AEFW new info and photos

the maturity of the flat worm has alot to do with how it looks.some resemble tiny maggots and some look more like the larger brown ones you see pics of.also some melt before you can get a good look at them and end up in the bottom of the dip as a ball of slime.without magnification and real sharp eyes it is rough to tell what you have.the bite marks and the other symptons are really a good indicator you got them.
 
Well, that piece had bite marks on it.. in place that my fish can't get (i have a fish that has been picking on my sps), the flat worm was very easy to see and rather large it took about 3-4 hours to melt but I just had a lot going on. It was clear..
 
QUOTE]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9990004#post9990004 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tangdiver
Hey John, looked through my old notes on Praziquentel and I have a number for you...I will PM you. Please keep to yourself for the time being. Here is the dosage of pure prazi we used at Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay on fishes. Might give you a starting point. 2 ppm for 5 days, then wait a week, then 2ppm for another 5 days. Make sure all carbon is removed, all skimmers off, no ozone. Hope this helps...and keep us posted. Remeber share the knowledge, not sell the knowledge.

Grant
[/QUOTE]

Wondering if there has been any progress made with Praziquantel treatment research??? I found two products which may have more ideal concentrations of Praziquantel:

http://www.utahkoi.com/html/praziquantel.html

http://www.pbsanimalhealth.com/cgi-.../tapewormtabs.html?L+scstore+tcyr3323ff74c974
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7684408#post7684408 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Travis
gflat65, so sorry to hear you now get to deal with the monti nudis. I hope your survival rate is better this time. My buddy is currently treating all his montis with levamisole. His first treatment he did 40ppm for 5 hours and it seemed to kill all the live ones. He than waited for the eggs to hatch out which took about 1.5 weeks. Then I recommended he try 60ppm (because that seemed to work for me with the AEFW's). He did it and a lot of his montis got pretty light afterwards so I think it is probably safest to stick with 40ppm on the montis. Good luck.

Did it kill them or just paralyze them?

See this FAQ:

http://www.loaches.com/Members/shari2/levamisole-hydrochloride-1

"How does Levamisole HCl work as an antiparasitic agent?

Levamisole HCl is absorbed through the gut, can also be absorbed through the skin and is distributed throughout the body. It affects the neurotransmitters within the parasite and paralyzes the worm (spastic paralysis). The fish then passes the inactive worms. Good gravel vacuuming is advised after treatment to remove the paralyzed worms. It is not ovicidal, which means it will not affect eggs already present, but it will affect the larval stage of the worm. To ensure complete eradication of the parasite treat again after remaining eggs have hatched."



Interesting to note that is also is affective in the larval stage. Unfortunately not eggs. Hopefully paralysis is not temporary.
 
has anyone seen this?

NEW MelaFix Marine can also be used with corals to control bacterial infections, reverse coral degradation and remove parasitic flatworms. 8 oz treats 480 gallons of marine or freshwater.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13192396#post13192396 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by AgentSPS
Did it kill them or just paralyze them?

See this FAQ:

http://www.loaches.com/Members/shari2/levamisole-hydrochloride-1

"How does Levamisole HCl work as an antiparasitic agent?

Levamisole HCl is absorbed through the gut, can also be absorbed through the skin and is distributed throughout the body. It affects the neurotransmitters within the parasite and paralyzes the worm (spastic paralysis). The fish then passes the inactive worms. Good gravel vacuuming is advised after treatment to remove the paralyzed worms. It is not ovicidal, which means it will not affect eggs already present, but it will affect the larval stage of the worm. To ensure complete eradication of the parasite treat again after remaining eggs have hatched."



Interesting to note that is also is affective in the larval stage. Unfortunately not eggs. Hopefully paralysis is not temporary.



I was the guy Travis was talking about....did kill Nudi, but not the eggs.

Harsh stuff though.

Grant
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7496391#post7496391 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dolt
so, anyone out there with similar oragnisms, questions, input etc?

Yes. I had the same TINY little red looking things on the base of some of my acros, Validas in fact that had some tissue necrosis on the base. They are soo tiny that it is VERY difficult to tell if they were the culprit of the damage to my corals.

So you looked at these guys thru a microscope and could tell these were worms? I wish I took pictures.. Exactly the same as yours..

I recently tore my entire tank down. I'm in the process of starting over. This time I am dipping, QT'ing EVERYTHING before it goes in my tank.
 
