luther1200
Premium Member
Thats what I thought, but it clearly had bit marks. Don't tell me I have some other pest. What else could leave those kinds of marks? I would have seen RB so I don't think thats it.
Success with "living with" AEFW - potential predator or different variety of AEFW?
- Thread starter mcliffy2
- Start date
luther1200
Premium Member
I don't know if it helps identify them or not but the ones I saw yesterday were very small and reddish/clear in color. But like I said before my Wrasse could just be eating the larger ones. I actually had the harmless flatworms a while back and never ever saw 1 in my DT, but my fuge was loaded with them. I started dosing a carbon source, AA's, and a bacteria Supplement and they just went away on there own, not so lucky with these guys I guess,lol. Anyway back from my tangent, they definitely had a slight red color to them, and I could barely make them out with a magnifying glass. I actually used a cheapo pocket microscope with 30x magnification to get a good look. Which they were crystal clear with that. But still very small, I would say the size of a ball point pen tip.
2 major things that I did not see in this post that I feel have been most helpful to me are:
1) http://www.melevsreef.com/flatworms.html
2) Salifert Flatworm eXit
I recently discovered a colony I had bought from a local reefer had AEFW which did not in anyway kill the coral but took away all of its color aside from the polyps which seems to be common. I gave the colony to someone who was already in the quarantine process and was willing to give the colony a chance.
I was very devistated when I found out I had AEFW (in much disbelief as you typically won't know until you take corals out and blast them) as my tank was just filled with frags from SunnyX's beautiful tank http://www.rimlessreef.com
After doing some reading I came across the wonderful log of the experience of melevsreef and this so far is how I have decided to deal with my problem.
First I had one other coral that I expected to have the dreaded worm and dipped it in Tropic Marin Pro-Coral Cure (an iodine based dip) twice over a 24 hour period and looked for any eggs to scrape off of it. Luckily for me my tank is newer and does not have any really large colonies for AEFW to feed on but as I said before I was devistated that all of my new frags could already be infected.
Not knowing how large my infestation really was I took the necessary precautions before dosing. I prepared for a 15% water change and had ro/di water ready for a second. I also put 1lb of activated carbon in to my dual BRS reactor to run actively as suggested once I saw AEFW death via the instructions recommendations.
I then dosed 50 drops of Salifert Flatworm eXit in to my 100gal and with in 5 minutes saw a few AEFW floating around in my tank. Now according to the directions the carbon is suppose to only help remove the bad chemicals released by AEFW as they die but since it says to turn off carbon until you see them die I was skeptical that the carbon would also hinder the ability of the product to do its job so I closely watched the tank for 30 minutes and realized that the product was doing its job but that my infestation was definitely on the low side. At the 30 minute mark I turned on the carbon reactor and about an hour after that decided to dose 2ml of vodka as an extra carbon boost (because I'm over concerned since the directions say I could need 1 lb of carbon per 50gals of water). After this I continued to monitor my tank for the next 8 hours to check the health of my tank and all of its inhabitants. After 8 hours I realized I would not need to do a water change and that I would rather allow the treatment to stay in my tank (that is if the Carbon doesn't completely clean it out anyways...).
My next plan of action happens in 14 days when I then dose the last of the Flatworm eXit bottle, roughly 50 more drops (I will dose the rest of the bottle up to 75 drops if that much more exists). Ideally any eggs will hatch, a real unknown, and this will help erradicate the last of the AEFW. As long as the death count appears very low I only plan to run 0.5 lbs of carbon afterwards and dosing 2ml of vodka. Then after 24 hours I will do a 15% water change. Of course all of this depends on how my tank health looks.
If all goes well I will continue to watch my frags grow and pay particular attention to color loss. This experience will most definitely impact my awareness of the subject and I do plan on dosing Flatworm eXit down the road in 3 months and probably again 3 months after that. If results are positive then I will probably dose once a year as a proactive way of keeping my tank healthy.
I will update you with my future results. Thanks for everyones input thus far.
1) http://www.melevsreef.com/flatworms.html
2) Salifert Flatworm eXit
I recently discovered a colony I had bought from a local reefer had AEFW which did not in anyway kill the coral but took away all of its color aside from the polyps which seems to be common. I gave the colony to someone who was already in the quarantine process and was willing to give the colony a chance.
