AEFW?

blkhawk10 · Apr 22, 2017

If I blow off a coral and no flatworms come off would that indicate that that particular coral doesn't have them?

Dawsokj1988 · Apr 22, 2017

Do you see any bite marks? I believe John Yaiullo (runs a 20,000 gallon reef in New York) used freshwater (instead of salt) to blast-off the AEFW. It talks about it somewhere in this video:

blkhawk10 · Apr 22, 2017

No, I don't see any bite marks...I was told by a LFS that I had AEFW when I brought some frags up to them tho they couldn't point any out to me, but I've been kind of freaking out/curious ever since.

Graffiti Spot · Apr 24, 2017

They will normally come off. It's hard to find them when they are not in big numbers yet. Just baste each coral once a week very well and keep your eyes out. Or remove and check/dip and acros that have low polyp extension or dull/no colors. Use a dip like revive or melafix so you can see what comes off the acros. They are fairly easy to spot if you know what to look for.

drawman · Apr 24, 2017

Do you have any pictures of the acros?

blkhawk10 · Apr 24, 2017

Unfortunately no, the corals I have in the tank right now look good.

71xlch · Apr 24, 2017

A friend of mine has afew but they seem to only bother the tricolor valida and purple bonsai. Other acros are free. Is it possible only one of your colonies has them?

Both her acros look fine but there are bite marks. She also has a 6 line which may pick them off keeping numbers low.

blkhawk10 · Apr 25, 2017

The acros that supposedly had them are gone...I was just curious how to check the other acros in my tank for them...I haven't seen any bite marks, loss of polyp extension or loss of color, I just wanted to know if no flatworms comes off the Acro when blasted with water if that Acro is free and clear of AEFW.

Graffiti Spot · Apr 25, 2017

Most likley of you don't see them when you baste the coral they aren't there. There is always the chance they are in very small numbers or hiding where you can't see them. They are tricky buggers.
Also the very HIGH chance the lfs has NO idea what aefw look like and they just panic when they see anything resembling them or their damage...

luke33 · Apr 25, 2017

The easiest way to find out if you have them is to take out your acro's that you can and drop them in a bayer dip for 10-15min, then rinse them off in display water in another container, then add them back to the tank after they soak. Then check to see if any AEFW fell off. They will come off with basting but not always. You also can't think that because you have a 6 line or corris...etc that they are eating them. AEFW are extremely camouflage for a reason.

And like mentioned above, your LFS could just be clueless : ) hopefully this is the case. You can't accuse someone of having AEFW and not show them proof. Could have been a way for them to try to get your frags for nothing.