So I have been reading a lot of threads about this and some people claim to have decent success with FWE. Has anybody had any luck with it in treating the whole tank? Or any other whole tank treatments besides the basting method? I will take everything out if I have to, but thought I might try a full tank treatment first if any exist?
 
I figured it was worth asking. I didn't think FWE would work or it would have been well know, at least thats what I thought. But I did read in a few threads that it worked for some. I will not attempt it though. I will just try the basting and let my Sixline Wrasse feed on them. If in a week or 2 I don't see any progress I will QT everything and start the Fluke tabs. This seems to be most effective, yes?
 
how many drops of kent marie lugos solution would i need per cup of saltwater to see if any fall off of the coral? or will the lugos solution not help in killing them?
thanks in advance
 
I have lots of experience with both types of AEFW posted in this thread. I have studdied these little monsters for the last year trying different solutions to combat them. I will skip all the boring stuff and get to the point. The only way to effectively eliminate them and have any hope of being to put Acros back into your tank is to remove all of your Acros for atleast a month. I know this is not something that someone with a mature tank wants to hear. You have to cut off the AEFW food supply. SORRY, THERE IS NO OTHER WAY. These little worms are the worst thing that can happen to a fully stocked SPS tank. You can try the basting method or add certain gobies but its no guarentee all the worms will be eradicated. Even with repeated dips/treatments it is impossible to kill all the eggs. Best to use a QT from now on where all incoming acros can be closely monitored /treated for the first month or so before going into DT.
 
Many have won the battle(a tough one for sure) with weekly dips in Revive and or TMPCC for extended periods(5 to 6 weeks) including myself .All colonies removed from there bases and the bases discarded,any encrusted rocks removed and tissue chisled off.5 minutes in revive and back in DT.once a week for 6 weeks.Worked for me.I lost about 4 out of 50 colonies so all in all a success in my eyes.No AEFW for several years now and nothing new added that does not live in Q for 2 months to a year.GL
 
Well, since this thread was revived from the archives, I guess I'll add my latest attempt at dealing with these buggers.

I received a coral from a LFS and dipped it in CoralRx as I treat all new corals. I noticed the tell-tale signs of circular bite marks on the coral, so I made sure to inspect the coral well. Sure enough, there was ONE AEFW. I went to send an email to the LFS to inform them and grab my camera...but by the time I got back, the AEFW was a ball of dissolved goo at the bottom of the cup. Thought the ordeal was over. (I returned the coral to the LFS).

A week later, I noticed an Acro in QT looking a bit rough, so I pulled it out. Sure enough, ONE AEFW. The CoralRx did not dissolve that AEFW, but it definitely killed it. I decided to throw that coral away just in case (could not find any eggs) and I already had a clone of it in another tank.

I pulled all of the Acroporas out of my QT and dipped in CoralRx. Found ONE AEFW on another coral, and two corals that looked suspicious. That AEFW died in the CoralRx, but also did not dissolve. I threw all 3 corals away since I had clones in another tank (and still could not find any eggs).

These are the larger tan-colored AEFW.

So, I found 2 AEFW in the entire QT. I'm planning what I think is a more mild treatment than what I've read elsewhere unless I'm advised otherwise. I'm planning to pull every single Acropora out and dip DAILY in CoralRx for a month. I only have about 20 frags in the QT, so it shouldn't be a huge pain...and CoralRx seems pretty gentle on the corals (except I've always had trouble with the ORA Hawkins...doesn't react well to the dip). Hopefully I can break the life cycle in a week or two...and then have another week or two just to be sure.

Thoughts?
 
good luck.... i dont know why no one has yet to find what critter eats theses things. there has to be something in the wiild that keeps them under control. good luck i lost the battle and gave up on sps for now but will be changing over to a lps tank soon.
 
I have won the battle against these things. I was very active in this topic at the time, as I discovered that I had gotten them. I used fluke tabs, TMPCC every day for 3 days and every 2 weeks for 2 months. I pulled out all of my corals and put them into qt. It was the worst experience, but I haven't had problems in over 3 years. This was prior to coral RX becoming available. THe key is to commit for 2 months with a QT system. I threw out one colony that was covered with eggs. None of the other corals had eggs and that I'm certain played a large role in my sucess!
 
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Thanks SERVO. I might try the Fluke tabs (read about your success). I'm hoping the Rx will substitute for the TMPCC. I'll extend how long I treat from a planned month to 2 months - whatever it takes. Thankfully, these are just in the QT. Unfortunately, this will delay the stocking of my new 150g.
 
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