I was very devistated when I found out I had AEFW (in much disbelief as you typically won't know until you take corals out and blast them) as my tank was just filled with frags from SunnyX's beautiful tank http://www.rimlessreef.com
After doing some reading I came across the wonderful log of the experience of melevsreef and this so far is how I have decided to deal with my problem.
First I had one other coral that I expected to have the dreaded worm and dipped it in Tropic Marin Pro-Coral Cure (an iodine based dip) twice over a 24 hour period and looked for any eggs to scrape off of it. Luckily for me my tank is newer and does not have any really large colonies for AEFW to feed on but as I said before I was devistated that all of my new frags could already be infected.
Not knowing how large my infestation really was I took the necessary precautions before dosing. I prepared for a 15% water change and had ro/di water ready for a second. I also put 1lb of activated carbon in to my dual BRS reactor to run actively as suggested once I saw AEFW death via the instructions recommendations.
I then dosed 50 drops of Salifert Flatworm eXit in to my 100gal and with in 5 minutes saw a few AEFW floating around in my tank. Now according to the directions the carbon is suppose to only help remove the bad chemicals released by AEFW as they die but since it says to turn off carbon until you see them die I was skeptical that the carbon would also hinder the ability of the product to do its job so I closely watched the tank for 30 minutes and realized that the product was doing its job but that my infestation was definitely on the low side. At the 30 minute mark I turned on the carbon reactor and about an hour after that decided to dose 2ml of vodka as an extra carbon boost (because I'm over concerned since the directions say I could need 1 lb of carbon per 50gals of water). After this I continued to monitor my tank for the next 8 hours to check the health of my tank and all of its inhabitants. After 8 hours I realized I would not need to do a water change and that I would rather allow the treatment to stay in my tank (that is if the Carbon doesn't completely clean it out anyways...).
My next plan of action happens in 14 days when I then dose the last of the Flatworm eXit bottle, roughly 50 more drops (I will dose the rest of the bottle up to 75 drops if that much more exists). Ideally any eggs will hatch, a real unknown, and this will help erradicate the last of the AEFW. As long as the death count appears very low I only plan to run 0.5 lbs of carbon afterwards and dosing 2ml of vodka. Then after 24 hours I will do a 15% water change. Of course all of this depends on how my tank health looks.
If all goes well I will continue to watch my frags grow and pay particular attention to color loss. This experience will most definitely impact my awareness of the subject and I do plan on dosing Flatworm eXit down the road in 3 months and probably again 3 months after that. If results are positive then I will probably dose once a year as a proactive way of keeping my tank healthy.
I will update you with my future results. Thanks for everyones input thus far.
sportzfish
New member
Not trying to be smart or anything but you are sure they were AEFW and not reddish planaria?
These are certified good old AEFW. This was made clear when I did my first dip and then again after I had a pet store worker and hobbyist confirm the bugs in person. And to make sure nobody comes up with assumptions this infestation had nothing to do with my new frags and did not come from SunnyXs tank.
I have notice all my SPS like millie, valida that having small crabs in there (not the hairy crab) they do not have AEFW in them. I also have couple small millie. Some I got from friends and some that raise as a frag without small crabs in there when I dipped them after I was done I noticed a lot of flat worm coming out. Now I won't remove any small crab in the SPS unless is the hairy crab.
sportzfish
New member
I have heard that Flatworm Exit did not really work, but in your case it sounds like it did. It would seem a 100 gallon tank would require about 80 drops though according to directions. I always heard it would take typically more Exit than less Exit to do the job.
Yeah sorry, I did do 100 drops and I meant to add that I would do up to 150 more drops even though the bottle says roughly 200 drops so we'll see whats left after the first 100. I would modify my post but I can't.
POST UPDATED FOR CHANGES
2 major things that I did not see in this post that I feel have been most helpful to me are:
1) http://www.melevsreef.com/flatworms.html
2) Salifert Flatworm eXit
I recently discovered a colony I had bought from a local reefer had AEFW which did not in anyway kill the coral but took away all of its color aside from the polyps which seems to be common. I gave the colony to someone who was already in the quarantine process and was willing to give the colony a chance.
I was very devistated when I found out I had AEFW (in much disbelief as you typically won't know until you take corals out and blast them) as my tank was just filled with frags from SunnyX's beautiful tank that I did not want to infect http://www.rimlessreef.com
After doing some reading I came across the wonderful log of the experience of melevsreef and this so far is how I have decided to deal with my problem.
