cambo123
New member
I have had AEFW for a while now...maybe 6+ months...its getting old. In the future, when I move, I may set up a larger tank and use my existing one as a quarantine. In the mean time I have been reading threads on-off about AEFW in tank treatments.
The most widely used method I have seen utilizes Levamisole for several hours with the filtration off. People have mixed results, some reporting success, some disaster, and some with a resurgent of the pest 3-4 months later...even after several treatments. The problem with using Levamisole it seems is the dose necessary to kill the worms puts you on thin ice...some make it across and some fall though.
It seems that a new method has arrived that utilizes potassium chloride. Apparently, coral is tolerant of very high levels of KCL for short periods of time while AEFW (and just about everything else) is not. If performed correctly, the KCL should measure around 1500ppm after treatment. This is then lowered to acceptable levels with water changes thereafter. The catch here is all fish and inverts must be removed from the tank when KCl levels are elevated.
I had a thought this morning that maybe we could implement both these treatments, in a lower dose, in tandem. The idea would be to start with a low does of Levamisole. Low enough that the system is not "put on thin ice" but high enough that it would stun/irritate the worms. After several hours, raise the KCL level to something that irritates fish/inverts/worms but does not kill them.
The theory is, the worms have already been somewhat stunned by the Levamisole while the fish and inverts are unaffected. When the KCL is added everything is irritated but the worms are already stressed and pushed over the edge. You then follow up with carbon and large water changes.
I have no idea if this would work but it could make a fun experiment with AEFW and a hermit crab or something in a holding container. Just throwing an idea out there.
The most widely used method I have seen utilizes Levamisole for several hours with the filtration off. People have mixed results, some reporting success, some disaster, and some with a resurgent of the pest 3-4 months later...even after several treatments. The problem with using Levamisole it seems is the dose necessary to kill the worms puts you on thin ice...some make it across and some fall though.
It seems that a new method has arrived that utilizes potassium chloride. Apparently, coral is tolerant of very high levels of KCL for short periods of time while AEFW (and just about everything else) is not. If performed correctly, the KCL should measure around 1500ppm after treatment. This is then lowered to acceptable levels with water changes thereafter. The catch here is all fish and inverts must be removed from the tank when KCl levels are elevated.
I had a thought this morning that maybe we could implement both these treatments, in a lower dose, in tandem. The idea would be to start with a low does of Levamisole. Low enough that the system is not "put on thin ice" but high enough that it would stun/irritate the worms. After several hours, raise the KCL level to something that irritates fish/inverts/worms but does not kill them.
The theory is, the worms have already been somewhat stunned by the Levamisole while the fish and inverts are unaffected. When the KCL is added everything is irritated but the worms are already stressed and pushed over the edge. You then follow up with carbon and large water changes.
I have no idea if this would work but it could make a fun experiment with AEFW and a hermit crab or something in a holding container. Just throwing an idea out there.
