SPS Issue please chime in

[Salty Dog]

I have two sps acro colonies, my camara isnt the best and its a pain to up load to photo bucket but here is my issue. I have two nice colonies on is huge like 9"x7" and at the base of both corals is small tiny which look like holes, and from the hole the area is turning with like a white band. Is this some kind of bug problem? Do I leave and see what happens? One piece is incrusted to the rock so it would be diffucult to remove and RO Dip the other is on a rock of its own so I could pull it out and dip it in RO and iodine.
What do I do?????
Thanks Bill

 

[MikeB]

Picture would really help

 

[Sikryd]

Sounds like AEFW - acro eating flat worms. Do a search on google and that should help you identify them.
Wetwebmedia is a good start to id stuff like this.
Melevs reef has some good info too.

 

[MikeB]

Sounds like AEFW: Melevsreef.com - AEFW | Acropora Eating Flatworms

 

[aquafrags]

if you do have aefw, be glad you only have two acros, get yourselve some revive and dip the whole rock. get a turkey baster and flush the acro with salwater. Makes sure you check around the base and the bottom of the acro for ballpoint pin size eggs and scrape them off, revive or iodine does not kill the eggs.

I would also take a pic of the receeeding area and post just to make sure.

 

[amay121]

Good luck with the fight against AEFW. Let us know how it goes because sooner or later, I'm sure I'll be getting some as well.

 

[Deahtop]

never dip your sps into fresh water btw.

 

[TonyB]

AEFW do not bore holes in the acro. They only compromise the soft tissue and it comes in small white spots, not bands like the OP describes. Not saying he doesn't have AEFW's, just that his symptoms don't point in that direction. Biologists have been studying what's commonly referred to as White Band Disease (WBD) for years on wild reefs. Although the cause isn't known to be pathologic, bacterial, etc., WBD has been blamed for the death of acres of coral. It's very possible that you're experiencing the same disease in your system, especially if your colonies were wild collected.

If you think you have AEFW look at any shaded area of the colony, particularly around the base or spots where two branches meet. Inspect it very closely in these areas for any small white spots. They are indicative of AEFW infestations. If you see this evidence, remove the coral and dip it in revive for 20 minutes at the concentration described on the bottle. Use a baster to agitate the water which will help the little buggers let go. Inspect the area immediately adjacent to the outer edge of the living tissue for egg masses. Pay special attention around the base. The worms will not lay eggs on living tissue or in areas subject to light. They are tiny so look closely for clusters of the rust colored eggs. You can scrape them loose but I feel that this just helps them spread because they're so stick you never get them all off. Instead, I like to entomb any eggs under a small layer of superglue.

 

[losthere]

never dip your sps into fresh water btw.

+1 friend did it and all he did is kill his acro

 

[Reef Goddess]

Whoever came up with the freshwater dip idea anyway?? Corals are not fish.

 

[lReef lKeeper]

Really ... Never FWD corals, I don't even FWD softies !! Pics would really help in this situation.

 

[inactive]

Front Wheel Drive?

 

[revhtree]

FWD = Fresh Water Dip

Reef 2 Reef - Reef Acronyms

 

[Murfman]

Get some Wrasses too, they will eat the AFW and help control the infestation.

 

[tangdiver]

What Tony said, I think that it is not AEFW, Travis and Myself had these years ago when no one knew of them. Talk to others and we used pig dewormer....

I think it might be a low or not stable alk, and you are seeing the polyp holes...

Just a thought.

Grant

 

[w0r1d5m1n3]

If they are aefw good luck. You should remove all sps to a quarantine tank and treat with revive. definitely visit Melevsreef.com - AEFW | Acropora Eating Flatworms for further detail.

 

[blinddog]

Ihad them i got a six line he kept them under control