red menace! aefw & red bugs not the same?

[Drae]

I know I have red bugs( I see them on the lower front and sides of the glass) 150 gallon tank with only 7 frags ( first sps) 1 derasa, and a lta that stays put( 3 mos now). Nothing seems to be bothered. In fact , all coral( I mean all) seem to be growing unlike any other coral I've ever owned minus one eager gsp that loved my nutrient rich water in my first system. Even one coral I though was a done deal cause within a week of placement in my aquarium it had lost tissue on one... Branch? I guess you'd call it ( no flaming needed, I'm a noob) but to my amazement, that Brown bumpy looking sps is turning pale orange-ish color, growing and even covering the lost tissue with newly formed healthy looking tissue( just a little pale looking. Are red bugs and aefw the same? I'm sure I can get interceptor through my now, resting in the sky, but still often thought about pitbull, Chaos' vet. Real good guy, he'll understand immediately upon asking ( his sps tank has tips of acros trying to take a swim in open Air! Amazing to me. Thanks

 

[Reef Bass]

No, aefw and redbugs are not the same. And it sounds like you don't have either of those. Sounds like you have red planaria, a type of flatworm but not an acro eater. Flatworm Exit will easily kill them, though you're going to want to siphon out the dead ones as they release toxins. Running some carbon and a water change helps.

 

[returnofsid]

Red bugs are teeny tiny and rarely actually seen, without the help of a magnifying glass, or really looking closely. Red bugs will also usually NOT be seen, on glass, as they only infect Acropora/Millipora corals.

AEFW are an Acro Eating Flat Worms.

If you're seeing "red" critters, on your glass, that appear to be flatworms, it's probably Planaria. If so, easily taken care of, as long as done properly, and not near as harmful as Red Bugs or AEFW.

 

[Drae]

You guys are correct! These guys look like the little ghosts on Pac man. My invertebrate book calls them planaria. What do they eat, Harm ,or do besides making my neck itch looking at them? Also, is there any natural predators?

 

[Reef Bass]

Just for the record, most of what we refer to as milleporas are Acropora millepora. There is a genus of Millepora (just like Acropora is a genus), but those are fire corals, which most of us don't keep intentionally.

With genus always receiving a capital letter and species a lower case, the upper or lower case M in this instance makes a big difference!

So saying aefw also attack millis is redundant, as our millis are Acropora millepora. And I don't know if (and rather doubt) they will attack members of the genus Millepora.

 

[returnofsid]

You guys are correct! These guys look like the little ghosts on Pac man. My invertebrate book calls them planaria. What do they eat, Harm ,or do besides making my neck itch looking at them? Also, is there any natural predators?

They eat detritus, algae, etc. They aren't harmful UNTIL they multiply, to such an extent that they cover your corals, blocking out light, AND/OR, until you treat them, with Flatworm Exit, without taking proper precautions.

When they die, they become toxic, so if you have a large population die off, the toxins can become so concentrated that they can crash your tank. So, you have to take precautions, if/when you decide to treat for them. You need to remove as many as possible, BEFORE treatment, AND remove as many dead ones as possible, during/after treatment.

One of the best ways to combat them, unless they've already populated to a large proportion, is to increase flow. You'll notice, they congregate in low flow areas.

Several Wrasses are also good at eating them.

 

[Drae]

Thanks for the info. They seem to stay on the sides of the aquarium. I'm gonna build a siphon with hard tubing to remove as many as possible before treating. My system is pretty solid so maybe I'll just treat. There aren't that many of them.