Aefw!!!

[allsps40]

So I had a acro frag that was not doing so well, stn from the base up, poor PE and lost of color. I took it out of the tank to toss it and found several AEFW eggs clusters on it!!!! Not good. So I tossed it in the trash. I really hope they have not spread to any of my other acros. SO far I see no signs on any of my other sps. Man I hate sps pests. First time I have ever had AEFW so I hope I caught is early enough. If I have to I will treat the tank with interceptor.

 

[Allmost]

welcome to the club

we wish interceptor would work on AEFW.

do you have any wrasses ?

for now, blow the corals with a power head a cuple of times a week, and hope the flatworms would get eaten by ure wrasses, before holding a foot.

Good luck.

 

[allsps40]

Nope no wrasses, my clowns always kill them.
Well I can try to treat the tank with ivermecton which is a much stronger animal de wormer, that may work.

 

[Allmost]

Nope no wrasses, my clowns always kill them.
Well I can try to treat the tank with ivermecton which is a much stronger animal de wormer, that may work.

your clowns always kill them ? so you have had them for a while ? your first post sounds like u just discovered them on that frag !

I wish you luck we have tried, and didnt work, on the eggs. dipping them every other day helps many get rid of them ... as the ggs hatch. and use some sort of toothpick to brush off the eggs from underside of colonies.

 

[Allmost]

nope no wrasses, my clowns always kill them.
Well i can try to treat the tank with ivermecton which is a much stronger animal de wormer, that may work.

dp,

 

[29reef]

There's a new product that's showing a lot of promise from KZ; the makers of the zeovit method. It actually helps the corals health and erridicates AEFW by making the acros slime coat poisonous or something of the like. I'm not too sure on all of the specifics yet, but it might just be the end of AEFW.

 

[MammothReefer]

Welcome to the Club!

The KZ product up until this point has not proven to work at all. There has not been a SINGLE person who has claimed this cured there tank of AEFW. There is no proof only claims by the manufacturer which at this time aren't even backed up by the manufacturer. I'm into my third week of dosing it, and I found AEFW last nite.

What the KZ product does tell you to do is blast your coral a few times a week which for any of us who have been doing so already know this will keep your AEFW in check on it's own, if not remove them if you get lucky. Don't get me wrong I really am hoping flatworm stop does work, but so far it's not looking promising. I have another 9 weeks left of it though.

I have a post on the zeo forum asking how far into the process it will take until I start to see a reduction and eventually complete irradiation. All the mod on that forum did was cut paste the vague literature that states to dose for 90 days. I asked him if that means I can expect to see AEFW up to day 89, but the 90th dose will get the job done and he never responded. They clearly haven't tested the product enough in my opinion.

With that said. My clowns, and my damsel is more aggressive in regards to eating aefw that I baste off them my wrasses as well lol, but I see my wrasses hunting, and picking all the time and I rarely if ever find aefw on the exposed side of a coral. Personally I think this is one of those things where there is no getting around the leg work. I'm upping my blasting with an mj1200 to multiple times a week, and re-increasing my basting w/a turkey baster to back fill the days I don't blast. One way or another I'm going to get rid of them or at least continue to keep them in check.

 

[Allmost]

Mammoth.

I run a zeo tank.

and been dosing flatworm stop for a month.

flatworms are there still, and KZ never claimed it would get rid of them.

but my corals, do not get stressed from presence of them anymore, colors are better, and I am starting to see tissue and PE onthe base of the coral again, which was eaten by AEFW before.

Alexander has been using it for 3 months now, and you can check out his tank on the Zeo forums.

at which point would the AEFW die off ? I have no IDea, whethe they would ever do ...

but I agree that its not like other "medication" where you threat and see a bunch of dead ones and say ahh, it worked ..

I guess Im saying be patient and optimistic

 

[MammothReefer]

Mammoth.

I run a zeo tank.

and been dosing flatworm stop for a month.

flatworms are there still, and KZ never claimed it would get rid of them.

but my corals, do not get stressed from presence of them anymore, colors are better, and I am starting to see tissue and PE onthe base of the coral again, which was eaten by AEFW before.

Alexander has been using it for 3 months now, and you can check out his tank on the Zeo forums.

at which point would the AEFW die off ? I have no IDea, whethe they would ever do ...

but I agree that its not like other "medication" where you threat and see a bunch of dead ones and say ahh, it worked ..

I guess Im saying be patient and optimistic

The claim is the corals will became more resilient and the AEFW will die off.

It's Flatworm stop, not flatworm co-op.

"Flatworm Stop strengthens all kind of corals and reduces parasitical flatworms on Acropora corals at the same time"

http://www.korallen-zucht.de/en/shop/products--technology/problem-solving/4850_flatworm-stop.html

I am optimistic, but I don't want to see people perpetuation that the product is something it's not. At this point in time this is not the end all be all for curing AEFW. I'm using it I spent the money. I have my hopes, and my doubts. I've used ZEO before I like the other products so I'm not some "zeo hater". It's a product with a tall claim on a sensitive subject it's the reefing equivalent to a weight loss product.

Also the price went up which is a bummer for those who want to give it a go. I paid 54 for my 500ml, it's now 75$ locally, or 66$ or so from zeo direct.

 

[allsps40]

your clowns always kill them ? so you have had them for a while ? your first post sounds like u just discovered them on that frag !

I wish you luck we have tried, and didnt work, on the eggs. dipping them every other day helps many get rid of them ... as the ggs hatch. and use some sort of toothpick to brush off the eggs from underside of colonies.

No I did just find the AEFW on a newer frag. I have had many wrases in the past but my clowns are mean little a$$es and they always kill them.
As of now I have not see any other signs of AEFW on any of my other sps. Good color, PE and no eggs that I can see or bit marks.

 

[rogerwilco357]

search all your corals and use the baster to blast them to see if any fly off trust me I got that bug in 2010 and it devasted me took till 2012 to get back in this crazy game called sps...good luck i fear your eggs are everywhere hiding and will hatch then it's on..

 

[Soy]

search all your corals and use the baster to blast them to see if any fly off trust me I got that bug in 2010 and it devasted me took till 2012 to get back in this crazy game called sps...good luck i fear your eggs are everywhere hiding and will hatch then it's on..

do they lay eggs on rock as well?

 

[prop-frags]

Welcome to the Club!

Personally I think this is one of those things where there is no getting around the leg work.

+1
If not, we've chosen the wrong hobby!
We battled AEFW back in 2007 - didn't even know what they were until a friend with a really good set of eyes came over and pointed out the bad news. By then, it was too late for many of our huge colonies - they were infested beyond recovery. For all the rest, it was pulling the colonies out once every weekend to dip in levamisole, scraping the eggs with a toothpick and toothbrush, and doing a lot of basting during the week. Not something we care to ever repeat!

Now we dip and QT everything new. We dip at the first sign of anything odd, and generally keep a very close eye on things. Also, the advice of getting wrasses is good. We have many in our DT now, and they stay very busy patrolling all the colonies!

@OP, Hope you caught yours in time before anything spread. Keep a very close eye on things and be ready to pull corals out to inspect and dip at the first sign of any discoloration or recession (especially at the base, undersides, or down in the middle).

 

[allsps40]

Well I only had the infested frag for a few weeks before I noticed the issue so I think I got it soon enough to keep them from spreading.
Yes they lay eggs on rock also.

 

[WayneL333]

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you. I'm just curious, where did you get the frag? From a store? Fellow reefer?

 

[karsseboom]

Right now I have using bayor insect killer. Seeing if it works better then revive or coral rx.

 

[allsps40]

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you. I'm just curious, where did you get the frag? From a store? Fellow reefer?

I got the frag from Reef Culture!!! A LFS that is normally very very good about QT all new corals for a month before selling.

 

[Piper27]

That sucks, it would be nice if none of them are left in there but thoes things are crazy, they will always hide where you can't see and on corals you can't pull out. And if you saw batches of eggs, the chances of one or more already hatching are high I would think. If I were you I would start a couple of weeks of dips just to make sure. Or at least pull every single acro out once a week and look at them. Even then if there are big colonies you may not even be able to see them.

 

[allsps40]

I will keep on eye out of them for sure.

 

[blakers82]

Hello my fellow current and past aefw host club members. Once you are a member, you are a member for life! Allsps40, I hope those eggs aren't elsewhere in your system, but you should prepare as if they are. Inspect and blow your remaining corals. Dipping may be in your near future too. I haven't heard about the dewormer you mentioned. Is there a thread on that specific treatment?

+1
If not, we've chosen the wrong hobby!
We battled AEFW back in 2007 - didn't even know what they were until a friend with a really good set of eyes came over and pointed out the bad news. By then, it was too late for many of our huge colonies - they were infested beyond recovery. For all the rest, it was pulling the colonies out once every weekend to dip in levamisole, scraping the eggs with a toothpick and toothbrush, and doing a lot of basting during the week. Not something we care to ever repeat!

Now we dip and QT everything new. We dip at the first sign of anything odd, and generally keep a very close eye on things. Also, the advice of getting wrasses is good. We have many in our DT now, and they stay very busy patrolling all the colonies!

@OP, Hope you caught yours in time before anything spread. Keep a very close eye on things and be ready to pull corals out to inspect and dip at the first sign of any discoloration or recession (especially at the base, undersides, or down in the middle).

I concur with all points. I must say wrasses are my most stocked fish for a reason. And joining the aefw club sure put that quarantine tank immediately at the front of the line above any other marine purchase.

Keep us updated on what you find in the coming days/months (hopefully nothing) and what plan you go with (if any).