I have finally read the two big aefw threads after I unfortunately found out that my tank was infected. My interest was piqued when I had two validas on opposite sides of the tank start to look bad, and one of the threads stated that validas were one of the faves of these pests. I am currently now contemplating treatment options, but none sound to be good at this point for in-tank use. I have too many collosal colonies and removing them is not really an option without destroying my tank. I want to back up a step first and share some of my basic observations and get others' input. The more we understand about them, the better our chances of success in treating in the long term. I seem to have noticed that there may be a few (at least) differents species people seem to be affected with. I base this on differences in photos and on behaviour on corals that others have posted. I seem to have two distinct (different life phase of same species?) types in my tank. One is large (several mm) and the other is extremely small (roughly on the order of one-hundredth of the size of the big ones). I have never posted photos before so bear with me as I try to do so.
AEFW new info and photos
- Thread starter dolt
- Start date
menard
TOTM Nov. 2006
MATT, not you too!
..........You are right they would go after TRi color first before any of the other acros. in your tank. So, eliminating the tri colors less likely infecting others. Hoping before you do find out about this that they are still in that colony not the others.....Good luck
..........You are right they would go after TRi color first before any of the other acros. in your tank. So, eliminating the tri colors less likely infecting others. Hoping before you do find out about this that they are still in that colony not the others.....Good luck
those larger ones were found in moderate quantity on a 5" staghorn frag that did not show any tissues loss but had browned out significantly for months from it's previous beautiful blue color. This seems different from everyone elses experience that I have read so far in that it never killed the coral or it's tissue, but rather seemed to be able to parasitize it at a low level without killing it.
I also seem to have another much smaller type that is seen in the following photo:
they are a little hard to see at first so here is a closeup:
they are the little reddish elongated thing in a group in the middle of the photo roughly. I doubted what they were originally until I observed them moving, so I then examined them under the microscope. They are definitely similar flatworms to the first larger type, but much simpler. The large ones have these dark eyespots etc that the small ones do not. It might be that the smaller are juveniles of the larger ones. But, one difference that makes me wonder is that the smaller ones (as you can see in the photo) definitely destroy and eat tissue (whereas my larger ones do not seem to).
they are a little hard to see at first so here is a closeup:
they are the little reddish elongated thing in a group in the middle of the photo roughly. I doubted what they were originally until I observed them moving, so I then examined them under the microscope. They are definitely similar flatworms to the first larger type, but much simpler. The large ones have these dark eyespots etc that the small ones do not. It might be that the smaller are juveniles of the larger ones. But, one difference that makes me wonder is that the smaller ones (as you can see in the photo) definitely destroy and eat tissue (whereas my larger ones do not seem to).
in that second photo you can clearly see one of them kind of stretched out to the left of the middle of the photo - then that kind of shaded little squiggle above it a little is also one - they seem to be so small that they fall inbetween the stony ridges of the coral - again I have verified that these amorphous appearing little squiggles are definitely alive and are definitely flatworms under a microscope (I was skeptical myself at first) they in fact are extremely fast in a bowl when moving across the bottom
menard - yeah it kinda sucks - I just got things the way I like them and was ready to rock and roll - for the first time since I have been into this hobby, there is not a single piece of equipment I wanted or anything I would change about my tank other than adding some choice pieces I wanted
murphreef - I found them as I noticed the tissue loss and had no idea what was going on - I began to pull out the affected colonies and examine them really closely with a magnifying glass and taking photos and blowing them up on my computer - I was not sure they were really of significance though until I looked at them under the microscope and saw what they really were
murphreef - I found them as I noticed the tissue loss and had no idea what was going on - I began to pull out the affected colonies and examine them really closely with a magnifying glass and taking photos and blowing them up on my computer - I was not sure they were really of significance though until I looked at them under the microscope and saw what they really were
SERVO
New member
Hey Matt
So do you think that the smaller worms may possibly be a juvenile form? Just wondering if what you saw under the microscope was completely different or somewhat similar. Who knows. I have some ideas, I'll give you a call.
