First experience with AEFW

[mattgumaer]

Hi all,

I went to a frag swap today and bought 4 acro frags along with some other things. At the end of acclimation, I added Coral RX to dip them. Lo and behold, probably about 18 flatworms dropped off. I brought them back to the fish store for a positive ID since I haven't dealt with them before.

I put the corals in a 29 gallon quarantine tank I have set up for a few fish (no history of copper use in the tank). It only had an old 2 bulb fixture. So, I had a couple of 19.5 W (120 Watt equivalent) Philips 5000k flood lights sitting around so I put them over the 29 gallon to try to give the acros enough light while figuring out what to do next.

I also have a small Biocube 8 gallon tank set up that with the original power compact fixture in it. I say this in case it makes sense to put the acros in there at some point.

So, I'm hoping someone can help with these questions:

1) Is there a dipping regimen (perhaps with the Coral RX) that will take care of the AEFWs with relative certainty if I closely inspect them for eggs? The frags are fairly small so they should be relatively easy to inspect.

2) will the acros be ok under 5000k flood lights while being treated/observed? Right now, I have them fairly high up on a frag rack. If not, what's a reasonably inexpensive option for lighting a 29 gallon or 10 gallon frag tank for acros? I have Radion Pros over my 180 display but I'm not sure I want to invest in another one for a frag tank.

3) I bought some other stuff (zoas, chalice and leptoseris) that I also put in the 29 gallon with the AEFW infected acros. Is it ok to move those over to the display after another dip or is there a risk of transfer?

4) How will I know for sure when the acros are clear? I don't want to infect my 180 with a bunch of existing acro frags but I don't want to toss the new purchases either so eventually I hope to move them over.

Any help is greatly appreciated. I don't want to screw this up because, from what I've read so far, it seems like AEFW can be very difficult to eliminate from a display tank with a bunch of acros. Thanks.

Matt

 

[Charlene]

IMO. Save yourself the heartache and pitch them.

 

[LongIslandMike]

Hi Mattgumaer, I always first remove the plugs from any frags I buy and replace them with a fresh plug or small piece of gravel rock. After I inspect them for eggs with a magnifying loop I always dip them in coral RX or bayers. If I should find any AEFW I would keep them in my QT tank and dip them in Coral RX every 11 to 14 days till you see no more flatworms. I usually takes 11 to 14 days for the eggs to hatch.
I also use the radion pro's on my main system but use a cheap 160W dimple led's for my QT and they seem to support the SPS fine.
The other corals shouldn't be affected by the AEFW. I would definitely dip them again before putting them in the main tank though.
I hope this helps

 

[eddy14]

I traded a guy a grogonian fan for a couple of pieces of coral. I am new to SPS, but have had good results on LPS and softies. Can anyone offer some tips as to why this encrusting monti isn't doing well? The other SPS he gave me looks good, along with the remaining items from the trade. Thank you for the help!

 

[sahin]

Hi all,

I went to a frag swap today and bought 4 acro frags along with some other things. At the end of acclimation, I added Coral RX to dip them. Lo and behold, probably about 18 flatworms dropped off. I brought them back to the fish store for a positive ID since I haven't dealt with them before.

I put the corals in a 29 gallon quarantine tank I have set up for a few fish (no history of copper use in the tank). It only had an old 2 bulb fixture. So, I had a couple of 19.5 W (120 Watt equivalent) Philips 5000k flood lights sitting around so I put them over the 29 gallon to try to give the acros enough light while figuring out what to do next.

I also have a small Biocube 8 gallon tank set up that with the original power compact fixture in it. I say this in case it makes sense to put the acros in there at some point.

So, I'm hoping someone can help with these questions:

1) Is there a dipping regimen (perhaps with the Coral RX) that will take care of the AEFWs with relative certainty if I closely inspect them for eggs? The frags are fairly small so they should be relatively easy to inspect.

2) will the acros be ok under 5000k flood lights while being treated/observed? Right now, I have them fairly high up on a frag rack. If not, what's a reasonably inexpensive option for lighting a 29 gallon or 10 gallon frag tank for acros? I have Radion Pros over my 180 display but I'm not sure I want to invest in another one for a frag tank.

3) I bought some other stuff (zoas, chalice and leptoseris) that I also put in the 29 gallon with the AEFW infected acros. Is it ok to move those over to the display after another dip or is there a risk of transfer?