First I had one other coral that I expected to have the dreaded worm and dipped it in Tropic Marin Pro-Coral Cure (an iodine based dip) twice over a 24 hour period and looked for any eggs to scrape off of it. Luckily for me my tank is newer and does not have any really large colonies for AEFW to feed on but as I said before I was devistated that all of my new frags could already be infected.
Not knowing how large my infestation really was I took the necessary precautions before dosing. I prepared for a 15% water change and had ro/di water ready for a second. I also put 1lb of activated carbon in to my dual BRS reactor to run actively as suggested once I saw AEFW death via the instructions recommendations.
I then dosed 100 drops of Salifert Flatworm eXit in to my 100gal and with in 5 minutes saw a few AEFW floating around in my tank. Now according to the directions the carbon is suppose to only help remove the bad chemicals released by AEFW as they die but since it says to turn off carbon until you see them die I was skeptical that the carbon would also hinder the ability of the product to do its job so I closely watched the tank for 30 minutes and realized that the product was doing its job but that my infestation was definitely on the low side. At the 30 minute mark I turned on the carbon reactor and about an hour after that decided to dose 2ml of vodka as an extra carbon boost (because I'm over concerned since the directions say I could need 1 lb of carbon per 50gals of water). After this I continued to monitor my tank for the next 8 hours to check the health of my tank and all of its inhabitants. After 8 hours I realized I would not need to do a water change and that I would rather allow the treatment to stay in my tank (that is if the Carbon doesn't completely clean it out anyways...).
My next plan of action happens in 14 days when I then dose the last of the Flatworm eXit bottle, roughly 100 more drops (I will dose the rest of the bottle up to 150 drops if that much more exists). Ideally any eggs will hatch, a real unknown, and this will help erradicate the last of the AEFW. As long as the death count appears very low I only plan to run 0.5 lbs of carbon afterwards and dosing 2ml of vodka. Then after 24 hours I will do a 15% water change. Of course all of this depends on how my tank health looks.
If all goes well I will continue to watch my frags grow and pay particular attention to color loss. This experience will most definitely impact my awareness of the subject and I do plan on dosing Flatworm eXit down the road in 3 months and probably again 3 months after that. If results are positive then I will probably dose once a year as a proactive way of keeping my tank healthy.
I will update you with my future results. Thanks for everyones input thus far.
2 major things that I did not see in this post that I feel have been most helpful to me are:
1) http://www.melevsreef.com/flatworms.html
2) Salifert Flatworm eXit
I recently discovered a colony I had bought from a local reefer had AEFW which did not in anyway kill the coral but took away all of its color aside from the polyps which seems to be common. I gave the colony to someone who was already in the quarantine process and was willing to give the colony a chance.
I was very devistated when I found out I had AEFW (in much disbelief as you typically won't know until you take corals out and blast them) as my tank was just filled with frags from SunnyX's beautiful tank that I did not want to infect http://www.rimlessreef.com
After doing some reading I came across the wonderful log of the experience of melevsreef and this so far is how I have decided to deal with my problem.
First I had one other coral that I expected to have the dreaded worm and dipped it in Tropic Marin Pro-Coral Cure (an iodine based dip) twice over a 24 hour period and looked for any eggs to scrape off of it. Luckily for me my tank is newer and does not have any really large colonies for AEFW to feed on but as I said before I was devistated that all of my new frags could already be infected.
Not knowing how large my infestation really was I took the necessary precautions before dosing. I prepared for a 15% water change and had ro/di water ready for a second. I also put 1lb of activated carbon in to my dual BRS reactor to run actively as suggested once I saw AEFW death via the instructions recommendations.
I then dosed 100 drops of Salifert Flatworm eXit in to my 100gal and with in 5 minutes saw a few AEFW floating around in my tank. Now according to the directions the carbon is suppose to only help remove the bad chemicals released by AEFW as they die but since it says to turn off carbon until you see them die I was skeptical that the carbon would also hinder the ability of the product to do its job so I closely watched the tank for 30 minutes and realized that the product was doing its job but that my infestation was definitely on the low side. At the 30 minute mark I turned on the carbon reactor and about an hour after that decided to dose 2ml of vodka as an extra carbon boost (because I'm over concerned since the directions say I could need 1 lb of carbon per 50gals of water). After this I continued to monitor my tank for the next 8 hours to check the health of my tank and all of its inhabitants. After 8 hours I realized I would not need to do a water change and that I would rather allow the treatment to stay in my tank (that is if the Carbon doesn't completely clean it out anyways...).
