AEFW question and concern

WillKatt · Oct 8, 2012

So I picked up a small acro frag Saturday evening. Im not even sure what it was. I followed my usual routine of dipping it in CoralRx for about 8 minutes with a power head and some turkey baster blasts. I then dropped it in my tank down in front in the sand bed to start light acclimating it. Last night after lights out I was inspecting my tank with a flashlight an caught a glimpse of something on the side of the new acro frag. AEFW eggs! I wasted no time yanking that sucker out and dropping in qt.

My question as this is my first experience with AEFW. Assuming there were any adults on the frag and I was able to get them off with the dip, and the fact that I kept the frag in a low current area away from my other acros what's the chance that any of those eggs hatched in the 24hr period they were in the tank? Can you even tell when they have hatched?

I'm hoping I got lucky and got it out in time and no adults that might have been made it through the dip released while in my tank. I'm going to be keeping a close eye on my acros for the next several weeks and hope I don't see any.

Any other precautions or in tank treatments I can do outside of yanking all my colonies and dipping them?

I'm so mad at myself. I'm usually very good about dipping and closing inspecting all new additions, of course its the times you let your guard down that you get bitten. One more lesson learned.

Fortunately for me I don't have many acros but two of the ones I do have are my prized pieces. Any advice or encouragement would be greatly appreciated.

-Logzor · Oct 8, 2012

I think you're probably in the clear. Doubt that it one day they spread from that one coral. Not really a good intank treatment but you could do a quick dip on other colonies.

dnov99 · Oct 8, 2012

Anything is possible at this point but you should be ok since it was such a short period of time. There is no way of telling if they have hatched. Are you sure they are AEFW eggs?? If they are on the living part of the acro, then they are not eggs. The worms only lay their eggs under the acro on dead tissue, as they cannot lay the eggs on live tissue due to the mucus from the acro. At this point just keep the acro in QT and keep a close eye on your other acros.

WillKatt · Oct 8, 2012

Yeah I'm certain they were AEFW eggs and yes they were on a dead part of the base. This was one of those $5 dollar frag purchaces you make on a whim because you want to see if you can color up a browned out turd into something pretty nice. It was a decent chunk so I though ill see what happens. Looked exactly like this only not as many.

Thanks for the advice. Ill have to keep a very close eye I suppose. Its just a 28G so at least I can get a very close look at my existing colonies.

KoleTang · Oct 8, 2012

AEFW eggs hatch 3-4 weeks after being laid. You would have to be uncannily unlucky to put them in the day that they hatch. (That is if they were all laid around the same time)

Here is a discussion about AEFW that I started a while back ---> https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/ge...303-how-prevent-pests-like-acropora-acro.html

WillKatt · Oct 8, 2012

KoleTang said:
AEFW eggs hatch 3-4 weeks after being laid. You would have to be uncannily unlucky to put them in the day that they hatch. (That is if they were all laid around the same time)

Here is a discussion about AEFW that I started a while back ---> https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/ge...303-how-prevent-pests-like-acropora-acro.html

I know the chances that they hatched are slim but if they had a lottery for for a one in a million chance of winning flatworms you can bet Id pick the wining numbers. LOL Thanks for your input!

duke62 · Oct 9, 2012

Just because you dipped doesnt mean you killed all the AEFW either. they can hide in the smallest crevices. i check all my corals from day one for AEFW eggs and i dip everything no matter whos tank they came from and i still got them

Troylee · Oct 9, 2012

I think your in the clear man... A dip will kill any adults quickly at 8 minutes they don't stand a chance.. I normally dip for 2 minutes and they peel right off or when hit with a turkey baster they fall off and shrivel up... Personally I would toss the frag you said it was a $5 purchase.. Not even worth trying to save or even dealing with the mess that comes with eradicating them.. Also I would notify who ever you got it from before they spread it to more people..:sad:

SteezySPS · Oct 9, 2012

did any worms fly off in the dip? eggs dont come off from basting so you're probably safe. sorry but there are no in tank treatments besides pulling them out but ur tank is small so it shouldnt be that difficult to treat if infected

3Twinklets · Oct 9, 2012

Forgive me but what is AEFW eggs and LRB eggs?

KoleTang said:
AEFW eggs hatch 3-4 weeks after being laid. You would have to be uncannily unlucky to put them in the day that they hatch. (That is if they were all laid around the same time)

Here is a discussion about AEFW that I started a while back ---> https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/ge...303-how-prevent-pests-like-acropora-acro.html

SteezySPS · Oct 9, 2012

duke62 said:
Just because you dipped doesnt mean you killed all the AEFW either. they can hide in the smallest crevices. i check all my corals from day one for AEFW eggs and i dip everything no matter whos tank they came from and i still got them

this is the reason why I prefer fresh cuts from established colonies. after having to deal with them myself I wont buy maricultured mini colonies untill i have a qt tank.

WillKatt · Oct 10, 2012

Troylee said:
I think your in the clear man... A dip will kill any adults quickly at 8 minutes they don't stand a chance.. I normally dip for 2 minutes and they peel right off or when hit with a turkey baster they fall off and shrivel up... Personally I would toss the frag you said it was a $5 purchase.. Not even worth trying to save or even dealing with the mess that comes with eradicating them.. Also I would notify who ever you got it from before they spread it to more people..:sad:

Yep I tossed it the next morning and the source was notified.

SteezySPS said:
did any worms fly off in the dip? eggs dont come off from basting so you're probably safe. sorry but there are no in tank treatments besides pulling them out but ur tank is small so it shouldn't be that difficult to treat if infected

Honestly I got lazy and didn't do a very though inspection (obviously). I had several corals I had picked up that day along with a large LPS and all were dipped in the same 5 gallon bucket so Allot of "stuff" came off in the water I didn't inspect it closely however.

Like I said lesson learned. Its easy to get careless when you go a long time without any pest issues. I probably wont let that happen again.