4) How will I know for sure when the acros are clear? I don't want to infect my 180 with a bunch of existing acro frags but I don't want to toss the new purchases either so eventually I hope to move them over.

Any help is greatly appreciated. I don't want to screw this up because, from what I've read so far, it seems like AEFW can be very difficult to eliminate from a display tank with a bunch of acros. Thanks.

Matt

1. Dip twice a week to start, and then dip once a week thereafter.

2. Spectrum doesnt matter; as long as the floodlight is of sufficient watts, it will keep the corals alive.

3. There is a risk of transfer lone AEFW that may have moved over to the LPS coral, unlikely, but there is a chance. I would keep them there until the full treatment is complete; no point risking the 180G due to a small number of corals.

4. Once you dont see any new eggs and AEFW's for at LEAST 6 weeks (after an initial 2 week dipping period), you can assume the corals are clear. There is no ABSOLUTE guarantee...but having just fought them and beatem them off, I am pretty sure my infected corals are clear, so I have taken them out of QT and moved them into the display. My whole tank was infected, but I only chose to QT acros with AEFW/Eggs. Those from the QT and the ones that stayed in the display are all fine. I continued to dip every single coral in the display in any event, and just finished a two week dip free time. I will do one final dip of all 35+ acros in my tank and then dip randomly.

I follow a total of 3 month dipping process.

Hope that is somewhat useful to you. And good luck.

 

[sahin]

I traded a guy a grogonian fan for a couple of pieces of coral. I am new to SPS, but have had good results on LPS and softies. Can anyone offer some tips as to why this encrusting monti isn't doing well? The other SPS he gave me looks good, along with the remaining items from the trade. Thank you for the help!

I think its good forum etiquette to start your own thread. When you start the thread, be sure to include full system details, such as equipment, filtraiton and parameters.

 

[UTCReefer]

Skip the coral Rx and just use Bayer.

 

[myaerica]

imo. Save yourself the heartache and pitch them.

+1

 

[scottwhitson]

I wouldn't pitch them if you have them in a qt tank then I would dip them once a week for 8 weeks and if they survive the dip process then you should have broken the life cycle of the worm by then. We used Bayer and did the 8 week dip regimen and beat them. It would be better than just giving up on them now.

 

[trueblackpercula]

+1

+2

 

[Piper27]

I wouldn't pitch them if you have them in a qt tank then I would dip them once a week for 8 weeks and if they survive the dip process then you should have broken the life cycle of the worm by then. We used Bayer and did the 8 week dip regimen and beat them. It would be better than just giving up on them now.

I agree. But cheap, or quickly setup QTS are the only reason I have lost corals to aefw, sometimes an unstable or inadequate qt is worse than a pest.

Are you sure they are aefw? Some local fish stores are nice but some don't know the difference. That many on a few frags sounds a little much, unless its red planaria.

 

[jgalen0025]

are you sure they are aefw? Some local fish stores are nice but some don't know the difference. That many on a few frags sounds a little much, unless its red planaria.

+1

 

[mattgumaer]

Not sure if they were/are aefw or red planaria (or something else I suppose). I actually just cut off the frag plugs and moved them to the display tank today. I had them in a quarantine with LED flood lights and they were starting to look pretty bad. I dipped several times with Coral RX and never really saw anything come off after the first dip. I'm sure tossing them would have been the safer course. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for a while. Thanks for the respones.

Matt

 

[toothman]

Take it from someone who ripped down and rebuilt his 400 gal tank, TOSS THEM.

 

[mattgumaer]

Too late.......Probably should have tossed them for the peace of mind. I can't imagine tearing apart a 400 gallon tank to rid myself of a pest.

Matt

 

[Jettareefer]

Pitch them before its to late at this point your tanks be exposed. I just threw in the towel on my all of my Sps I had for 2 years mostly large acro colonies and just kept my fish.

Edit: I dipped and inspected all new additions with a fine tooth comb (flash light, magnifying glass, twezers) and still got them. I will be QTing everything for a minimum of 3 months on my new 125. It's not worth it losing all your hard work and investment lMO. This hobby has some big lows and this one of the lowest it makes you feel like you can't trust anyone. I've always had the mentality that assuming every coral purchased has some sort of pest and that everyone you add's a risk.