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What kind of trap do you use? I have been trying to remove a mean dottyback from a mixed reef tank that bites several others. It has been months. He is smart and very fast
It's a bubble magus acrylic fish trap. I attached fishing line to the a piece that holds up the trap door. My fish either were very easy or very difficult to capture. My potter's wrasse, clownfish, and marine betta all took under 2 minutes.

The yellow tang would not swim into the fish trap when it was high in the tank. Ultimately by placing it on the sand bed and placing a nori clip inside I was able to lure him inside. The hawkfish required a lot of patience as well, but would only swim into the trap when the trap was higher up facing his normal perch.

All of my fish swam into the trap at some point, but I found they responded differently to different foods and positions of the fish trap. I also didn't feed the tank for a few days before attempting to capture the hawkfish who was very reluctant to swim into the trap. Good luck!
 
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Beautiful system!
 
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Beautiful system!
Thank you!

3519E667-53B3-4799-92BF-33408675A1E2_1_105_c.jpeg
 
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049FA288-A7EA-45A8-8898-A726C51A3FE2_1_105_c.jpeg


The tank is doing well overall, but I ran into a hurdle six weeks ago. I noticed one of the frags that was on the sand bed was losing some tissue. The water parameters had been stable without issue and most of my corals were growing well and developing nice coloration. I decided to dip the problem frag not expecting to see much. Unfortunately a couple of flat worms peeled off!

It was frustrating to say the least. I have been quarantining all of my corals. The quarantine regimen has evolved, and I had picked up some frags at a local fish store that didn't undergo the month long quarantine with weekly dipping, and I suspect that is how I introduced the pests. I discarded the frag and hoped that it was the only affected frag.

I started dipping various frags and initially was encouraged as I didn't find any more worms. As I made my way through the tank, 90 percent of the frags and colonies were clean without worms. But the other 10 percent had one or two worms.

I had recently noticed my oregon tort had lost its previous polyp extension, but didn't make much of it. Then I dipped it in the solution below and saw more than 30 worms peel off. It was a bit shocking the number of worms given that I couldn't even see one before I dipped the coral.

929D93A7-8B57-45E3-B853-2088924C4FC8_1_105_c.jpeg


In the tank, under the lights, the tissue damage also was difficult to visualize, but it can be seen clearly on close inspection when the colony was out of the tank.

5C1ADE92-7BD1-4362-9E7A-73CF46348A08_1_105_c.jpeg


I found eggs at the base of the coral which I encased with glue. I also applied putty on the rock where this coral was located with the intent of covering any potential remaining eggs on the rocks.

Although very disappointed with the development, it was a good thing this happened at this stage and not later as the corals were larger and had grown onto the rocks. The majority of my frags are on a small rock base that I glue onto the aquascape rock. I removed the frags and attached a frag plug to the base rock.

IMG_5526.jpg



Most of the frags were then placed onto one of two racks.

927DAB49-9103-43BC-ACD3-EC8BF13B955F_1_105_c.jpeg


I am using a flat basin that can fit the larger frag rack. I can dip all of my acropora in two batches and the whole process from set up to clean up takes about 45 minutes. I add four gallons of fresh salt water to the aquarium, I then take 4 gallons of the water from the tank and add it to the basin. I add the loose colonies and smaller frag rack to the basin with only salt water because it takes a few minutes to grab the loose colonies. I then add melafix to the solution at the recommended 10 mL melafix / Liter of salt water. I baste the corals during the next 3-4 minutes and have all the corals back in the tank by about 5 minutes from the start of the process. The second batch is the large tray containing all the frags.

DB3AB949-E732-499A-8D66-17130549AB42_1_105_c.jpeg
IMG_5528.jpeg



I started dipping the corals 6 weeks ago. I have not lost any corals with the exception of the first frag I discarded. The polyp extension on many of the corals has improved, the colors are a little worse on some of the frags, but overall everything has handled the dips well. I have the tank temperature 77-79 degrees. Here is the dipping schedule I've been using.

Week 0-2: Dipped twice / week
Week 2-4: Dipped once/ week
Week 4-8: Dipped once / 2 weeks

So far I am in week 6. I have not found any worms on the past three dips in the past four weeks. I will do one final dip in 2 weeks. If there are still no worms following the next treatment, then I will place the corals back on the rock work.
 

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049FA288-A7EA-45A8-8898-A726C51A3FE2_1_105_c.jpeg


The tank is doing well overall, but I ran into a hurdle six weeks ago. I noticed one of the frags that was on the sand bed was losing some tissue. The water parameters had been stable without issue and most of my corals were growing well and developing nice coloration. I decided to dip the problem frag not expecting to see much. Unfortunately a couple of flat worms peeled off!

