Tenshoa
New member
[insert music]
War!, Huh! good God, y'all!
Whaaaat is it good for?
Absolutely Flatworms! Sing it!
So. I am going to make this post as long, detailed, and painful to read as possible. Why? Because you deserve it.... seriously. Proper and accurate information is the best thing for this hobby. After countless hours and days of research and reading, including scientific studies and University experiments, and talking to several LFS, I have weeded out the crap and misinformation to save you the hassle.
Yep. I found em. WMD. AKA: AEFW.
At first, like anyone, the toughest stage is getting through the denial of it all. AEFW has been tainted and recognized as a bad word in this hobby. Like herpes. Only worse. I mean who wants to be known for having had them? And worse yet, who wants to trade with someone who has had them? It has been given a stigma that having had them may represent how reckless or careless you might be as a hobbyist. And at the end of the day, people such as myself have no one to blame but me. So blaming John Doe for passing them on to you is just as ignorant as the denial stage, because it's OUR job to take precautionary steps. Now that doesn't mean that you are a reckless and careless hobbyist. It means that maybe you were uninformed of the severity of the issue or like me, didn't take it upon myself to learn yet another preventative measure before it became a problem.
That said, if you are nervous about ever buying from someone who has had them, let me make one thing clear. No hobbyist I know of (though I'm sure they exist), or even Local Fish Store takes the time to properly prevent these guys from spreading (dipping isn't enough). They can't. It isn't feasible, particularly from a business standpoint. And I'll explain why later. It is my suspicion that more people (and stores) have them than they would like to believe. Some people are just too scared to look. See no evil, hear no evil.... And hope for the best.
My first goal in my plan was to obtain as much definitive and accurate information, backed by supporting evidence, through reputable sources as possible. Theories, unique situations, and hobby level suggestions and information just wasn't going to be good enough for me as sole evidence.
The following are some facts that I have gathered, worth mentioning before I begin to explain the steps that I have chosen to take.
*AEFW are very new to the industry and because of this, knowledge is very lacking as there just have not been enough studies done in what little time has passed. It was only in 2009 that the AEFW was given it's name as a new species of flatworm. And 2012 before they discovered them in the wild (on their first attempt). Credit to Dr. Kate Rawlinson and her team for carrying out (and still carrying out) the experiments and studies.
*The AEFW has ONLY been found to consume Acropora species. This does not include montipora, birdsnest, etc. And they can ONLY survive on the tissue of acropora.
*The reason that they are difficult to spot is that the zooxanthellae they consume is apparent through their transparent bodies.
*The AEFW is hermaphroditic but does not reproduce asexually. It requires a partner.
*Only the adults lay eggs and it is presumed, based on current data that conception is done either through hypodermic insemination or through intercourse with another worm.
*Eggs are laid in clusters on the bare skeleton of the acro, typically just beneath where the tissue ends or has receded. Each egg has been found to contain, on average, between 3-7 embryos. The time to hatch varies between 5 and 25 days depending on environmental conditions.
*So far, studies have shown that during the larval stage, AEFW develop tufts and lobes which would give them the ability to swim, but then lose this ability during the metamorphosis prior to hatching. This would imply that they do not readily transfer to other colonies on their own very easily. This is though to be a survival tactic since getting swept away in tank (or ocean) current would inhibit that. So survival rate increases by laying the eggs and keeping them close to the food source.
*Your corals DO NOT have to appear distressed to the naked eye for you to have them. In fact one of the corals I found one on has some of the best color and polyp extension in the tank.
*Very few solutions have been able to positively eradicate them and NONE of them have been successful beyond the shadow of a doubt. No matter what anyone in the forums says. That doesn't mean that it's not possible. It just means that no solution has ever been 100% for every person that has tried it, long term, every time. And they MAY take up to or more than 5 months to rear their ugly head again (this has happened locally). So apparent short term success does not equate to "never ever".
