anacopora and aefw?

[madlos123]

Does anyone know if anacopora can also get acro eating flatworms or not?

 

[Chrisv.]

Yes. 100%. There was a reef builders article about this. (Sorry to say!)

 

[madlos123]

I read that post. The article stated it was a regular flatworm that covered every other coral not aefw. But the article also gave a warning if there are no other acro it could happen? But has anyone seen it in person? The bite marks and eggs on anacopora?

 

[Chrisv.]

I read that post. The article stated it was a regular flatworm that covered every other coral not aefw. But the article also gave a warning if there are no other acro it could happen? But has anyone seen it in person? The bite marks and eggs on anacopora?

I've not seen it in person. The last time I had aefw it was impossible to get rid of them, so I nuked all acros and kept other genera for a long long time.

 

[madlos123]

So I bought some $5 acropora (each) from a local reefer. Idk some of the names but i know i got yellow tips, strawberry shortcake, garf bonsai, yellow/green anacopora, and 3 other acro.
Got them in a QT tank.
The 1st time i got them there were lots of aefw and bite marks on yellow tips and garf bonsai after using revive. I have cut them off the bases.
This is the 3rd week of dipping using revive and found a couple large enough Aefw to be seen by my eye on the acro but none on anacopora.
Only bite marks i saw this week are only on garf.

Should I just toss this batch out or try to save them and keep dipping them every week until i dont see anymore aefw?

So far corals has been ok even encrusting and growing even weekly dips.

 

[Miami Reef]

So I bought some $5 acropora (each) from a local reefer. Idk some of the names but i know i got yellow tips, strawberry shortcake, garf bonsai, yellow/green anacopora, and 3 other acro.
Got them in a QT tank.
The 1st time i got them there were lots of aefw and bite marks on yellow tips and garf bonsai after using revive. I have cut them off the bases.
This is the 3rd week of dipping using revive and found a couple large enough Aefw to be seen by my eye on the acro but none on anacopora.
Only bite marks i saw this week are only on garf.

Should I just toss this batch out or try to save them and keep dipping them every week until i dont see anymore aefw?

So far corals has been ok even encrusting and growing even weekly dips.

Do you think it’s possible that the revive isn’t getting all the flat worms? I don’t know what revive contains.

I’d personally switch to bayer and dip all your acros once a week for 3-4 weeks and then do an inspection to see if any flatworms made it through.

 

[madlos123]

Probably. Been dipping 1 cap per 1 liter for 15 min. I got bayer already in hand i can switch next week.

 

[madlos123]

 

[ScottB]

Since you have a QT, you can easily solve this problem. I quit Bayer a long time ago and switched to potassium chloride for aefw. It does not stun them. It melts them. The eggs are a different matter.

I was a fan of Bayer for years. Nothing is more gentle on acros, but KCl is a close second for gentleness.

My worms were very specific in their preferences. Never saw them on anacropora.

 

[Miami Reef]

Since you have a QT, you can easily solve this problem. I quit Bayer a long time ago and switched to potassium chloride for aefw. It does not stun them. It melts them. The eggs are a different matter.

I was a fan of Bayer for years. Nothing is more gentle on acros, but KCl is a close second for gentleness.

My worms were very specific in their preferences. Never saw them on anacropora.

Why don’t you like bayer anymore?

 

[ScottB]

Why don’t you like bayer anymore?

a) to much of a hassle with gloves, rinsing, disposing. KCl is a food additive (salt) that you don't have to "worry" about.
b) Bayer doesn't (for me) kill aefw. Yes, they let loose, but will happily cruise around in the bowl for hours. KCl melts them in a couple minutes. They shrivel up dead.
c) You can't see -- in real time -- when a worm comes off. So if you are dipping multiple pieces you are never really sure which piece the worms came from. KCl mixes virtually clear. My container has a white background so it is easy to see anything that comes off.
d) KCl is cheap and readily available. The "formula" never changes.

I should mention I use it only for acropora. I tried it on a few pieces of monti and chalice and they didn't seem to like it. Polyps really closed up for the day.

 

[Chrisv.]

I will take the hard line stance here. No coral with a coral predator of any kind will ever knowingly be introduced into my tank. You can try to treat if you want and it may or may not work. In my house those corals would already be in the trash. I have too much personal energy invested in my reef tank to ever risk it. Maybe for. $1200 rainbow splice acro or something. Even then only maybe.

Aefw ruined a tank of mine in the past and every time I see someone post that it's a pest that can be managed by routine elimination, I think to myself "we won't know how well this works, because they will be out of the hobby in 9 months."

Never again for me, thanks!

