What are these spots on my Euphyllia (Octospawn) polyps?

[Macbalacano]

Saw these brown spots the other day. Should I be concerned? Are they normal? What are they from?

 

[DDenny]

Need to add a picture

 

[Macbalacano]

Need to add a picture

Sorry just uploaded Thank you!

 

[Hats_]

Flatworms, id suggest dipping in an iodine based dip and find out how bad it is, also dip all other euphyllia

 

[Macbalacano]

Flatworms, id suggest dipping in an iodine based dip and find out how bad it is, also dip all other euphyllia

Is the brown spot the flatworm itself? Or is that the part they are damaging/eating? Or eggs?

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

This, flatworms is what it looks like. The eggs would be much smaller, dip it and see if they come off, if it is definitely flatworms which is what it looks like then I'd reccomend consecutive dipping once every 1-2 weeks for 2-3 months

 

[Hats_]

Is the brown spot the flatworm itself? Or is that the part they are damaging/eating? Or eggs?

thats the flatworm itself, eggs would be at the bottom of the stem usually

 

[Macbalacano]

Thanks for the ID folks. So I used Coral RX and dipped it for 15 minutes with a powerhead then rinsed it in a bucket of tank water for 5 minutes.

The next day, I still saw the same brown spots / flatworms.

What dip to you recommend to get rid of these?

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

If they didn't come off in the dip (assuming you also dipped the frag plug they were on) then I agree with @ISpeakForTheSeas, they are most likely sponge and completely harmless

 

[Macbalacano]

If they didn't come off in the dip (assuming you also dipped the frag plug they were on) then I agree with @ISpeakForTheSeas, they are most likely sponge and completely harmless

@ISpeakForTheSeas do you think these are not flatworms?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

@ISpeakForTheSeas do you think these are not flatworms?

If they didn't come off in the dip (assuming you also dipped the frag plug they were on) then I agree with @ISpeakForTheSeas, they are most likely sponge and completely harmless

I think this is the wrong thread for Reefkeepers Archive's post (I commented on a post where the OP thought they had flatworms, but it's probably a sponge).

For this thread, it's definitely flatworms. I can't see the worms clearly enough to be sure, but they may be a Waminoa species; regardless, the below may help:

Looks like it may be a Waminoa sp. - they are known to feed on the coral mucus rather than the coral itself of corals in the family Euphylliidae, as well as mushroom corals. Theoretically, in large numbers these guys could cause problems for corals like stated in the quote* below:
"Apparently, acoels can harm corals by smothering them, which may hinder their respiration, feeding and sediment shedding capacities."

*The link the quote was taken from:

Tissue loss in corals infested by acoelomorph flatworms (Waminoa sp.) - Coral Reefs

link.springer.com

The only confirmed effective method of removal that I'm aware of is a repeated dip and cleaning method (pull any infected corals from the tank, dip them, scrape off any worms/eggs that stay on through the dip, repeat as needed). It may be more effective if you can to dip, scrape, and then put the corals in a different, uninfected tank to wait out the starvation of any eggs/worms in the infected tank, but this may not be possible. The link below has some other ideas you can explore if you'd prefer, but I have no idea if they're effective or not:

EEFW infestation (euphyllia eating flatworms)

Dip them using coral revive. They peel off in seconds using it. I’ve tried other stuff but nothing works even close as good as revive. They spaz right out in seconds and come off the torches Flatworm exit doesn’t work on these at all...

www.reef2reef.com

Edit: Also, here's a link that shows some more known host corals (I would assume these will host on just about any coral they can get too to be honest).
https://www.researchgate.net/figure...cimen-18-host-Echinophyllia-sp_fig2_324516348

 

[Macbalacano]

I think this is the wrong thread for Reefkeepers Archive's post (I commented on a post where the OP thought they had flatworms, but it's probably a sponge).

For this thread, it's definitely flatworms. I can't see the worms clearly enough to be sure, but they may be a Waminoa species; regardless, the below may help:

This is extremely helpful, thank you. Definitely looks like the worms I have.

I have been googling for quite a while and it doesn't seem as common as other flatworms. There does not seem to be a lot of other folks who have had experience with this in an aquarium.

Hopefully, someone who has had to deal with it before can chime in!

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

I think this is the wrong thread for Reefkeepers Archive's post (I commented on a post where the OP thought they had flatworms, but it's probably a sponge).

For this thread, it's definitely flatworms. I can't see the worms clearly enough to be sure, but they may be a Waminoa species; regardless, the below may help:

Whoops, my bad.



Just clicked on the notification icon, thought there was only one flatworm thread I was helping with.

 

[Macbalacano]

Anyone have thoughts or experience on how to get rid of these flatworms? Been googling and searching for a while and can't seem to find others who've experienced the same

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Anyone have thoughts or experience on how to get rid of these flatworms? Been googling and searching for a while and can't seem to find others who've experienced the same

There are a handful of threads on it (go to the search here on R2R and type in "waminoa" then hit search; it pulled up 7 pages of results for me), but it's not very common. As I mentioned, repeated dips and cleaning are the only methods I've seen confirmedly work.

 

[Macbalacano]

There are a handful of threads on it (go to the search here on R2R and type in "waminoa" then hit search; it pulled up 7 pages of results for me), but it's not very common. As I mentioned, repeated dips and cleaning are the only methods I've seen confirmedly work.

Thanks again, followed up on a few threads. Part of the challenge too is we cannot buy Bayer / Bioadvanced in Canada to use as a dip. Trying to figure out alternatives.

 

[Macbalacano]

Update: dipped again using Coral Rx about a week after the first time. This time I mixed in 25% more (5 capfuls instead of 4, mixed in 1 gallon of water) and left it in there for 30% longer (15 mins instead of 5-10 minutes).

I also used a turkey baster and gently blew the polyps at the start of the dip and at the end of the dip before rinsing in tank water.

Using this method, I saw quite a few flatworms fall out vs. Last time. Will monitor and dip again in a week if I still see them on there.

 

[reeferKen]

What brand iodine based dip do you like Hats?

 

[Hats_]

What brand iodine based dip do you like Hats?

I use coral clean from tropic marin