*By far, the number one most successful chemical method has been with Bayer. It seems to be the most gentle on corals and has a great effect on the AEFW. That is because Bayer works by attacking the central nervous system of the worm. Corals do not have a central nervous system.
*No chemical or biological method known at this time will kill the eggs.
*There is no in-tank method that has proved to be 100% at this time, although an experiment that was performed and posted in December is showing great success with extremely high doses of Potassium. Many are following this currently as are some marine biologists, Randy Holmes Farley, and most of the LFS. The long term outcome is yet to be determined but the experiment seems promising so far. I will post the link below.
Upon finding AEFW, you will face 3 main options:
Option 1: Do nothing and God willing, your corals stay healthy and do not experience any traumatic incident, they may do just fine. But one bad incident that causes your corals to weaken, and your AEFW population will explode with opportunity.
Option 2: Choose to control what you have and mitigate their effects. The reality of the situation is that if you choose to purchase more acros in the future and are not committed to quarantining and dipping them for 5-6 weeks, the chances of you contracting them if you haven't already, increase exponentially. The most common method of control is biological via livestock such as wrasses. It is worth noting that not all wrasses will eat off of the coral itself but will only consume what is in the water column. However, it is also worth mentioning that MOST fish will consume free floating AEFW in the water column and I have experienced this within my own tank. This includes clownfish, tangs, anthias, etc.
Sanjay Yoshi, professor of Marine Biology at Penn State and head of their marine division is a respected figure in the community and forums and takes care of the 500g tank at the university. He has chosen to control the worms biologically and by frequent basting/consumption. He has a post regarding his methods if you are interested.
Many seasoned enthusiasts have gone this route and lived with AEFW for years while still obtaining some stunning looking tanks.
Option 3:
Attempting to eradicate the entire population of AEFW. After much thought, this is the route I personally chose to take. And here is my personal plan of attack.
This decision did not come lightly but I think that the deciding factor was that I already had a 34g tank, fully cycled with livestock, that has been operating since 2012. Since it had no sps in it, I decided to take advantage of the situation.
I have removed all acropora from my main DT. Each coral was carefully inspected, brushed with a toothbrush for eggs, and dipped in Bayer (10ml per 4 oz of tank water) for 7-10 mins each. During the dipping process, you will want to use a GOOD (not a cheap) baster to baste the coral and upon rinsing it in a second container of tank water. This took me 4 1/2 hours for my first 50% of acros.
Colonies that had substantial breeding grounds and conditions for egg laying, were fragged (heart wrenching, I know), ABOVE the healthy flesh, and re-glued after rigorous brushing. Corals were then added to the quarantine tank.
Rocks that were encrusted in the main DT, were removed, FW dipped, dried out, and scraped of any acropora fragments. The purpose is to starve any remaining AEFW in the DT during the quarantine process. Leaving even a small piece of crust in the tank will allow any remaining AEFW to survive during this time and all your hard work will have been for nothing.
Corals will be dipped EVERY 3 DAYS. Overkill? Maybe. I know that the typical regimen is weekly, but the corals do not seem affected by the dip and coloration and polyp extension has not once been diminished. Even during the dipping process. So I see no reason not to.
The dipping process and quarantine will continue for 6 weeks (or longer if need be). The reason for this is that it is presumed (but not yet proven) that the hatch-lings can grow to adults within as little as 5 days. Breaking the cycle would mean that any AEFW that have hatched would need to be killed prior to the adult stage in order to prevent them from laying more eggs.
A team of wrasses has been added to the tank in the meantime to help mitigate and curb any such population that may come about.
Water changes in the quarantine are being performed twice per week and parameters are being checked daily (consumption will change greatly in both tanks).
Once the 6 week process has been completed, each coral will be fragged again at the base, inspected for eggs, brushed, and re-glued to a new frag plug prior to entering the DT.
The DT and QT will be dosed with Korallen-Zucht Flatworm Stop as a preventative measure and more wrasses (yellow coris) will be added.
