Acro Eating Flat worms
- Thread starter spykes
- Start date
wentreefgirl
Connecticut reefer
- Location
- Connecticut
Ummm, new here but just wanted to jump in and say Hi and that acgro eating flat worms wont be killed with flatworm exit. It has to be done with interceptor or something that you can get from a feed store that they use on livestock. It will kill all your pods and crabs and snails but shoudl do the trick in you tank. Another note, You need to inspect all your acgros and softies and liverock for the eggs. Scrape them off because the intercepor and other rx doesnt take care of the eggs.
bad coffee
Inept at life.
- Location
- Location: Location:
Welcome to MR karen!
B
B
wentreefgirl
Connecticut reefer
- Location
- Connecticut
Oh, heres good pics of eggs and worms on the coral. (not mine)
The med you get from the feed co is levamisole.
The med you get from the feed co is levamisole.
rich i've notice on my green stag, they cant change their colors to the coral's color, so what they did was turn white like the calcium part of the bone, it almost looked like my coral had STN on that spot, but once i blew the flatworm it came off and i sucked it up.
what happens to any eggs in the tank?
unlike red bugs the flatworms will lay their eggs on things other than acropora.
If you leave any acro's in the tank that are not infected when any eggs hatch they will go for the acros left in the tank. I say take them all out and set up a super flat worm killing tank, scrape the rocks of any acro bases and let that tank sit with no acros for however long it takes.
that's a better plan D, then you won't have to worry about hurting the fish with whatever meds you use to kill the worms.
we know you have the tanks to do this
die worms die!
unlike red bugs the flatworms will lay their eggs on things other than acropora.
If you leave any acro's in the tank that are not infected when any eggs hatch they will go for the acros left in the tank. I say take them all out and set up a super flat worm killing tank, scrape the rocks of any acro bases and let that tank sit with no acros for however long it takes.
that's a better plan D, then you won't have to worry about hurting the fish with whatever meds you use to kill the worms.
we know you have the tanks to do this
die worms die!
- Location
- Washington Heights, NY
wentreefgirl said:
Wentreefgirl is right, FWE won't kill the AEFW (but other flatworms), but levamisole at the correct dosage will kill them along with the regular flatworms and monti eating nudis. Levamisole at high doses will kill a lot more than FWs; so if Flat Worm Exit contains levamisole it can't be in a high enough concentration to kill the AEFWs in the tank. This is why the levamisole treatment must be done outside of the display tank.
You guys are probably going to have to do like what Jhale suggested. Quarantine all your corals and do dips (3 a week) for 3 weeks at least. The eggs take 10-15 days to hatch and this will hopefully (along with removing them manually) give you enough time to get rid of them. It takes around 5 days for these guys to starve without acros (and they need acros to survive). So if your tank is without corals for that time, plus 10-15 days for eggs to hatch, then another 5 days for those to starve, the tank should be okay. Also, by the time (possibly after months) they have grown large enough for you to see or do damage to your corals they will probably infected your entire tank.
If your have STN issues its possibly AEFW. When you've covered up the spots with glue you were probably killing the flatworm in the process.
Apparently there have been some AEFW/STN issues with Bali aquacultured colonies for some time now. So if you recently got some colonies from there and didn't do a dip/quarantine watch your corals closely.
Goodluck.
Last edited:
Dave I have to come see these things in person. I had some AEFW but not like you told me about. I did 2 FWE treatments at 4x dosage for 4+ hrs time each dose. I also dipped each coral in a combination seachem reef dip + 15-20x dosage of FWE, I even re-fresh water dipped a few....so far no more AEFW's. Once I get Tropic Marin Pro cure I will re-dip the entire tank to be sure.
This is the biggest PITA!!! I only wish I just had red bugs
This is the biggest PITA!!! I only wish I just had red bugs
I knew that these were a much more common problem than many people thought. I got them about 2 months ago from a trade. Anyways, I have some good information for you. Being from Boston I keep in touch with a lot of the Boston Reefers Society guys and there is hope. What you need to do is order this:
Levamisole Soluble Pig Wormer
Each bottle treats 111 gallons.
http://www.pbsanimalhealth.com/cgi-...ublepigwormer.html?L+scstore+bqxs5196fff23af2
This is NOT a whole tank treatment!! It is to be used as a dip ONLY!!
