AEFW life cycle?

[purge43]

I dont have any experience with them and I hope I dont, but if aefw's ate all acros in a tank, would they then all die off from starvation? and then you would be aefw free and be able to add more acros?

 

[Finland]

Curious on this also.

 

[Piper27]

Yes they starve out with no acros to eat.

 

[Finland]

Yes, but how long does it take, with no acros present, to starve them out?

 

[Piper27]

I am not sure, I have been battling them for a while now and hopefully they don't come back. I finished my dips but if they come back I am going to pull all the acros and start over, which hopefully I won't have to do. I am sure you can research online for better answers to your question though. But wouldn't it make more sense to pull all the acros out instead of feeding the flatworms, then starving them?

 

[oscarslr]

21 day cycle for the eggs i think, do not know how long it takes for them to starve though.

 

[Bax]

Having experienced them 3 months fallow minimum

If that's the way you are going zero SPS skeleton in the system, or they will survive

 

[ostrow]

There is another way. Dancing shrinp and cosmetus wrasse. The cosmetus/adorned wrasse is incredibly efficient at wiping them out and a gorgeous fish, too.

 

[myroom]

I had them in my 180 they took over the acros had eggs on the undersides. Unfortunately all the acros were encrusted to the rocks.

 

[BuckeyeTodd]

Having experienced them 3 months fallow minimum

If that's the way you are going zero SPS skeleton in the system, or they will survive

I know you know you have a ton of knowledge on aefw, but what leads you to this answer? If you remove every bit of acro, and they have a 21 day life cycle why would you need three months?

 

[blackthunda77]

Having experienced them 3 months fallow minimum

If that's the way you are going zero SPS skeleton in the system, or they will survive

Also, you say SPS skeleton. But i have read that these only affect acropora sp. So what about leaving bridsnest, stylos, pocilliporas and the like in the tank. Would they still survive with no acropora sp. SPS in the tank?

 

[Piper27]

They won't eat anything except acros.

 

[Sawdonkey]

This is an old thread, but I thought I'd bump it since I'm going through this. I chiseled off all acros about 45 days ago. I put them in QT, but messed up the QT and ended up killing all of them. So my tank has been Acro free for 45 days. How long should I wait until in begin to restock.

 

[Piper27]

A few months acro free should do it, eggs hatch around 30 days I think. Then die a few days after hatching with no host acros. Check tektites thread on the reseasrch done for exact days.

In my experience I only lost acros from aefw when I rushed a qt tank. Other than that never lost anything. That's why I always suggest just doing weekly dips when its feasible. Rather that rushing a qt that's not stable. Good luck with the next go around!

 

[Dendros]

If AEFW are like the red flatworm, the eggs for them can stay dormant until the conditions are right.

 

[Piper27]

I don't believe that's the case. They all hatch around a given time frame. They are different than red planaria, much more evil... But if they did stay dormant that would make them sooooo much more evil.

 

[JPMagyar]

There is another thread with detailed scientific experiments that are ongoing. Here is a preliminary statement from the lead scientist regarding AEFW egg hatching times:

Wow according to that article they starve in just five to seven days without a host and are exclusive to acroporids. Here is the email and reply I received from Dr Rawlinson

Dr. Rawlinson,
I'm sure you get a lot of email from hobbyists and I appreciate your valuable time in reading mine. I am presently breaking down and replacing a large reef aquarium due to structural issues. I'm taking advantage of the circumstances to try and rid my system of AEFW that have probably been present for over 8 years. I have many large established sps colonies. I have already dipped all of them on a weekly schedule 3 times with 5 more planned. I know the life cycle of the flatworm has not yet been determined, but I was wondering if you might venture to advise on the frequency of the dips. Weekly dips appear to be stressful for the corals. I would greatly like to decrease the frequency to once every two weeks but not knowing how long it takes for the flatworm to sexually mature complicates the process. I'm sure you don't know that information yet either but I think your guess would probably be better than mine.

Thanks for your time and good luck with your research,
Paul Bruns

Hi Paul,
Thanks for contacting me. You're right I don't have these answers yet, but I would think that reducing the frequency of dips to once a fortnight should be equally effective. Preliminary data that my collaborator, Cat Dybala, has collected would suggest that they take about two weeks to hatch and they reach maturity at a small size, so probably mature within a matter of weeks if there is lots of food about. Dipping once a fortnight should hopefully get any new hatchlings that have survived previous dips.
I hope that over the coming months we can give you more accurate data and work out an optimal dipping protocol - that is our initial aim.
Good luck,
Kate

and here is the link to the thread:

AEFW experiments and study

 

[Sawdonkey]

There is another thread with detailed scientific experiments that are ongoing. Here is a preliminary statement from the lead scientist regarding AEFW egg hatching times:



and here is the link to the thread:

AEFW experiments and study

Thank you. I saw this thread, but my short attention span did not allow me to find the info you posted above. Perfect, thanks. I suspect that my tank is aefw free since I got all acros out on 10/19. I doing a few small pieces remaining in the following days, but quickly kalked over them.