Based on the dips that I have performed so far, I would recommend rinsing the corals after dipping in a second container of tank water. This is to help reduce the amount of residual Bayer that enters the tank. Particularly if the tank is much smaller. Even small concentrations will kill inverts and to date, the only casualty that I have encountered is my cleaner shrimp in my QT tank.
Many people have asked how to spot AEFW in the solution since it is so milky. Most often, they will be apparent in the rinse cycle, but if you want to be extra thorough, you can slowly pour the Bayer solution in the sink to reveal what is at the bottom. Otherwise, a coffee filter or fine strainer of some sort should do the trick.
I will keep you informed, if you are interested, as to the progress of my treatment.
I do however, want to reiterate though, that unless you are actually quarantining each frag that enters your system, and dipping for 5-6 weeks, that there is no guarantee that you won't catch them again. So if you do not plan on doing so, I would reconsider your options and possibly choose to control them. All it takes is for one egg to get past you and the problem begins all over again. Remember, there are multiple embryos per egg. So enough to sexually reproduce. And there is no way that a human can be 100% certain that they caught every egg. They are just too easy to miss.
That being said, be mindful when obtaining new corals, whether it be stores or hobbyists. Not about whom you purchase from but how it enters your tank. It is not the store's responsibility to mitigate what goes in your tank. It's yours. If every store had to float the bill on a coral for 6 weeks before they could profit off of it, think of how expensive coral might be to buy. They do what they can within reason. So be happy for that.
The above information that I posted is what I thought would be pertinent. I have absorbed so much info that it's possible that I have missed a couple of items. There's a lot rolling around in my head right now. So feel free to fire away and I will answer whatever questions that I believe that I have the answer to.
Here are a couple of links that I found to be helpful and that were used to provide the information above:
http://www.reefs.com/magazine/145123-mucous-trail-coral-killers-acropora-eating-flatworms.html
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2464227
https://experiment.com/projects/the-life-cycle-of-a-coral-killer-the-acropora-eating-flatworm
Other links from forum posts by reputable figures were omitted per the RC TOS.
War!, Huh! good God, y'all!
Whaaaat is it good for?
Absolutely Flatworms! Sing it!
So. I am going to make this post as long, detailed, and painful to read as possible. Why? Because you deserve it.... seriously. Proper and accurate information is the best thing for this hobby. After countless hours and days of research and reading, including scientific studies and University experiments, and talking to several LFS, I have weeded out the crap and misinformation to save you the hassle.
Yep. I found em. WMD. AKA: AEFW.
At first, like anyone, the toughest stage is getting through the denial of it all. AEFW has been tainted and recognized as a bad word in this hobby. Like herpes. Only worse. I mean who wants to be known for having had them? And worse yet, who wants to trade with someone who has had them? It has been given a stigma that having had them may represent how reckless or careless you might be as a hobbyist. And at the end of the day, people such as myself have no one to blame but me. So blaming John Doe for passing them on to you is just as ignorant as the denial stage, because it's OUR job to take precautionary steps. Now that doesn't mean that you are a reckless and careless hobbyist. It means that maybe you were uninformed of the severity of the issue or like me, didn't take it upon myself to learn yet another preventative measure before it became a problem.
That said, if you are nervous about ever buying from someone who has had them, let me make one thing clear. No hobbyist I know of (though I'm sure they exist), or even Local Fish Store takes the time to properly prevent these guys from spreading (dipping isn't enough). They can't. It isn't feasible, particularly from a business standpoint. And I'll explain why later. It is my suspicion that more people (and stores) have them than they would like to believe. Some people are just too scared to look. See no evil, hear no evil.... And hope for the best.
My first goal in my plan was to obtain as much definitive and accurate information, backed by supporting evidence, through reputable sources as possible. Theories, unique situations, and hobby level suggestions and information just wasn't going to be good enough for me as sole evidence.
The following are some facts that I have gathered, worth mentioning before I begin to explain the steps that I have chosen to take.