Disclaimer: I will in no way, shape, or form take any responsibility for loses that may be incurred with this treatment it is to be used at your own risk. I was not the one to come up with this treatment I am just passing the information along to you. More info can be found out here:http://www.bostonreefers.org/forums/showthread.php?t=17217
First things first, you need to set up a quarantine tank to quarantine ALL of your Acros for a month. You also need a separate container/tank/vessel to perform the dip outlined below. Your main display tank must remain completely acro free for the duration of the treatment. If you have corals that have encrusted on to pieces of LR you must either chisel them off or cover them with marine epoxy or find some other way to destroy the remaining tissue. It is very important to remove all acros from the system to starve any remaining flatworms in the tank. The worms hatch in 5-7 days from brown eggs laid most commonly on across, but not limited to. Around 5 days after hatching they mature and begin to lay eggs. Five days without food will stave the worms and they will die.
The treatment:
In a separate tank dose 1/4 teaspoon of Levamisole powder per 10 gallons to attain 40 ppm. Place the Acros in the dip for 5 hours and remove promptly. Do not leave the coral in the dip any longer. They are very sensitive to this medicine. It has been noted that some corals may not survive the dip at 40 ppm and research is being done to see the effectiveness of a 30 ppm solution. The Levamisole will not kill the eggs only hatched flatworms. This is why multiple treatments are necessary. Repeat this procedure every 5-7 days and give daily inspections to monitor your progress.
Here is the QT procedure outline by one of my fellow BRS members:
If I have 1 small frag I'll sometimes just use a specimen container from any LFS. Fill with tank water and frag. I use a standard air pump and air stone for some circulation, light and temp come from main tank. The process is the same as described below.
For extended QT (for all acros) I use either a 2 1/2 gallon or 5 gallon barebottom tank, a power head and small heater. I go with barebottom for a few reasons. Sand would never have any beneficial life because of the treatments used. Sand could possibly retain chemicals and turn into a toxic mess. I just remove the frags and pour the water out, sand would be a PITA. And, I just empty the tank and put it away when not in use. I use a small power head for circulation and a small heater. The small tanks fit on my stand next to another tank and gets light from the other tank.
I mix up fresh salt water. I use a maxijet 1200 with a hose attached and pump the appropriate amount of water from the main tank into the qt. Replace the water in the main with new salt water.
I then do the appropriate treatments, for acros, I inspect with a mag glass for visible pest. Treat with Interceptor for mites, Levimanisole for AEFW and Lugols for giggles. After the (I treat for 8 hours) treatment I remove the frags, I just leave them on a shelf for a couple minutes, empty the qt. I use the powerhead with the hose to "shower" the frag. I empty that water. Then I fill the qt with cycled water from the main system again and top off the main with new salt water.
I replace the water in the qt every other day, while inspecting the corals at least every other day. I treat again 5 to 7 days after the first treatment...repeating all the steps already mentioned. Continue water changes and inspections for another week and treat again.
I wait another week with visual inspections and water changes...this is now 4 weeks of qt. If everything looks good, they either go to the main system or frag tank.
Hope that helps and we can break this cycle in the club. Getting infected with the AEFW has taught me a very important lesson to ALWAYS QT EVERYTHING. I will use these treatments not limited to all incoming frags but all outgoing frags as well. I would also like to caution everyone at the upcoming frag swap to be careful of reef pests when buying and trading.
Sorry for the long post
Jeff
Levamisole Soluble Pig Wormer
Each bottle treats 111 gallons.
http://www.pbsanimalhealth.com/cgi-...ublepigwormer.html?L+scstore+bqxs5196fff23af2
This is NOT a whole tank treatment!! It is to be used as a dip ONLY!!
Disclaimer: I will in no way, shape, or form take any responsibility for loses that may be incurred with this treatment it is to be used at your own risk. I was not the one to come up with this treatment I am just passing the information along to you. More info can be found out here:http://www.bostonreefers.org/forums/showthread.php?t=17217
First things first, you need to set up a quarantine tank to quarantine ALL of your Acros for a month. You also need a separate container/tank/vessel to perform the dip outlined below. Your main display tank must remain completely acro free for the duration of the treatment. If you have corals that have encrusted on to pieces of LR you must either chisel them off or cover them with marine epoxy or find some other way to destroy the remaining tissue. It is very important to remove all acros from the system to starve any remaining flatworms in the tank. The worms hatch in 5-7 days from brown eggs laid most commonly on across, but not limited to. Around 5 days after hatching they mature and begin to lay eggs. Five days without food will stave the worms and they will die.
