AEFW just go away?

Sullyman

Sullyman

Premium Member
I''m in a dilemna. I know of a hobbiest that had brn aefw and had decided to live with them. But he's now selling and in the most recent post is giving away some sps frags. I pm'd him after I saw that he was selling a sm sps colony and asked him about his aefw problem and selling/trading/giving away
sps. He first claimed to never have had them until I reminded him of a conversation he had with me and another person, then he remembered but claimed he had stopped basting them off his coral and that since his coral was looking so good color and growth, that he figured that he must of had something else and it was gone, maybe his wrasses killed them off.
I have never heard of these things going away after being introduced to a tank with sps, with no treatment. Am I wrong about this? I'm all but positive he isn't going to mention the fact that he ever had them, I had to jog his memory. If I'm right about the worms he's passing them on to some newbies, if I'm wrong please let me know. The dilemna is whether to warn people or not.
 
Call him out. I've never heard of them "just going away," and it sounds like he gave you every excuse in the book before he went and credited his wrasses with removing them. A local reefer had AEFW, anounced it as soon as he found out, stopped spreading around coral, and fixed his problem. This is the right way to do it IMO.
The guy you know of sounds pretty shady.
JMO
 
I don't know who you're talking about, but yes, please let others know. Shoot me a pm if you choose not to go public.
 
Bob,

I am in the same position as the person you mention (not sure who it is), but mine haven't gone away. My reef has managed to grow and do just fine, even though I've had them for over a year and a half. There are people who are very diligent with basting (I admittedly get a bit lazy occasionally) and claim that they have eradicated AEFW with basting. ReefBum, who had a gorgeous TOTM, is one that comes to mind. In any event, unless you are 110% sure they are gone, I think you have an obligation to let people know there is a risk. On the flip side, you are probably safer buying from a seller (considering many Chicago stores, including one near you, have had AEFW problems...and likely still do ;) ). Here is ReefBum's tank:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2009-03/totm/index.php

ftjan242009tankpic35a.jpg
 
Mike I know about your issues because you have been up front with everyone, and I can't tell you how much I admire you for it.
I just think he should let folks know up front and I don't think he was going too. I pm'd the people that were set to get frags from him, needless to say they won't be getting them. But going forward what to do? This is a nice person and I don't want to slam him, just not sure what to do.
 
He should let them know so they can quarantine/dip what they get from him. I don't they will just go away but with proper predators may be controllable
 
The person should be upfront and honest about the issue so that others can make a decision about either QTing items from them or just not purchasing anything from them.
 
Sullyman said:
Mike I know about your issues because you have been up front with everyone, and I can't tell you how much I admire you for it.
I just think he should let folks know up front and I don't think he was going too. I pm'd the people that were set to get frags from him, needless to say they won't be getting them. But going forward what to do? This is a nice person and I don't want to slam him, just not sure what to do.
Click to expand...

If he didn't even baste it seems impossible to have gotten rid of them. At the same time isn't it possible that maybe he was mistaken that he had them in the first place. In either case, its tough to say definitively that he hasn't gotten rid of them. And where do you draw the line? There are people who've done the whole tear up the tank thing, thought they got rid of them, only to have eggs somehow get trough and pop up 6 months later. Obviously, I default to honesty being the best policy, but at the same time, if this guy truly believes he got rid of them, its a tricky question...

At the end of the day, I think its always best to put the responsibility on the buyer/receiver of the corals. You should always treat every coral as infected, no matter how trusted the source. this is the only way to be truly sure you don't get them, and if you don't, don't blame anyone but yourself. To give you an anecdote, I have bought SPS infected with AEFW from two of the most popular stores for SPS. When I called to let them know they were infected (and offered to send them pictures), here are the responses I got:

Store #1: aw man, we found those a couple months ago, but we took care of it...we dipped all our corals. Clearly one dip isn't enough.

Store #2: we dip all our corals when they arrive, so you must be mistaken.

I tried to explain that dipping once wasn't the answer, and even worse, in store #2's case, they were giving customers a false sense of security. This is the store I got them from because I dipped, didn't see anything come off (because their dip had got the parents). Since I didn't know they had dipped, I wishfully assumed that meant the coral was fine, despite a few suspicious dots on the coral. Obviously, there dip didn't get the eggs, and the rest is history in my tank. Given this, I would suspect that a very high percentage of SPS tanks in Chicago have AEFW (many not even realizing it yet). And the reason I don't post the stores names, is because I don't think its their fault...its the buyer's responsibility to QT corals, if they want their tank to be pest-free. Myself, I do disclose and I think that is the right thing to do, but I don't point the finger at others who sell/trade at-risk corals, because I do feel its ultimately the buyer's responsibility. Just my two cents.
 
Not to sidetrack the thread, how do you spot aefw besides looking for eggs (are there other signs). Also, what is a good dip to use for aefw. TIA.
 
He was basting for a while he said. But just because corals look good and are growing doesn't mean that they are pest free. Sarah if he thinks they're gone, I doubt he'll say anything. He didn't remember he told me he had them until after my 3rd pm about it.
Mike I agree with what you say, there isn't a store in this area that does any real dip/qt of coral. A quick dip from bag to tank isn't doing anything really. And I agree there are many many tanks with them in our area whose owners don't know about it. I agree it's the buyers responsability to dip and QT but there are so many new people that find out about them the hard way.
 
You'll see bite marks on the coral and you'll see areas of coral without tissue.
I've had the clear aefw and it was not hard to see as they were mowing down corals. The brown ones seem to take more time and are fairly visible. If you have a coral that you wonder about dip it if you can and see what comes off it, if it's aefw you'll see lots of little round flatworms in the dip. Tropic marin has a good dip pro coral cure, or revive from two little fishes. But you may want to add some interceptor to the dip as well to avoid red bugs.
 
Thanks for the helpful info. I am already using Revive and TMPCC for new corals. I will look for more info on interceptor.

Sullyman said:
You'll see bite marks on the coral and you'll see areas of coral without tissue.
I've had the clear aefw and it was not hard to see as they were mowing down corals. The brown ones seem to take more time and are fairly visible. If you have a coral that you wonder about dip it if you can and see what comes off it, if it's aefw you'll see lots of little round flatworms in the dip. Tropic marin has a good dip pro coral cure, or revive from two little fishes. But you may want to add some interceptor to the dip as well to avoid red bugs.
Click to expand...
 
Sullyman said:
You'll see bite marks on the coral and you'll see areas of coral without tissue.
I've had the clear aefw and it was not hard to see as they were mowing down corals. The brown ones seem to take more time and are fairly visible. If you have a coral that you wonder about dip it if you can and see what comes off it, if it's aefw you'll see lots of little round flatworms in the dip. Tropic marin has a good dip pro coral cure, or revive from two little fishes. But you may want to add some interceptor to the dip as well to avoid red bugs.
Click to expand...

Interesting you've noticed different kinds...I've often wondered if there are different species of AEFW based on their choices of corals. Out of curiosity, have you ever seen an AEFW attack an A. Tortusa?
 
The clear aefw went after everything Mike, once they got going all acros were on the menu. Funny both times my lamplighter went first so it must be a favorite. I've never had the brn worms but have seen them and adults hide well but are visible on coral, the clear ones you can find eggs but hard to see the worm until it's dead in dip.
 
As much as it is the sellers responsibility to tell the buyer, it is the buyers responsibility to dip, inspect, and QT their new corals. We have to start protecting our selves I bet half the people that have them dont even know. Yet.
 
I automatically assume anybody I get corals from has every kind of pest there is. I dip everything 1x/week for six weeks before anything gets in my main systems. I've got a 20H with a halide over it for QT. I just started a new tank (so I know its pest free right now lol) Time will tell if this regimine actually works but from the reading I've done it seems like the best method.

FWIW this guy sounds like a jerk if he's trying to deny having an issue.. Considering how much time and money we all put into this hobby thats a real BS thing to do to somebody. But as said before I think the ownus is more on the buyer.
 
any hobbyist who is aware fo them, and isnt 110% sure they are truly erradicated should share the fact that there is a possibility of some hitchikers when selling/trading. This of course only applies to those who have any integrity in the first place, and there are many with integrity who just dont know they have them yet...........which takes us back to:

Trust nobody. Assume everyone is infected and it is ultimately your responsibility to keep your reefs pest free.

Just the same......It is surely poor character and I agree the person should be called out for their selective memory.

When you mention the offing colonies to newbs thing it reminds me of the first experience I ever had with the worms. I was just really starting to like the few sps I had in the tank, and then i came across this amazing deal. This guy was selling all of his sps for like $400(and they pretty much filled my 80 gallon tank at the time). I dont need to tell you the ends result of that little transaction. :rolleyes:
 
The horse got out of the barn last night and it wasn't well received. A lot of denial on the other end but at least the info is out. I of course an a total jerk for making public info he'd told me and he's confused about timeline, he thinks he first told me about the worms this past Jan. but it was last year April I think, I ran into him on my first trip to an lfs after I had my hip replaced. Given what he told me and the fact he was not being upfront about it with others, I don't think he gave me any choice.
 
i dont wanna side track this thread but is there any know natural prdators that could have gotten rid of those flat worms?
 
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