acro eating flatworm tragedy

[robertshaw85]

so i need some input. i have dealt w red bugs monti nudis and all types of stuff but recently noticed a couple prize acros slowly dyin and realized that there were flatworms and eggs on about 5 of my 20+ pieces. i have read threads online and im sure there is one on the site but i would really appreciate advice before i pursue drastic measures. i am considerin pullin all pieces and quarantine but was hoping for somethin easier and less stressful on the pieces. i did a tropic marin dip on the extreme effected pieces and multiple large flatworms came off. help!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[notireef]

I think the yellow coris wrasse eats flatworms...also try flatworm exit?

 

[mvm]

I would dip as many of the corals and you can and then use flatworm exit, followed by water changes and carbon. I would also get a yellow coris wrasse.

 

[sailfish]

Wow that sucks Robert let me know if I can help since your right down the road. I lost your number give me call. I would love it if you could take some pic's of them but understand if thats not very important to you right now.

Joe

 

[derek_s]

I have used flatwork exit several times and find it very effective on flatworms. It can treat the whole system and if done prperly is fairly safe.

I have only used it on planaria flatworms, but I would think it should be effective on the AEFW too.

Also I think prazipro is moderatly effective on FWs, and it is also safe for the whole reef (I have used this too).

I read a great suggestion a while ago, which suggested that you remove one gallon of your water, and siphon a few of your enemy flatworms into the jug. Then add flatworm exit, prazipro, or a cocktail of both to the jug to see what doses are lethal to your particular species. Maybe unecessary, but it might be a good way to test a prazi/FWE combo's effectiveness if the FWE is not enough.

I would treat that way, then repeat it in 2 weeks then 4 weeks (similar to an interceptor treatment). That presumably should catch any newly hatched FWs that made it through previous treatments.

 

[sailfish]

If it were me I would cut some frags and ditch the bases were the eggs may be. You can dip the frags to be sure there on none on them then start over. I would still treat the tank with Flat worm exit even if it does not work as thats what I have read some were along time ago. I would try what Derek said and test it out though. No matter what you do it will take months to be sure you got rid of them.

This is my worst nightmare.:yikes:

Joe

 

[robertshaw85]

thanks for all the help. i do have a yellow coris wrasse which helped eradicate my nudis but am gonna add a six line as well. i pulled out the affected corals and dipped them in tropic marin which nuked the flatworms fairly quickly. whats interstin is only tri colors acros in my tank are affected and the tank is 8 ft long and they are on opposite sides of the tank. it seems that the worms like the tricolors best. the only thing that worries me is the tricolors are littered w eggs. i think its probobly best if they are removed or even ditched. any ideas on how long the eggs take to hatch and the lifecycle?

 

[glxtrix]

If they are AEFW as seen here:

http://www.melevsreef.com/aefw.html">http://www.melevsreef.com/aefw.html</a>

There were a few solutions as to what "helps" to remove them (Salifert's Flatworm eXit, Fluke, Tropic Marine Pro Coral Cure, Levamisole powder, and Betadine)...but didn't really work all too well. The best (described later in the article) is Fluke Tabs - seen here:

[IMG]http://www.melevsreef.com/pics/06/09/fluke2.jpg>http://www.melevsreef.com/pics/06/09/fluke2.jpg</a>

I have done this and it does work. I did use a separate system to make sure that they were all gone before adding back to disp.

 

[sailfish]

Well I went to Robert's house today with 2 types of dip and flat worm exit.

We dipped some frags in each. All 3 work well enough to piss them off enough that they let go but the only one to kill them fast was ReVive coral cleaner by 2 little fishes.

Second place went to tropic marine and last went to flat worm exit. Tropic marin stunned them enough to let go with in the a lotted dip time but they were still alive until about 20 min or so. I used a Turkey baster to blast the fat worms off with each product. You really need something to help blow them off what ever it might be.

Flat worm exit and blasting them made them drop off with in 5 minutes or so but the suckers were slithering all over the container when I left. Robert should keep an eye on them and let us know if they ever die and how long it takes.

The one thing that really surprised me was how large they were. They are easily 1/4" and some as large as 1/2". They seem to appear to be whitish when they first come off but then later seemed almost transparent with a light brown tint to them. They are much easier to see then I thought from reading other threads but I am sure the babies are smaller.

The eggs were fairly obvious to the naked eye and I tried to scrape them off but they are really on there. You have to use something like a small flat head screw drive to get them off.

The coral showed obvious signs that something was wrong with them and most of the really bad ones looked completely bleached out. One one with less of them just had tiny small bite marks you could just make out while it was still in the tank.

One thing I can say now is that these look like no other flat worm I have seen and I have seen my share. Dipping corals and blasting them with water works to remove them fairly easily. This why you have to dip your coral no matter were they come from. I can say for a fact that most stores here in Atlanta do not dip their corals which PISSES ME OFF!!! I can also say that the egg cluster were visible to the naked eye and would be very obvious if you used a magnifying glass. Last is they really do love tri colors I only saw one coral the seemed to be affected that was not a tri color.

I did not bring my camera but will try to get over there agian a take some pics to add to this thread.

Sorry this happen to you Robert but thanks for doing the experiments with me. Let us know if the flat worm exit actually ever kills the flat worms. I will give you some frag to make up for any you lose.

Joe

 

[sailfish]

I forgt to say I love the Coral ReVive for lps and zoa's but have not tried it on acros till now so read up to be sure it's OK for them.

This stuff rocks for the zoa's and LPS.

Joe

 

[mvm]

sailfish;347026 wrote: I forgt to say I love the Coral ReVive for lps and zoa's but have not tried it on acros till now so read up to be sure it's OK for them.

This stuff rocks for the zoa's and LPS.

Joe

The revive is what's recommended for monti eating nudis, so I'm guessing it's OK for acros.

 

[glxtrix]

One thing that is obvious with these things is the marks they leave on the corals...little oval whitish marks....a nice clear indicator that AEFW's are what you have.

 

[robertshaw85]

thanks joe for all your help. it was really cool to have support from other reef members and input. today i looked at the corals we dipped last night and they are very bleached but alive. the tropic marin seems to stress the coral the least as this frag has the most color and the coral revive actually bleached the acro the most. this could be due to the strenghts used and of course more trials are necessary. i will keep everyone updated on ridding my tank of these pests. thanks again joe!

 

[texhorns98]

Robert, can you describe what the eggs look like? I want to check over the frags I got from you last month.

 

[glxtrix]

people look at my posts to Marcs site...you'll see what they look like and how to get rid of them.

 

[sailfish]

Just saw this and one of the people in it used Re Vive to treat them. It also has a pic of the eggs. I know there are lots of old threads out there about this and many ways to treat it but here is a little more Info.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1642743">http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1642743</a>

Dip & inspect your corals please so we can stop the spread of stuff like this.

Joe

 

[texhorns98]

Joe, from that thread, what is the red stuff on the coral? Some of my branching monti has it right now. And some of my bird's nest has a little green stringy algae on it.

 

[sailfish]

Dude the eggs are the things on the frag plug that look like brownish colored eggs. LOL
The thin red stingy stuff looks like some algae.

Green stuff is probably just algae.

If you worried take them out and dip them or take pictures and post them. Heck Robert may come over and help you look.

Joe

 

[robertshaw85]

there is nothin red about flatworms and they only are attracted to acros supposedly although they ate a flesh colored mili. very strange. i have found that the tm dip works great. i found the worms one week ago have diiped twice and colors are coming back rapidly. ps, i have not lost one piece yet....