The treatment:
In a separate tank dose 1/4 teaspoon of Levamisole powder per 10 gallons to attain 40 ppm. Place the Acros in the dip for 5 hours and remove promptly. Do not leave the coral in the dip any longer. They are very sensitive to this medicine. It has been noted that some corals may not survive the dip at 40 ppm and research is being done to see the effectiveness of a 30 ppm solution. The Levamisole will not kill the eggs only hatched flatworms. This is why multiple treatments are necessary. Repeat this procedure every 5-7 days and give daily inspections to monitor your progress.
Here is the QT procedure outline by one of my fellow BRS members:
If I have 1 small frag I'll sometimes just use a specimen container from any LFS. Fill with tank water and frag. I use a standard air pump and air stone for some circulation, light and temp come from main tank. The process is the same as described below.
For extended QT (for all acros) I use either a 2 1/2 gallon or 5 gallon barebottom tank, a power head and small heater. I go with barebottom for a few reasons. Sand would never have any beneficial life because of the treatments used. Sand could possibly retain chemicals and turn into a toxic mess. I just remove the frags and pour the water out, sand would be a PITA. And, I just empty the tank and put it away when not in use. I use a small power head for circulation and a small heater. The small tanks fit on my stand next to another tank and gets light from the other tank.
I mix up fresh salt water. I use a maxijet 1200 with a hose attached and pump the appropriate amount of water from the main tank into the qt. Replace the water in the main with new salt water.
I then do the appropriate treatments, for acros, I inspect with a mag glass for visible pest. Treat with Interceptor for mites, Levimanisole for AEFW and Lugols for giggles. After the (I treat for 8 hours) treatment I remove the frags, I just leave them on a shelf for a couple minutes, empty the qt. I use the powerhead with the hose to "shower" the frag. I empty that water. Then I fill the qt with cycled water from the main system again and top off the main with new salt water.
I replace the water in the qt every other day, while inspecting the corals at least every other day. I treat again 5 to 7 days after the first treatment...repeating all the steps already mentioned. Continue water changes and inspections for another week and treat again.
I wait another week with visual inspections and water changes...this is now 4 weeks of qt. If everything looks good, they either go to the main system or frag tank.
Hope that helps and we can break this cycle in the club. Getting infected with the AEFW has taught me a very important lesson to ALWAYS QT EVERYTHING. I will use these treatments not limited to all incoming frags but all outgoing frags as well. I would also like to caution everyone at the upcoming frag swap to be careful of reef pests when buying and trading.
Sorry for the long post
Jeff
Last edited:
- Location
- Washington Heights, NY
Wow you shaun and j just skipped over my post :lol2:.
Hey Jeff, thanks for the info.
Most people seem to be getting the tablets but I was thinking the liquid form would be easier to dose. My dip now was going to be interceptor and Levimanisole, thats why I was asking about the interceptor earlier. Be careful of that lugols, I heard it was some potent stuff. I'm actually planning on treating the live rock I will be getting in shortly. I figure the only think I want to come in with the live rock is bacteria and coralline algae.
From what I've read people have seen the eggs take up to 10-15 to hatch.
Hey Jeff, thanks for the info.
Most people seem to be getting the tablets but I was thinking the liquid form would be easier to dose. My dip now was going to be interceptor and Levimanisole, thats why I was asking about the interceptor earlier
. Be careful of that lugols, I heard it was some potent stuff. I'm actually planning on treating the live rock I will be getting in shortly. I figure the only think I want to come in with the live rock is bacteria and coralline algae.From what I've read people have seen the eggs take up to 10-15 to hatch.
Last edited:
ctxmonitor
Senior Member
- Location
- Brooklyn, NY
pual, aren't you gonna cook/cure the rock for a month before you use it anyway?
Sponsor Reefs
We're a FREE website, and we exist because of hobbyists like YOU who help us run this community.
Click here to sponsor $10:
