Aefw

[WillM]

Hey Folks,

I stocked my tank with my first acros over the last few months. I dipped them, but now I have an outbreak of rust colored flatworms. I haven't seen them swarming the acros so I don't know if they are AEFWs or not, but I'd like to treat the tank with something to get rid of them.

I do have one otherwise healthy frag that looks as if something has been munching on it, but I don't think it's the worms that are getting it.

I have a mandarin so if there is something that I can treat the tank with that won't decimate my pods that would be preferred.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

will

 

[xcorallusx]

Post pictures, flatworm exit will take care of the ones that dont eat acros. If you have aefw there are not in tank treatments that are safe if you have a mixed reef. Best thing to do is remove all acros and quarantine and dip or throw them out and start over.

 

[WillM]

So, does Flatworm Exit target only specific types of worms? Because I know I have peanut worms and bristle worms that I'd like to keep in there as well as little feather dusters that my CBB likes to munch on. I'm not positive that they are AEFW because they don't seem to be going for the acros. I have one acro that is looking rough, but it might be RTN. I'll try to post up some pics tomorrow when the lights are back on.

 

[xcorallusx]

The red planaria that fwe kills are harmless, but they can be bad if you have a lot because they release toxins. You can run carbon and siphon out a bunch before you do the treatment. They are usually found on softies such as mushrooms. If you can take pictures of the flatworms and the acro, it will be easy to tell if which kind you have.

 

[WillM]

I'm running carbon in a reactor along with GFO and I have a decent skimmer. I'll post up pictures tomorrow and see what everyone thinks. I think my bio and skimmer are up to the extra load but I want to treat them now before they multiply any more. Heck, it might not even be flatworms.

 

[WillM]

Here is a picture of the acro in question:

I can't get a good shot of the potential flatworms, so I marked with yellow arrows what I think is flatworms. I have a really crappy point and shoot camera that doesn't seem to want to take focused pictures in macro mode, sorry:

I don't know that the acro is getting eaten by these things, but I just noticed them last week and I see dozens of them in my tank. The acro was healthy on my frag rack, then I mounted it onto a chunk of LR (along with 3 others - that are healthy) and two weeks later it looks like this and it's getting worse every day.

 

[xcorallusx]

I dont think that is aefw and they are almost like the predator and can blend in to their surroundings, very hard to see. Your sps are probablly just stressed from moving locations or youve had a swing in temp/alk/salinity. Those look like the red planaria that fwe will kill.

 

[WillM]

I'll order up some Flatworm Exit then. Which should take care of the worm issue since they don't look to be AEFWs. I am also building a new sump, which should address the swings in alk/salinity that have been happening and is probably what is stressing the SPS.

Thanks for the help!

 

[reefdadx2]

6 line wrasse will eat your flat worms.

 

[koddyVT]

Or a melanurus wrasse should do the trick. The one I have is a friendly beast. He's always patrolling the tank. I've heard a lot of people complain about six lines being the pain of their tank.

 

[WillM]

I have a very fat 6-line wrasse. I need to research if I can add any other wrasses with him because he can't keep up. I have heard the same thing about the 6 lines becoming grouchy with age, but mine is still pretty timid and just does his own thing.

 

[xcorallusx]

Ive always had good luck with sixlines, you could add a melanurus and they might get along, either way FWE should do the trick.

 

[dadyoj21]

melanurus wrasse is a good choice and i have a couple that get along well with other wrasses. Blue zoo has them on sale now at great prices, and they are a nice looking fish as well

 

[ade]

x2 on the melanurus. I have a Pink-streaked Pygmy Wrasse with him and they get along great. They bury themself in the sand, Great fish. Coral banded shrimp are known to eat flat worms also, another tip is to increase flow, they tend to stay arouns low flow areas. They eat the mucous of soft corals.

 

[WillM]

Thanks guys! I bought the six line about a month ago and I'm going to see how he does for a little while longer. Then if he still can't keep up I'll definitely get a melanurus. I do have a peppermint shrimp in there. I was out of town the weekend before last and I let my fiance feed the tank, and I am thinking there was a "bloom" of them after that since she may have over fed. I have reduced the feeding and actually see them less and less, although they are still definitely in there.

Also, I got the leaky sump swapped out today. Literally a 10 hour job. I used an empty 55G and a 10G inside of it for a refugium. I ditched my old refugium's sand because it smelled awful (sulfurous and eggy). There was only about 3G of sand in the bottom of the old one, so hopefully it won't be a huge shock to my bio as I still had almost 10G of LR rubble in the sump.

Now, that I have the sump fixed and hopefully my salinity will stabilize and everything will be back on course.