Levamisole In-Tank Treatment for AEFW

[joeyvu]

Here is the result, nothing has suffered, except pods...

Info about my tank, mainly SPS, rigs, dendro, acans, LPS (few), frogspawn, zoas...Some SPS seems OK, some closed theirs polyps, some has white stringy coming out...Dendro closed, acans seems not affective at all, as rigs and LPS and frogspawn.

Pods some dies at first and fish (clownfish) went after them...Brown tang change to darker color and run around...All fish after an hour of treament hide in rocks...I did not see any hermit crabs coming out during treatment and saw them later after treatment normal....

Some worms that you never see them hid in rock are crawling out and seem laid down on bottom at the end of treatment...I left them there to see if they come alive in the morning...Serpent starfish crawl into a soccer ball so I took him out...Artemia starfish seem ok, they still stick on the glass wall....

After ten minutes adding levi into the tank, there were alot of white thing floating in water column like someone just stir the sandbed and also appear on water surface...At first I left the skimmer on for one hour and see alot of white foam ( I took out collection cup). I thought I might remove some of the levi so I turn off the skimmer and monitoring the fish....Fish seem to behave nothing worse than they were so I left it off for 4.5h treatment...I just want to rid of these devil AEFW...

I will post more result tomorrow....

 

[rtbm]

Thanks for tagging along bud, the SPS I got from you are some of my prized specimens that I am trying to keep, lost a few before treatment though

Well sorry to hear that, but as they say. There is more where that came from. Hit me up once you've got everything stabilized and you want to add new stuff. You guys all deserve some sort of compensation/bonus not sure of the right word here but you get my drift I hope. The good thing about a treatment like this is it can and will slowly reduce the number of people with them which will sort of have that ripple effect that should lead to fewer and fewer getting them.

I still believe a strict QT regimen is a must for new arrivals but for people who already have them this will certainly keep a lot of acros alive. Looking forward to hearing more results.

 

[James404]

Well sorry to hear that, but as they say. There is more where that came from. Hit me up once you've got everything stabilized and you want to add new stuff. You guys all deserve some sort of compensation/bonus not sure of the right word here but you get my drift I hope. The good thing about a treatment like this is it can and will slowly reduce the number of people with them which will sort of have that ripple effect that should lead to fewer and fewer getting them.

I still believe a strict QT regimen is a must for new arrivals but for people who already have them this will certainly keep a lot of acros alive. Looking forward to hearing more results.

Thanks rtbm, I will definitely hit you up for another frag pack once these things are gone. Luckily most of my favorites I got from you are still doing great. If this thread manages to help at least one person in eradicating these pests than I am happy I agree that we all need to QT all livestock before it enters our tanks if we wish to prevent this. As the saying goes "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

 

[joeyvu]

Update this morning,
Fish are still in hiding...Few big worms laying dead on bottom now...I think I have to vacuum them out...
Will update more when I come home tonight...
So far this thread bring hopes to many people....One hope more people gonna do the treatment and QT and we will at least slowing down these plagues, if not eradicate them...

 

[Bax]

Update this morning,
Fish are still in hiding...Few big worms laying dead on bottom now...I think I have to vacuum them out...
Will update more when I come home tonight...
So far this thread bring hopes to many people....One hope more people gonna do the treatment and QT and we will at least slowing down these plagues, if not eradicate them...

I like to vac the floor of my tank(s) once a week so anyway, and definitely thnk it is needed after a treatement to slurp out the dead critters.

And you said it! We can dump all the Levi we want into our tanks! If we do not QT it will happen again with RBs, AEFWs or some other beastly little critter!

My QT is a 20L with a cheezy, but well modded BakPak skimmer, a small Tunze PH, a heater, and a really crappy 175 w Bell Pendant MH lamp. I've kept corals in it for up to 2 months, not the best color, but they survive just fine. I have mine plumbed off my DT drain so I can scoop out a gallon or two of water and just open a spigot to add system water to change water every couple of days. It's SIMPLE! :deadhorse:

 

[Atomikk]

I don't think it will be necessary to vacuum the sandbed as the bacteria in it will consume any dead organisms. I know this from my personal experience with corals falling off into the sand. If I don't scoop them out within say 12 hrs, the part that is submerged will be dead.

 

[Bax]

I don't Vlad, I'm a big fan of removing most of the dead stuff. I figure there's allways plenty of dead crap I'll never even know is there for the bacteria to chow down on.