It was frustrating to say the least. I have been quarantining all of my corals. The quarantine regimen has evolved, and I had picked up some frags at a local fish store that didn't undergo the month long quarantine with weekly dipping, and I suspect that is how I introduced the pests. I discarded the frag and hoped that it was the only affected frag.

I started dipping various frags and initially was encouraged as I didn't find any more worms. As I made my way through the tank, 90 percent of the frags and colonies were clean without worms. But the other 10 percent had one or two worms.

I had recently noticed my oregon tort had lost its previous polyp extension, but didn't make much of it. Then I dipped it in the solution below and saw more than 30 worms peel off. It was a bit shocking the number of worms given that I couldn't even see one before I dipped the coral.

929D93A7-8B57-45E3-B853-2088924C4FC8_1_105_c.jpeg


In the tank, under the lights, the tissue damage also was difficult to visualize, but it can be seen clearly on close inspection when the colony was out of the tank.

5C1ADE92-7BD1-4362-9E7A-73CF46348A08_1_105_c.jpeg


I found eggs at the base of the coral which I encased with glue. I also applied putty on the rock where this coral was located with the intent of covering any potential remaining eggs on the rocks.

Although very disappointed with the development, it was a good thing this happened at this stage and not later as the corals were larger and had grown onto the rocks. The majority of my frags are on a small rock base that I glue onto the aquascape rock. I removed the frags and attached a frag plug to the base rock.

IMG_5526.jpg



Most of the fags were then placed onto one of two racks.

927DAB49-9103-43BC-ACD3-EC8BF13B955F_1_105_c.jpeg


I am using a flat basin that can fit the larger frag rack. I can dip all of my acropora in two batches and the whole process from set up to clean up takes about 45 minutes. I add four gallons of fresh salt water to the aquarium, I then take 4 gallons of the water from the tank and add it to the basin. I add the loose colonies and smaller frag rack to the basin with only salt water because it takes a few minutes to grab the loose colonies. I then add melafix to the solution at the recommended 10 mL melafix / Liter of salt water. I baste the corals during the next 3-4 minutes and have all the corals back in the tank by about 5 minutes from the start of the process. The second batch is the large tray containing all the frags.

DB3AB949-E732-499A-8D66-17130549AB42_1_105_c.jpeg
IMG_5528.jpeg



I started dipping the corals 6 weeks ago. I have not lost any corals with the exception of the first frag I discarded. The polyp extension on many of the corals has improved, the colors are a little worse on some of the frags, but overall everything has handled the dips well. I have the tank temperature 77-79 degrees. Here is the dipping schedule I've been using.

Week 0-2: Dipped twice / week
Week 2-4: Dipped once/ week
Week 4-8: Dipped once / 2 weeks

So far I am in week 6. I have not found any worms on the past three dips in the past four weeks. I will do one final dip in 2 weeks. If there are still no worms following the next treatment, then I will place the corals back on the rock work.

I feel your pain. I QT my sticks and I am pretty sure I found some red bugs this weekend. Sometimes we miss things. Unfortunately all of my sticks are fully encrusted on the rock. Inceptor is hard to find and Dr G's doesn't contain the same goodies as it did before.
 
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I feel your pain. I QT my sticks and I am pretty sure I found some red bugs this weekend. Sometimes we miss things. Unfortunately all of my sticks are fully encrusted on the rock. Inceptor is hard to find and Dr G's doesn't contain the same goodies as it did before.
Pain is right. Once I got past my initial frustration, I realized it would be much more difficult if the tank was more mature and the corals had encrusted. Using the tray and dipping everything in a couple batches has been doable. I'm planning on tightening up the quarantine process moving forward, but as you mention we can still miss things. Finding a pest is not a good feeling. How are you planning on approaching the the red bugs?
 
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Pain is right. Once I go past my initial frustration, I realized that it would be much more difficult if the tank was more mature and the corals had encrusted. Using the tray and dipping everything in a couple batches has been doable. I'm planning on tightening up my more stringent quarantine process moving forward, but as you mention we can still miss things. Finding a pest in a more mature tank is not a good feeling. How are you planning on approaching the the red bugs?
I have delt with the AEFW before and truly had good success with KZ flatwormstop (2x dose, 6 months) and booster ( 6 months Daily normal dosage amount). Side not KZ flatworm stop is SPS crack IMO/E.

