AEFW: In-Tank Whoopin

[SPotter]

They're readily available from most wholesalers. I bet if you set up an email alert on LiveAquaria you'll see that they'll have them in a few days.

 

[Montireef]

I want to share my experience and results with everyone....So about 6 months ago I was informed by someone that had bought a frag from me that I had AEFW. Given the size of my tank and number of sps I have, pulling everything for dips was not a possibility. I added several wrasses that allegedly eat worms....little to no impact. I started pulling the pieces from my display that I could and transferred them to my frag tank for weekly dipping along with all of my frags. Over the next few weeks everything in the frag tank improved but I was still struggling with the display and was gradually losing more and more sps. After doing a lot of reading I decided to add 10 Blue Sapphire Damsels and started treating with Zeovit Flatworm Stop.

Within minutes of adding the Damsels they were pulling worms off of my acros and eating them. I was able to witness this several times with the first few days they were in the tank.

I know the FWS has had many mixed reviews but I still decided to give it a try especially since it was on sale. I began dosing at twice the suggested amount for the first 7 days and then after that I cut it back to the suggested amount. I continued to baste the sps every other day and with each basting less and less worms were found. After two weeks of introducing the damsels and starting the dosing of FWS....no worms or new bite marks were found. Here is the interesting part....I decided to do an experiment with the FWS and a few of the AEFW I siphoned out after basting. I put three worms in a 100ml container of tank water and then added 1ml of FWS. Over the next 30 mins they gradually shriveled up and died. I know there was some controversy over the initial claims made by Zeovit about this product which caused them to change the verbiage that they used in the product description.

Its now been 6 weeks since introduction of the damsels and when I started dosing FWS. Its been 4 weeks since I have last seen any signs of pests in my tank and I have recently cut the suggested dosage of FWS in half. All of my surviving sps have healed and begun to grow again.

I Steve,

Zeovit Flatworm Stop is not poisonous for AEFW, it is supposed to work in a different way: it promotes acropora's slime production and thus the parasite starves (amakusaplana feed on acropora's tissue). Maybe they died because of another reason such as a high concentration or a osmotic shock.

 

[Montireef]

thanks for sharing your experience.

I do have a mandarin, although it is a Synchiropus splendidus. and He does not appear intersted in them at all. Are you sure they picked Acro eating flat worms, and not just red planeria flat worms.

Synchiropus splendidus also have a taste for these evil parasites, but much less than picturatus. I have several tanks an in every tank I keep a mated couple of picturatus. They have cleaned the small colonies and frags to a point that I cannot find any amakusaplana anymore; the big colonies with no trapezia/tetralia crab had to be broken into smaller ones to permit them reach and clean the inner branches.

In the big tank where I hold about 700 acropora colonies, minicolonies and frags I keep 6 synchiropus (2 mated picturatus, 2 mated marmoratus and 2 mated splendidus). I have also whitnessed marmoratus cleaning some acros but they just swim on the botton so they do not do the trick. On the other hand I have seen all my six picturatus perusing and cleaning every and each of my acroporas. Great fish for an acro tank

 

[mc-cro]

thanks for the experience and information montireef, very informative, and probably going to go into my arsenal against the AEFW.

 

[scrapz]

Following along.

Can you link the threads containing info about aefw control with blue damsels? TIA!

 

[mc-cro]

scrapz, google does it better than I can, just type in aefw and saphire damsels. tons of stuff comes up.

also something to note. I put some flatworms, large and small, in a small container of water, maybe 300mL of water. Then I took a small syringe and blew approximately .1 ML, basically a drop, of FWS on the flatworm. it instantly turned white and died. As Montireef noted, possible osmotic shock, but it was instant. and I did this several times.

However, at a concentration of appr .4ml to 300ml, none of the other flatworms were effected in the small container. Even after several hours, they were still alive.

 

[mc-cro]

So, I think I am giving up on prohibit - levamisole while I am still ahead. 2 doses, and no measurable damage to the FW population.

Going to continue to use Flat Worm Stop, and up my natural defenses.

So I just ordered

10 Starphire Blue damsels
1 synchiropus picturatus
1 Halichoeres leucoxanthus (all the other Halichoeres were out of stock)
3 Trapezia Pocillopora/Acropora Crab

 

[Aqualund]

So, I think I am giving up on prohibit - levamisole while I am still ahead. 2 doses, and no measurable damage to the FW population.

Going to continue to use Flat Worm Stop, and up my natural defenses.

So I just ordered

10 Starphire Blue damsels
1 synchiropus picturatus
1 Halichoeres leucoxanthus (all the other Halichoeres were out of stock)
3 Trapezia Pocillopora/Acropora Crab

I just wonder if you have your dosing ratio incorrect. The first time I dosed during a heavy infestation, the water was clouded with the stunned fw within seconds. After 24 hours, there were none alive. So I'm kinda shocked that you saw no result.

 

[mc-cro]

I am pretty sure I had it right. I mixed 4g of prohibit into 500mL of water. then i dosed 1.5ML of that solution per gallon. 220gx1.5 was 330mL of the solution.

It completely paralized all my bristleworms and brittle stars. the stars layed in the bottom of the sump for days.

 

[Aqualund]

Hmm, I see. It's a little bit less than I dosed, and from reading your replies here I'm not sure if you did the same amount of time either.

I did 2mL per gallon, for 24 hours, and then started activated carbon after that for another 24 hours, and then changed the carbon one more time. I did this once every two weeks for 6 weeks, and they haven't returned. And my infestation was very pervasive.

I am still very surprised that you saw zero impact. Im also surprised it took days for your bristles and stars to recover. Mine always responded within hours of the activated carbon.

 

[mc-cro]

my order of fish came in yesterday.

the spotted mandarin has been sitting in an infested milli colony for the better part of yesterday and today picking AEFW. that is very encouraging.

The 10 tiny blue saphire damsels aint doing anything yet. they are quick to pick them from the water column, but I havent seen them picking the coral yet.

The wrasse was DOA, oh well. and the acro crabs are, well just sitting in acro colonies. not sure if they will help or not

 

[MidwesternTexan]

I'm stirring this thread up again.

So, A Good consensus seems to be- put the skimmer cup on, and run some new GAC, and maybe even a filter sock: after 24hrs of treatment?

I'm going to start this next week. I run about a 320g system, and have done the math.
My Prohibit/Levamisole has been ordered-ebay- and should be here in a few days.

Does the Levamisole have any effect on Nudi's? Montipora eating Nudi's- MENS?

 

[MidwesternTexan]

Anyone?

 

[yellowsound]

I too have AEFW, and I've just begun treatment w/ Prohibit. For those who have used this before: are you storing any leftover solution in the fridge? Discarding and starting from scratch each time? Other?

 

[bif24701]

Anyone?

How did it work out for you?


Aaron

 

[Psionicdragon]

anyone stil doing this treatment? feedbacks?

 

[bif24701]

I think it's dead, al together dead. I guess it didn't work. To bad.


Aaron

 

[Keith Better]

JDA,
Thank you for taking the time to write this good article. I have flatworms myself in a 210 reef. Many of my encrusted Acros have it. How has your tank been after the treatment? I am thinking of trying your solution.