*AEFW are very new to the industry and because of this, knowledge is very lacking as there just have not been enough studies done in what little time has passed. It was only in 2009 that the AEFW was given it's name as a new species of flatworm. And 2012 before they discovered them in the wild (on their first attempt). Credit to Dr. Kate Rawlinson and her team for carrying out (and still carrying out) the experiments and studies.
*The AEFW has ONLY been found to consume Acropora species. This does not include montipora, birdsnest, etc. And they can ONLY survive on the tissue of acropora.
*The reason that they are difficult to spot is that the zooxanthellae they consume is apparent through their transparent bodies.
*The AEFW is hermaphroditic but does not reproduce asexually. It requires a partner.
*Only the adults lay eggs and it is presumed, based on current data that conception is done either through hypodermic insemination or through intercourse with another worm.
*Eggs are laid in clusters on the bare skeleton of the acro, typically just beneath where the tissue ends or has receded. Each egg has been found to contain, on average, between 3-7 embryos. The time to hatch varies between 5 and 25 days depending on environmental conditions.
*So far, studies have shown that during the larval stage, AEFW develop tufts and lobes which would give them the ability to swim, but then lose this ability during the metamorphosis prior to hatching. This would imply that they do not readily transfer to other colonies on their own very easily. This is though to be a survival tactic since getting swept away in tank (or ocean) current would inhibit that. So survival rate increases by laying the eggs and keeping them close to the food source.
*Your corals DO NOT have to appear distressed to the naked eye for you to have them. In fact one of the corals I found one on has some of the best color and polyp extension in the tank.
*Very few solutions have been able to positively eradicate them and NONE of them have been successful beyond the shadow of a doubt. No matter what anyone in the forums says. That doesn't mean that it's not possible. It just means that no solution has ever been 100% for every person that has tried it, long term, every time. And they MAY take up to or more than 5 months to rear their ugly head again (this has happened locally). So apparent short term success does not equate to "never ever".
*By far, the number one most successful chemical method has been with Bayer. It seems to be the most gentle on corals and has a great effect on the AEFW. That is because Bayer works by attacking the central nervous system of the worm. Corals do not have a central nervous system.
*No chemical or biological method known at this time will kill the eggs.
*There is no in-tank method that has proved to be 100% at this time, although an experiment that was performed and posted in December is showing great success with extremely high doses of Potassium. Many are following this currently as are some marine biologists, Randy Holmes Farley, and most of the LFS. The long term outcome is yet to be determined but the experiment seems promising so far. I will post the link below.
Upon finding AEFW, you will face 3 main options:
Option 1: Do nothing and God willing, your corals stay healthy and do not experience any traumatic incident, they may do just fine. But one bad incident that causes your corals to weaken, and your AEFW population will explode with opportunity.
Option 2: Choose to control what you have and mitigate their effects. The reality of the situation is that if you choose to purchase more acros in the future and are not committed to quarantining and dipping them for 5-6 weeks, the chances of you contracting them if you haven't already, increase exponentially. The most common method of control is biological via livestock such as wrasses. It is worth noting that not all wrasses will eat off of the coral itself but will only consume what is in the water column. However, it is also worth mentioning that MOST fish will consume free floating AEFW in the water column and I have experienced this within my own tank. This includes clownfish, tangs, anthias, etc.
Sanjay Yoshi, professor of Marine Biology at Penn State and head of their marine division is a respected figure in the community and forums and takes care of the 500g tank at the university. He has chosen to control the worms biologically and by frequent basting/consumption. He has a post regarding his methods if you are interested.
Many seasoned enthusiasts have gone this route and lived with AEFW for years while still obtaining some stunning looking tanks.
Option 3:
Attempting to eradicate the entire population of AEFW. After much thought, this is the route I personally chose to take. And here is my personal plan of attack.
This decision did not come lightly but I think that the deciding factor was that I already had a 34g tank, fully cycled with livestock, that has been operating since 2012. Since it had no sps in it, I decided to take advantage of the situation.
I have removed all acropora from my main DT. Each coral was carefully inspected, brushed with a toothbrush for eggs, and dipped in Bayer (10ml per 4 oz of tank water) for 7-10 mins each. During the dipping process, you will want to use a GOOD (not a cheap) baster to baste the coral and upon rinsing it in a second container of tank water. This took me 4 1/2 hours for my first 50% of acros.
Colonies that had substantial breeding grounds and conditions for egg laying, were fragged (heart wrenching, I know), ABOVE the healthy flesh, and re-glued after rigorous brushing. Corals were then added to the quarantine tank.
Rocks that were encrusted in the main DT, were removed, FW dipped, dried out, and scraped of any acropora fragments. The purpose is to starve any remaining AEFW in the DT during the quarantine process. Leaving even a small piece of crust in the tank will allow any remaining AEFW to survive during this time and all your hard work will have been for nothing.
Corals will be dipped EVERY 3 DAYS. Overkill? Maybe. I know that the typical regimen is weekly, but the corals do not seem affected by the dip and coloration and polyp extension has not once been diminished. Even during the dipping process. So I see no reason not to.
The dipping process and quarantine will continue for 6 weeks (or longer if need be). The reason for this is that it is presumed (but not yet proven) that the hatch-lings can grow to adults within as little as 5 days. Breaking the cycle would mean that any AEFW that have hatched would need to be killed prior to the adult stage in order to prevent them from laying more eggs.
A team of wrasses has been added to the tank in the meantime to help mitigate and curb any such population that may come about.
Water changes in the quarantine are being performed twice per week and parameters are being checked daily (consumption will change greatly in both tanks).
Once the 6 week process has been completed, each coral will be fragged again at the base, inspected for eggs, brushed, and re-glued to a new frag plug prior to entering the DT.
The DT and QT will be dosed with Korallen-Zucht Flatworm Stop as a preventative measure and more wrasses (yellow coris) will be added.
Based on the dips that I have performed so far, I would recommend rinsing the corals after dipping in a second container of tank water. This is to help reduce the amount of residual Bayer that enters the tank. Particularly if the tank is much smaller. Even small concentrations will kill inverts and to date, the only casualty that I have encountered is my cleaner shrimp in my QT tank.
Many people have asked how to spot AEFW in the solution since it is so milky. Most often, they will be apparent in the rinse cycle, but if you want to be extra thorough, you can slowly pour the Bayer solution in the sink to reveal what is at the bottom. Otherwise, a coffee filter or fine strainer of some sort should do the trick.
I will keep you informed, if you are interested, as to the progress of my treatment.
I do however, want to reiterate though, that unless you are actually quarantining each frag that enters your system, and dipping for 5-6 weeks, that there is no guarantee that you won't catch them again. So if you do not plan on doing so, I would reconsider your options and possibly choose to control them. All it takes is for one egg to get past you and the problem begins all over again. Remember, there are multiple embryos per egg. So enough to sexually reproduce. And there is no way that a human can be 100% certain that they caught every egg. They are just too easy to miss.
That being said, be mindful when obtaining new corals, whether it be stores or hobbyists. Not about whom you purchase from but how it enters your tank. It is not the store's responsibility to mitigate what goes in your tank. It's yours. If every store had to float the bill on a coral for 6 weeks before they could profit off of it, think of how expensive coral might be to buy. They do what they can within reason. So be happy for that.
The above information that I posted is what I thought would be pertinent. I have absorbed so much info that it's possible that I have missed a couple of items. There's a lot rolling around in my head right now. So feel free to fire away and I will answer whatever questions that I believe that I have the answer to.
Here are a couple of links that I found to be helpful and that were used to provide the information above:
http://www.reefs.com/magazine/145123-mucous-trail-coral-killers-acropora-eating-flatworms.html
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2464227
https://experiment.com/projects/the-life-cycle-of-a-coral-killer-the-acropora-eating-flatworm
Other links from forum posts by reputable figures were omitted per the RC TOS.
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