I don't like to hear about others mortality rates, hope you don't follow suite
.
So do you think that the smaller worms may possibly be a juvenile form? Just wondering if what you saw under the microscope was completely different or somewhat similar. Who knows. I have some ideas, I'll give you a call.
I don't like to hear about others mortality rates, hope you don't follow suite
.Justin - therein lies the real question - there are a few big threads on this going on for up to one year and no real answer has been found yet - many things have been bandied about as in-tank or dip type treatments with varying degrees of success (minimal real success though) including high dose salifert flatworm exit, praziquantel, levamisole, tropic marin pro coral cure dip, cold water dips (tap or salt water both have been tried)
I think that this is a pretty big problem and is going to get bigger until we find a real world solution like we have for redbugs (dips are not ideal for people with older tanks and big colonies - plus many have documented eggs laid in non-sps places or on rocks near zoas etc) - I bet a lot more people out ther have them than think that they do - some blame there losses on water quality issues etc without ever seeing them - the traditional AEFW that most people deal with are very hard to find, and the smaller ones that I have are even more difficult to see
I think that this is a pretty big problem and is going to get bigger until we find a real world solution like we have for redbugs (dips are not ideal for people with older tanks and big colonies - plus many have documented eggs laid in non-sps places or on rocks near zoas etc) - I bet a lot more people out ther have them than think that they do - some blame there losses on water quality issues etc without ever seeing them - the traditional AEFW that most people deal with are very hard to find, and the smaller ones that I have are even more difficult to see
another interesting point is that I have yet to find any eggs anywhere - and as you can see, I do not think it is because I have not looked hard enough - it is possible that I am not far enough into their lifecycle to have them lay eggs, but as I said the first stag to look bad began many (4-5 at least) months ago
murphreef
Active member
man that is crazy ....
sorry that u got those and hopefully some kinda treatment works for u
have u given any thought to what treatment ur guna try?
i know im fighting with red bugs right now nothing too crazy mainly on my valida and its still colored up fine with good PE
i did a iodine dip it killed sum but they come back withion a week..i have an interceptor pill that im saving it until and if it gets really bad
ive just started more recently with the sps and im hoping not to get those AEFW but i would have no idea how not to get them
the things with eggs is that they are hard to find especially with something that small thney probably are more translucent and super small....
ive battled with zoo eating nudis as well in the past and those are also a pain
sorry that u got those and hopefully some kinda treatment works for u
have u given any thought to what treatment ur guna try?
i know im fighting with red bugs right now nothing too crazy mainly on my valida and its still colored up fine with good PE
i did a iodine dip it killed sum but they come back withion a week..i have an interceptor pill that im saving it until and if it gets really bad
ive just started more recently with the sps and im hoping not to get those AEFW but i would have no idea how not to get them
the things with eggs is that they are hard to find especially with something that small thney probably are more translucent and super small....
ive battled with zoo eating nudis as well in the past and those are also a pain
justin - I am not sure what I am going to try yet - still fishing for info at this point (hope to gain a lot of help in this thread!) - as far as red bugs are concerned, I did the same thing - waited until it reached plague proportions and then treated - I had NO problems or ill effects from the treatment and only did once and it worked great - no signs of recurrence yet and many corals look much better (knock on wood) except for the obvious above problem which I feel is entirely unrelated
murphreef
Active member
did u use interceptor as well??
and it didnt kill off all your inverts??
sorry didnt mean to get sidetracked but just wondering?
so from the pics do AEFW's usually start at the base of a coral and work from there??
in just wanna keep my eyes open incase i ever notice them
and do they kill corals fast or does it take a long time?
and it didnt kill off all your inverts??
sorry didnt mean to get sidetracked but just wondering?
so from the pics do AEFW's usually start at the base of a coral and work from there??
in just wanna keep my eyes open incase i ever notice them
and do they kill corals fast or does it take a long time?