I also plan on keeping sticks in QT longer and potentially invest in a decent microscope. I am on the hunt for Inceptor or really anything with Milbemycin Oxime in it. I have some local people looking to help source some. Really wish Dr G's was still available. Granted I still need to confirm Red bugs and secondly red bugs aren't the end of the world or tank shut down worthy IMO. Wait a few weeks trying to find inceptor, if there is no luck then decided if I want to break them off the rocks and bayer dip and qt them again for a few weeks.
 
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I have delt with the AEFW before and truly had good success with KZ flatwormstop (2x dose, 6 months) and booster ( 6 months Daily normal dosage amount). Side not KZ flatworm stop is SPS crack IMO/E.

I also plan on keeping sticks in QT longer and potentially invest in a decent microscope. I am on the hunt for Inceptor or really anything with Milbemycin Oxime in it. I have some local people looking to help source some. Really wish Dr G's was still available. Granted I still need to confirm Red bugs and secondly red bugs aren't the end of the world or tank shut down worthy IMO. Wait a few weeks trying to find inceptor, if there is no luck then decided if I want to break them off the rocks and bayer dip and qt them again for a few weeks.
I have KZ flatworm stop, but have been inconsistent with its use. I was thinking about dosing it daily as recommended. When you mention sps crack, I'm wondering what effects did you see?
 

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I have KZ flatworm stop, but have been inconsistent with its use. I was thinking about dosing it daily as recommended. When you mention sps crack, I'm wondering what effects did you see?
I would just have it set up on a doser. If you are going to use it as a tool to help beat the worms, you need to use it daily and I would recommend 2X the dose ( their are other threads also showing their success with this over a 6 month time frame).

Some of the effects (in conjunction with booster) I can visually see: Encrusting growth is faster, its ability to heal from fragging or damage is within 4-6 days (depends on acro), the acro skin seems to be thicker ( this is hard to describe without have acros in front of you)

Just remember this is anecdotal and my experience with so many other factors one cannot control. I am super curious if you choose do it what your results are. It is hard to describe but something about the acros just looks lusher, seems silly I know, but if you are in "tune" with your sticks I would be surprised if you did NOT see a positive change. I noticed these changes about week 2 of using it daily.
 

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049FA288-A7EA-45A8-8898-A726C51A3FE2_1_105_c.jpeg


The tank is doing well overall, but I ran into a hurdle six weeks ago. I noticed one of the frags that was on the sand bed was losing some tissue. The water parameters had been stable without issue and most of my corals were growing well and developing nice coloration. I decided to dip the problem frag not expecting to see much. Unfortunately a couple of flat worms peeled off!

It was frustrating to say the least. I have been quarantining all of my corals. The quarantine regimen has evolved, and I had picked up some frags at a local fish store that didn't undergo the month long quarantine with weekly dipping, and I suspect that is how I introduced the pests. I discarded the frag and hoped that it was the only affected frag.

I started dipping various frags and initially was encouraged as I didn't find any more worms. As I made my way through the tank, 90 percent of the frags and colonies were clean without worms. But the other 10 percent had one or two worms.

I had recently noticed my oregon tort had lost its previous polyp extension, but didn't make much of it. Then I dipped it in the solution below and saw more than 30 worms peel off. It was a bit shocking the number of worms given that I couldn't even see one before I dipped the coral.

929D93A7-8B57-45E3-B853-2088924C4FC8_1_105_c.jpeg


In the tank, under the lights, the tissue damage also was difficult to visualize, but it can be seen clearly on close inspection when the colony was out of the tank.

5C1ADE92-7BD1-4362-9E7A-73CF46348A08_1_105_c.jpeg


I found eggs at the base of the coral which I encased with glue. I also applied putty on the rock where this coral was located with the intent of covering any potential remaining eggs on the rocks.

Although very disappointed with the development, it was a good thing this happened at this stage and not later as the corals were larger and had grown onto the rocks. The majority of my frags are on a small rock base that I glue onto the aquascape rock. I removed the frags and attached a frag plug to the base rock.

IMG_5526.jpg



Most of the fags were then placed onto one of two racks.

927DAB49-9103-43BC-ACD3-EC8BF13B955F_1_105_c.jpeg


I am using a flat basin that can fit the larger frag rack. I can dip all of my acropora in two batches and the whole process from set up to clean up takes about 45 minutes. I add four gallons of fresh salt water to the aquarium, I then take 4 gallons of the water from the tank and add it to the basin. I add the loose colonies and smaller frag rack to the basin with only salt water because it takes a few minutes to grab the loose colonies. I then add melafix to the solution at the recommended 10 mL melafix / Liter of salt water. I baste the corals during the next 3-4 minutes and have all the corals back in the tank by about 5 minutes from the start of the process. The second batch is the large tray containing all the frags.

