The dreaded AEFW...

ajcanale

New member
Well, much to my suspicion, I have confirmed that there are Acropora Eating Flatworms present in my system.
For the past 4-6 weeks I have been having some serious PE and color issues with specific acro frags and/or colonies especially my millepora's and bonsai. Originally I was focusing on water quality and lighting issues, but after assuring that there were optimal levels and minimal fluctuations I really started researching the symptoms of AEFW and possible methods of eradication.
For the past week I've been pretty adamant about looking each morning for new signs/symptoms, and didn't really see much of anything, until today. Low and behold on the bottom of my bonsai there were tons of bite marks and a lot of thinning and discolored flesh at the base. Time for course of action.

>My plan (this is where I need some feedback)<
Equipment:
TLF Revive
10g QT with egg crate bottom(considering buying a larger tank before I start as it will be jam packed)
Heater
Koralia pump
Radion (thank God I have an extra)
2 dipping buckets or bowls, one for medication, one for rinsing.

Method:
Set up QT with DT water, maintain 50% water changes daily with DT water.
Remove frags/colonies and treat each before placing in QT. I will also be inspecting each frag and colony for eggs before and after each dip. I will treat every six days for five treatments, yielding an overall treatment period of 30 days.

Any feedback/suggestions will be taken into consideration and more than appreciated! :fish1:


Also... forgot to mention. I plan on leaving all montipora, birds nest, and stylos in the DT.
 
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Best of luck.

I dealt with them recently, and I might have dodged a bullet. Time will tell.

I noticed that they REALLY don't like peroxide. As in fall apart and disintegrate. And if things had gotten worse for me, I was going to try doing a quick 10 second dip and firm swish to knock the adults off. And back into saltwater.

I think getting the eggs, though, will be the key. Scraping them off. I also used a laser for aiptasias to burn any new eggs I found without having to remove the coral from the water.

I ended up throwing out more than 75% of the infected frags.
 
I've been using Flatworm Exit to treat my display tank. I've dosed it a few times with no Ill effects to my reef. The flatworms die off pretty quickly after dosing. Running fresh carbon or a water change should help eliminate any toxins they might put off while dieing after a few hours. You may have to dose several different days to eliminate ones that hatch up from already laid eggs. After a few rounds, you should get them all.
 
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