flatworms on an oregon tort??? :(

[jcw]

Nice job spotting bite marks and eggs. The eggs are very resistant to dips, etc., so scraping them off or tossing the frag is the best way to deal with those. If the infection is mostly confined to the base you can frag the top off and toss the base. Not a cure but helps to reduce numbers.

I went through this not too long ago. Fought aefw for a year with insufficient consistency. Wrasses will help keep the numbers down but generally won't get them all. I couldn't tolerate aefw chewing my acros so I took every acro out once a week and dipped them for six weeks straight. It was difficult and a pain but I finally got rid of all aefw and haven't seen a flatworm, bite mark or egg in months. I used Melafix Marine, which seemed harsh enough on the flatworms to cause them to fall off with agitation of the coral, yet not too harsh on the coral. I had A. surharsonoi and A. lokani survive the whole process. Best of luck. AEFW are the worst pest, imho.

Thanks! I'll keep pulling acros when I see evidence of bite marks for the time being. It seems the easiest for me to identify.

On the encrusting areas I think I'll use the kalk slurry and see if that is effective.

 

[jcw]

Pulled another large flatworm off a copps tricolor with bite marks.
No eggs.

Found eggs on another acro. Scraped it. Covered the area with peroxide. No obvious flatworms.

 

[Reef Bass]

Each aefw egg holds multiple embryos, and there's a free swimming stage in their development as well. IMHO you should consider and treat every acro as infected. AEFW suck.

 

[jcw]

Each aefw egg holds multiple embryos, and there's a free swimming stage in their development as well. IMHO you should consider and treat every acro as infected. AEFW suck.

Yeah.

It's interesting when I read about the dips people use. Many of them like revive report that they are not medicines but natural occuring subtances used to bath the coral. Unfortunately some of them are harsh on the corals.

I read another thread that stated they used a garlic tablet or the "active ingredient in garlic" as a dip. less toxic to the corals reportedly.

At first I thought, well that's a waste of time, but if melafix and revive and coral rx are listed as not medication per se like levamisole, maybe it's worth a try.


I also noted that peroxide will immediately cause these worms to squirm and disintegrate and die. maybe a QUICK dip and swich in peroxide then straight into a saltwater bucket would be effective?

 

[Reef Bass]

I dipped some zoanthids in 1:1 sw:h2o2 and they closed up for 3 weeks before they opened again. I suspect that may be very harsh on acros. But if you want to try it and report back, who am I to discourage experimentation? Should at least upset the flatworms!

 

[ingtar_shinowa]

Melarunus Wrasses are amazing. I had red planaria flatworms in my sand bed and rocks. Like a TON. Took my wrasse a week haven't seen one since.