DB3AB949-E732-499A-8D66-17130549AB42_1_105_c.jpeg
IMG_5528.jpeg



I started dipping the corals 6 weeks ago. I have not lost any corals with the exception of the first frag I discarded. The polyp extension on many of the corals has improved, the colors are a little worse on some of the frags, but overall everything has handled the dips well. I have the tank temperature 77-79 degrees. Here is the dipping schedule I've been using.

Week 0-2: Dipped twice / week
Week 2-4: Dipped once/ week
Week 4-8: Dipped once / 2 weeks

So far I am in week 6. I have not found any worms on the past three dips in the past four weeks. I will do one final dip in 2 weeks. If there are still no worms following the next treatment, then I will place the corals back on the rock work.

I'm so sorry for the issues. Your tank colors are very nice though I have to say!
 
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I would just have it set up on a doser. If you are going to use it as a tool to help beat the worms, you need to use it daily and I would recommend 2X the dose ( their are other threads also showing their success with this over a 6 month time frame).

Some of the effects (in conjunction with booster) I can visually see: Encrusting growth is faster, its ability to heal from fragging or damage is within 4-6 days (depends on acro), the acro skin seems to be thicker ( this is hard to describe without have acros in front of you)

Just remember this is anecdotal and my experience with so many other factors one cannot control. I am super curious if you choose do it what your results are. It is hard to describe but something about the acros just looks lusher, seems silly I know, but if you are in "tune" with your sticks I would be surprised if you did NOT see a positive change. I noticed these changes about week 2 of using it daily.
Thanks, I am going to look into it further. I appreciate the anecdote and observations. Just to clarify, have you continued to dose daily beyond the 6 months at the double dosage?
 
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I'm so sorry for the issues. Your tank colors are very nice though I have to say!
Thank you. I'm happy with how things are progressing. This is just a little detour and I'm optimistic things will be back on track soon!

IMG_5568.jpg
IMG_5569.jpg
IMG_5575.jpg
 
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Thanks, I am going to look into it further. I appreciate the anecdote and observations. Just to clarify, have you continued to dose daily beyond the 6 months at the double dosage?
No problem. Let me know what you find out.

Nope it went back to regular dose, and now I will use it on any SPS tank I set up in the future for its other benefits.
 
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For the first time, I witnessed my clownfish spawning. The clutch was eaten by the evening, but hopefully this will improve with time and experience for this pair.
BE12F00B-2E03-4815-9804-6FC458A63CFB_1_105_c.jpeg


Adjusted the position of the frag rack to make room for a Tridacna Noae
88A6AC05-4915-46CA-9CB8-4AC1B4D36F05_1_105_c.jpeg
50E5AB69-1D15-4DB5-93BC-96E82503F585_1_105_c.jpeg
 
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28711422-FC98-4B0A-A37B-5B5747186067_1_201_a.jpeg


Everything is coming along well. Temporarily added a fan to blow over the top of the tank during our heat wave and while the evenings are warmer. This has worked really well and the tank is not going above 79. I routinely have a fan in the stand controlled by the apex blowing over the sump. No plans for a chiller still.

Just added this glitter goniopora. Looking forward to seeing its polyps grow.

C40E801D-7FBB-488C-9246-612991E22ECB_1_201_a.jpeg


I added this fragment of the UC Amazeballs Goniopora last year in August. It's grown really well over the past eleven months.

606EFEDE-7771-457C-8792-59E94F29CDAC_1_201_a.jpeg

056D9B4D-BC8B-4BA5-89EA-FBB7994AB547_1_102_o.jpeg

C2C6767A-7CF8-4FE7-BB98-B53D50DE5F42_1_105_c.jpeg


A couple videos of feeding the tank with the plank. I continue to feed freeze dried calanus and mysis primarily via the plank. I continue to sift the mysis to remove the particulate before adding it to the feeder. I also feed frozen most days once a day and couple times per day on the weekends.



 
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A couple new LPS additions. Really excited to find an indophyllia and add this new elegance.

6CE6FCA2-F8D0-4507-81AC-A04FC7666DC4_1_201_a.jpeg
330D2AAE-4B0B-413B-915A-BA11EE4F6002_1_201_a.jpeg
 
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