a case, I baste pretty hard. Last week i placed the racks in 2' X 1' X 1' tupperwares and hit em with a powerhead the whole time.

That's great. I've dipped 5 mins with Melafix but not more than a couple seconds over. I've heard that's when people run into trouble so that's why I was asking. Like you I was a bayer guy but swtiched not too long ago. Glad to see you're getting such good results early on!

 

[Sean Duggan]

@ScottB Good to hear that it seems like you are winning the battle. I haven't seen any worms or signs since I last dipped. The biggest factor is going to be the eggs. I ended up using a magnifying glass to inspect each individual frag. Luckily I have a coral saw so any eggs I saw I sawed off. You can just as easily glue over the eggs as well. A sign I saw that I was beating the AEFW was the color on my acros and Millies. Use a high powered flashlight after the lights go off in your tank and look at you acros, its easier to see bite marks and eggs then. Good luck with the continued battle