My next plan of action happens in 14 days when I then dose the last of the Flatworm eXit bottle, roughly 100 more drops (I will dose the rest of the bottle up to 150 drops if that much more exists). Ideally any eggs will hatch, a real unknown, and this will help erradicate the last of the AEFW. As long as the death count appears very low I only plan to run 0.5 lbs of carbon afterwards and dosing 2ml of vodka. Then after 24 hours I will do a 15% water change. Of course all of this depends on how my tank health looks.
If all goes well I will continue to watch my frags grow and pay particular attention to color loss. This experience will most definitely impact my awareness of the subject and I do plan on dosing Flatworm eXit down the road in 3 months and probably again 3 months after that. If results are positive then I will probably dose once a year as a proactive way of keeping my tank healthy.
I will update you with my future results. Thanks for everyones input thus far.
luther1200
Premium Member
I have a whole bottle of FWE. I don't have the other FW's, only AEFW so should I just try it out? What negative affects could it have? The only real harm from it is the toxins the FW's release when they die, right?
Correct but remember if you have a huge infestation that means you could potentially have a toxic bomb which is why it is recommended to vacuum out all the ones you can see (if you can see them you probably have a huge infestation) and otherwise make sure to have water changes ready and lots of carbon.
luther1200
Premium Member
Well I can't really see them with the naked eye in the tank. And they are only on my Arco's which I don't have a whole lot of, maybe 8 frags, and 5 small colonies. I only dosicovered I had them after seeing the bite marks then I dipped 1 and saw a few small ones in the dip bowl. But they are impossible to see otherwise. Do AEFW release the same toxins when they die as do the Planaria?
luther1200
Premium Member
I will continue basting and try the FWE this weekend after I make a bunch of water. But I am pretty sceptical that its going to work. I have heard other people say it has worked for them, but I also heard many say it didn't work at all. Well I guess I will find out.
BTW how often do you baste the corals? I have been doing it daily, is this to often?
BTW how often do you baste the corals? I have been doing it daily, is this to often?
plyle02
Active member
Never heard of AEFW releasing toxins after death, I have definitely heard of red planaria releasing nasty toxins that can cause death to the tank if they die in huge numbers. I think it may be important to distinguish the difference between the 2. I do not know FWE to kill AEFW, I think we are mistaken on the identity of the flatworms here.
GL
GL
rigleautomotive
Premium Member
I have been thinking what you just said for a couple days now with these posts refering to aefw as if they were red planaria,I do believe we are not talking about the same pest here,I know FWE was tried by several very experienced reefers along with some of the respected professionals in the reef world and found to not be a way to control or irradicate aefw.
the only options i know of are not whole tank treatments and i have been following these pests for about 4 years and reading thousands of posts
If you discover this works i am sure many will be surprised and intrigued,good luck,they are bastards
plyle02
Active member
It's what I thought, and as I read using in tank treatment to control AEFW, and the toxins, I knew we were discussing planaria, which I wish is what I had
I would like to see if the OP chime in and let us know how things are going, also reefbum. I know mrcliffy has a zeovit tank(tank bar) which I have seen on the zeo forums, and it is stunning. I think these things too are bastards, but they can be controlled. I have not had any coral losses in quite some time, and am quite sure I have been living with them for at least 2 years, glad I did not have any frags that were traded or sold. Thanks
sportzfish
New member
luther1200
Premium Member
This is a quote from the article.
"Flatworm Exit™ tends to work in extremely high concentrations. These flatworms were unaffected until the dosage was increased to 30x the recommended dosage for the normal Convolutriluba sp. flatworms. I felt these Acropora flatworms were probably laughing as they died because they knew that I had just spent $20 trying to kill a few of them."
I guess I will give it a try, I really have nbothing to loose at this point. Since I don't have the Planaria, that I can see. I will have water and GAC on stanby just in case some start floating out of some cracks or something.
"Flatworm Exit™ tends to work in extremely high concentrations. These flatworms were unaffected until the dosage was increased to 30x the recommended dosage for the normal Convolutriluba sp. flatworms. I felt these Acropora flatworms were probably laughing as they died because they knew that I had just spent $20 trying to kill a few of them."
I guess I will give it a try, I really have nbothing to loose at this point. Since I don't have the Planaria, that I can see. I will have water and GAC on stanby just in case some start floating out of some cracks or something.