 

[Miami Reef]

a) to much of a hassle with gloves, rinsing, disposing. KCl is a food additive (salt) that you don't have to "worry" about.
b) Bayer doesn't (for me) kill aefw. Yes, they let loose, but will happily cruise around in the bowl for hours. KCl melts them in a couple minutes. They shrivel up dead.
c) You can't see -- in real time -- when a worm comes off. So if you are dipping multiple pieces you are never really sure which piece the worms came from. KCl mixes virtually clear. My container has a white background so it is easy to see anything that comes off.
d) KCl is cheap and readily available. The "formula" never changes.

I should mention I use it only for acropora. I tried it on a few pieces of monti and chalice and they didn't seem to like it. Polyps really closed up for the day.

This is very interesting. I am definitely interested in using KCl.

Does it kill other pests like red bugs?

One of the biggest downsides to bayer is that it’s not clear, so diagnosing pests is almost impossible unless you strain the solution after the dip.

I’m pretty surprised you said that bayer doesn’t work well. I was under the impression that bayer was one of the most effective killers. I’m not sure how a flatworm could survive hours in that pesticide!

Something almost doesn’t seem right!

I read an article saying that no treatment is 100% effective. They recommended an initial dip in coral RX and then another dip in bayer back to back (not mixed together). Seems pretty unlikely anything could make it through.

I believe the purpose of the dip is just to tick off the pests and make them unlatch. If all the adult pests unlatch from the dip, then repeated dips will remove the hatchlings and thus destroying the lifecycle.

I will say that I never experienced AEF and I am prophylactically quarantining because I am listening to the wise folks who dealt and lost acros from this pest, so please do not take me as an authority on this subject. I’m here to learn.

 

[Graffiti Spot]

I don’t remember aefw being that color, that reminds me more of a planaria type? Are you sure your seeing bite marks and flat worms? I would like to see some pictures of what your seeing actually on the coral.
If you don’t have any acros in your tank besides these new purchases then you should be ok to keep them on the rack and make sure they are clean before mounting. I mean they are already in the tank anyways so either way not much you could do.
Revive is good for aefw for sure. No need to switch it will kill them in the dip if left in there.

 

[ScottB]

I will take the hard line stance here. No coral with a coral predator of any kind will ever knowingly be introduced into my tank. You can try to treat if you want and it may or may not work. In my house those corals would already be in the trash. I have too much personal energy invested in my reef tank to ever risk it. Maybe for. $1200 rainbow splice acro or something. Even then only maybe.

Aefw ruined a tank of mine in the past and every time I see someone post that it's a pest that can be managed by routine elimination, I think to myself "we won't know how well this works, because they will be out of the hobby in 9 months."

Never again for me, thanks!

Even if you had a coral QT tank like the poster does?

I am with you that aefw will wreck a display. No choice but to rip it all out.

 

[ScottB]

This is very interesting. I am definitely interested in using KCl.

Does it kill other pests like red bugs?

One of the biggest downsides to bayer is that it’s not clear, so diagnosing pests is almost impossible unless you strain the solution after the dip.

I’m pretty surprised you said that bayer doesn’t work well. I was under the impression that bayer was one of the most effective killers. I’m not sure how a flatworm could survive hours in that pesticide!

Something almost doesn’t seem right!

I read an article saying that no treatment is 100% effective. They recommended an initial dip in coral RX and then another dip in bayer back to back (not mixed together). Seems pretty unlikely anything could make it through.

I believe the purpose of the dip is just to tick off the pests and make them unlatch. If all the adult pests unlatch from the dip, then repeated dips will remove the hatchlings and thus destroying the lifecycle.

I will say that I never experienced AEF and I am prophylactically quarantining because I am listening to the wise folks who dealt and lost acros from this pest, so please do not take me as an authority on this subject. I’m here to learn.

With Bayer, I needed to use a glass bowl for dipping. The worms would stick to the bottom or sides and you could see them. It does make them let go, but I watched them move around on the glass for a long time.

KCl kills normal pods quickly, as well as brittle stars.

Red/white/black bugs (tegastes) require Interceptor.

 

[Chrisv.]

Even if you had a coral QT tank like the poster does?

I am with you that aefw will wreck a display. No choice but to rip it all out.

Honestly, probably. The thing is, how long will it take for you to be 100% sure that the coral is not harboring the flatworms? I'd almost want a second round of QT in a clean system where I knew for certain that there were no worms. Even then, idk how long I would need to wait.

I realize this sounds nuts. I've just had this particular issue go SO BADLY in the past. It really ruined the hobby for me for a while. I was an acro nut who had to watch a tank full of acros all die over the course of months, while I tried useless treatments to get rid of the aefw.

So, for me, idk, I would honestly probably toss them. I guess it also depends on what is already in the tank, how much they cost, what the OPs budget for new corals is, etc. Op said they cost $5 each. How much money would be spent trying to fix this if it gets out of hand?