My own AEFW (Acro Eating Flatworms) images
- Thread starter melev
- Start date
wfgworks
Premium Member
I'm trying to read all the threads going on but my eyes are killing me.
I'm reading that many are removing corals from the main system, setting up Quartine tank and treating with Levamisole in combination with TMPCC. My question is, what about the Live Rock? I'm sure that the AEFW dont all reside on our Acro's
What about removing all fish and setting up a holding tank for them and treating your whole system without the fish in there?
I'm reading that many are removing corals from the main system, setting up Quartine tank and treating with Levamisole in combination with TMPCC. My question is, what about the Live Rock? I'm sure that the AEFW dont all reside on our Acro's
What about removing all fish and setting up a holding tank for them and treating your whole system without the fish in there?
gflat65
New member
There is no reliable in tank treatment. Levamisole would cause some serious issues on an entire tank situation. You'd have a massive spike from killing everything off. All anecdotal (some may have been 'scientifically' derived) evidence shows that the AEFW's die without a host after five days. Removing all acros from the display for Levamisole treatment is a 4-5 week thing, so as long as you get all encrustations (not the easiest task), the AEFW's present in the tank will be dead before you put your other acro's back in the display.
It's like clkwrk said, the goal is not necessarily to treat the ones left in your tank, but to starve them out. When you remove the acros, ALL acros, from your tank into the QT/treatment tanks(s), you do so for a minimum of 1 month, many for longer than that, to ensure that any existing AEFWs starve and additionally that any eggs left behind have time to hatch and then again starve. The "guesstimated" egg hatch time is 2+ weeks and the average time for an AEF to starve is 5 days. That is also why we need to do multiple weekly treatments to the corals in the treatment tanks.
The one big problem that alot of us run into is that we need to get every last scrap of acro flesh out of the tank, or else the AEFWs won't starve in the time that we expect them to, and if any survive we all know how fast they can again grow to plague proportions. So chiseling and scraping every last bit of encrusted acro is a necessary chore
On a side note, we finished building the 2 2' square treatment tanks last night, going to water test them then likely start the first levamisole treatment this afternoon, I am just tired of watching one after another coral fall to these monsters.
randy wayne
New member
What will these treatments do to your acro crabs.
ZURCSREEF
In Memoriam
Luvamisol dip is what I hear kills these suckers. A friend used it on these guys with absolute great sucess. Also, green spotted mandarins are know to eat flatworms aswell as black leopard wrasse. Here at the store, we keep black leopard wrasses where ever we have a flat worm problem, in less than a day, the flatworms are all gone. But definately try the luvamisol dip to get rid of the AEFW, and if you want in the end to try and keep them out... the black leopard wrasee... every sps tank should have one 
-Mike C.
-Mike C.
Thanks for the info on the black leopard wrasse Mike, but to be honest, we have gone the "natural predator" route with these pests and will be sticking with good old fashion QT for all new additions as well as the month+ long levamisole treatment protocol on our existing acro livestock (which includes leaving the main tank barren of acros for the duration). Although also having the "reported" natural predators can't hurt , as long as one's tank can support them normally (leopard wrasses are not for everyone).
, as long as one's tank can support them normally (leopard wrasses are not for everyone).Yes, these guys suck.
Marc,
take my word for it, unless you want to see your acro's die slowly one by one, you need to setup a quarantine tank.
I'm in the process of setting up a 75 g tank to dip and quarantine all my acro's out of my 375g. I'm using the Betadine solution, I heard they have been using it in Italy for awhile. I tested it and it works great. Now going to use it in mass quantites.
Marc,
take my word for it, unless you want to see your acro's die slowly one by one, you need to setup a quarantine tank.
I'm in the process of setting up a 75 g tank to dip and quarantine all my acro's out of my 375g. I'm using the Betadine solution, I heard they have been using it in Italy for awhile. I tested it and it works great. Now going to use it in mass quantites.
clkwrk
Active member
Betadine is a form of iodine of some sort.
http://www.safety.vanderbilt.edu/pdf/hcs_msds/betadine_solution 7_05.pdf.
http://www.safety.vanderbilt.edu/pdf/hcs_msds/betadine_solution 7_05.pdf.
raddogz
Premium Member
When you get a chance read some of the threads that are posted on the AEFW, the flatworm eating nudibranch was mentioned that it would not work along with Flatworm Exit.
I think we have all come to agreement that there has to be a natural predator out there, just don't know what that is.
Methinks that red bugs and aefw are indeed somehow related. It seems that aefw, seemed to follow quite a few people's tanks after a red bug treatment.
I think we have all come to agreement that there has to be a natural predator out there, just don't know what that is.
Methinks that red bugs and aefw are indeed somehow related. It seems that aefw, seemed to follow quite a few people's tanks after a red bug treatment.