 

[DNA]

Since I have used this treatment dozens of time for red planaria I can tell you it will kill almost all of the worms each time, but never all of them and they just keep coming back. Some worms seem to die in seconds while other hang on like they are resilient to the drug.
There is also a short gap in the dosage from killing worms to really stressing the fish and other tank inhabitants. My thoughts are you will not be able to use the strength needed for full tank treatment unless killing fish, crabs snails, pods and most likely other beneficial life living in the tank rendering your tank wounded. Perhaps permanently like mine. I've been years now trying to get mine back to what it was before.

Dipping seems to me to be the way to go with this drug.

 

[Bax]

DNA

What dose strength did you use?

 

[Atomikk]

Since I have used this treatment dozens of time for red planaria I can tell you it will kill almost all of the worms each time, but never all of them and they just keep coming back. Some worms seem to die in seconds while other hang on like they are resilient to the drug.
There is also a short gap in the dosage from killing worms to really stressing the fish and other tank inhabitants. My thoughts are you will not be able to use the strength needed for full tank treatment unless killing fish, crabs snails, pods and most likely other beneficial life living in the tank rendering your tank wounded. Perhaps permanently like mine. I've been years now trying to get mine back to what it was before.

Dipping seems to me to be the way to go with this drug.

I donno what to tell you, since your experience differs vastly to those who have done the treatment in this thread. My inhabitants haven't skipped a beat, and there was noticable change in coral's behavior after the treatment.

I believe just like our RB treatment, we have to repeat it for a minimum 4 weeks.

Personally, dipping will just temporarily work. How do you know that you have accounted for all pests/eggs? You don't. You won't either by doing a whole tank treatment. But, at least you know that you have covered every cubic in of the water during the treatment.

 

[Bax]

Vlad

To add to that. Because of the possibility of AEFW-rebound due to eggs, and as DNA says, possible survivors, vigilant inspection for several weeks with preparedness to dose again is a must as follow up to this treatment. I recommend the same with Interceptor for RBs. But I would like to see 3-4 week recovery period for the tank before repeating the regimen.

 

[DNA]

The active ingredient is Levamisole, but my version of the drug is meant for large animals so the dose will vary and I'm not going to post it here. I did series of tests to figure out a save dosage before the first treatment. The difference in strength from not killing the flarworms to stressing fish was 130%. Don't forget that I said I was treating for red planaria wich I know well, not AEFW.

Isn't it a matter of coral health if it can survive the flatworms or not. I remember seeing pods munching on yellow polyps in my tanks. Those were sick polyps, not killer pods. What I'm saying is that the real cause is often something else than meets the eye, but what do I know. I've never had those AEFW that I know of and I feel for those that do.



Edit: I did several follow up treatments days and weeks after the initial one without finishing them off.

 

[James404]

Although I appreciate your input DNA, lets please keep this thread dedicated to the treatment of AEFW, not red planaria. This can lead to confusion for some. Thank you.

 

[James404]

Third dose added at 5pm EST, been in for 3 hours so far, no negative effects that are noticeable to my eyes. Corals are all open with normal PE. I have not seen any AEFW dead but this can be difficult in my tank with the amount of flow I have. Will be turning the carbon/gfo back on in 2 hours.

 

[joeyvu]

You migh kill most of them already, James...

 

[Atomikk]

Ok, I am going in tonight. Wish me luck. 400 +- 10 gallons being treated. Involves 6.53 g of PROHIBIT Levamisole. Air to the skimmer shut off, GAC offline and replaced. Water turbulence at a maximum. Leaving it in for 4-5 hrs.

 

[john90009]

hey james if you have any large colonies where the flow may not hit as hard try turkey basting the under sides or every little crevice to get them, just want you to relle get at them so if there i one survivor in a crack then he doesn't repopulate. when i dose imma go at everything with a maxi jet, the flatworms love my tri color which and are having a picnic in the underside in the hole under it where i cant turkey baste- i know when i dose and get the maxi jet under there they are gonna be sorry they tried hiding.

 

[john90009]

good luck-

 

[Bax]

john90009

Great point John!

Blowing or basting the rock and SPS during treatment is a fantastic idea. The AEFWs like to hide under the bases and in cracks of the rock during the day.

Another thing to consider is dosing a bit before your lights come on. This is when all the AEFWs are still out and about and most vulnerable to the treatment.

 

[Atomikk]

Hour 3, and still no issues at all. In fact I did see a few larger flatworms swim in the water column. Fish seem to be fine, so are all the corals and inverts. I am going to keep it in the solution for 5 hours. I will update.