Critique my acro eating flatworm plan!

[monti mike]

Hey everyone!

I’d love to get your thoughts on my plan to beat acropora eating flatworms, AEFW! I dipped every frag before it went in my tank, sprayed the frags with a baster and scrubbed the plugs but somehow the flatworms still snuck in. I first noticed that the frags were getting pale, despite having great parameters and a lot of experience with sps. I sprayed one of the palest frags with a turkey baster at night and to my horror saw a circular disk fly out- it was 100% an AEFW.

here’s my plan of attack - I’d love to hear what you think and if you have suggestions. I don’t have a spare tank so running fallow isn’t an option.

1. break off all encrusted acros as emotionally hard as that may be! (This already sucks so much)
2. Dip ALL acros in melafix for 6 minutes and spray them with a baster/small power head to knock of the flatworms. I’m not comfortable using bayer and read that melafix works well and it’s more gentle on the acros
3. Scrub frag plugs/ bottom of frags to remove any visible eggs
3. Return acros to display
4. Dose flatworm stop daily to make the acros less palatable to worms still in display
5. Every 5 days repeat dip/spray/scrub
6. Maybe do an in tank treatment or two of something called “Purge” on top of everything else

I’m hoping that after two months of this it will break the lifecycle and eradicate the worms. What do you all think? Thanks!

 

[Graffiti Spot]

Don’t use a powerhead in the dip, dip in still or stirred water. The powerhead can peel the flesh while it’s in the dip much easier. A turkey baster really gently is all you need. But you should add a rinse/shake the worms off, bucket of tank water after your dip. Really swish the coral around in the water well to make sure all worms and dip are off the coral.

 

[jda]

Nothing is more gentle on acropora than Bayer... but use whatever you are most comfortable with for a dip.

Purge is a joke, IMO. About a dozen local tried it and the best thing that happened to any of them is that it just did not work...others lost nearly everything. I would stay away from this at all costs.

You need to also scrub the rocks down a few inches since they can wander off quite a ways and even lay eggs down there.

 

[monti mike]

Nothing is more gentle on acropora than Bayer... but use whatever you are most comfortable with for a dip.

Purge is a joke, IMO. About a dozen local tried it and the best thing that happened to any of them is that it just did not work...others lost nearly everything. I would stay away from this at all costs.

You need to also scrub the rocks down a few inches since they can wander off quite a ways and even lay eggs down there.

Do you think I should switch off and between melafix and bayer? Or skip melafix and dip in bayer every 5 days?

I’ve read mixed reviews on purge but I’m desperate so I’m open to just about anything that could work without a separate system. I think I’ll skip the purge though.

Do you think if I stick to the plan it will eventually beat the worms? Sorry for so many questions! I’ve been lucky and never had to deal with these in the past.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Siphon up as many as you can. Either dip OR use flatworm stop. I prefer dip as dead ones from flatworm stop may release toxins.

 

[NowGlazeIT]

I don’t think I had acro eating flat worms but I had red planeras covering my Euphyllia. I also did not have a spare tank but when I upgraded tanks, I dipped every coral in bayer for 5-10 min and 2 years later they are still gone and my Euphyllia have grown out. I did not transfer rock or sand or snails even. All my Euphyllia got cut down to a nub so I wouldn’t transfer egg sacks. Soon as I stopped cutting the bases and just doing the dip I started getting pest again like vermetid snails.

 

[Graffiti Spot]

Siphon up as many as you can. Either dip OR use flatworm stop. I prefer dip as dead ones from flatworm stop may release toxins.

Your thinking of red planaria. Aefw don’t release toxins. Fws is a good option to try if you have patience.
Using a double dose of fws is an option but dipping is closets to a best bet as it gets. Bayer is fine but you can’t see what’s going on in the dip. Melafix I can see every work fall off and see what I am basting too. Dip for 6-8 weeks depending on infestation level and every 6 or 7 days is fine.

 

[monti mike]

Thanks everyone for the help on this! The first dip is happening today so I’ll keep you updated on how it goes. I’m kind of hoping a disgusting amount of worms drop off?

 

[joseserrano]

I prefer melafix. Bayer is difficult to work with. Hard to see what is coming off of what, and you have to rinse everything a few times or it WILL get into your tank, it being bayer.

 

[monti mike]

I finished the first melafix dip. I used 50ml mixed in a gallon of tank water and left the acros in the dip for 6 minutes. I sprayed them gently with a pipette while they were soaking and a bunch of crap came off. I couldn’t really confirm if they were flatworms because the specks were so small. I’m sure they’re worms though because I found those big ones earlier this week.

the dipees are recovering on a frag rack now. Next melafix jacuzzi is in 5 days.

 

[ScottB]

Any update on how you did or did not get through this?

 

[monti mike]

Any update on how you did or did not get through this?

It seems like it worked! I haven’t seen a pest since the treatment and everything is growing well!

 

[ScottB]

Good to hear your plan worked. How many weeks did you dip?

Your upper rock acropora look very pastel. Are you running low nutrient to achieve pastel? Or are they just the "Ice" color variety. Or it could just be the lighting.

 

[monti mike]

Good to hear your plan worked. How many weeks did you dip?

Your upper rock acropora look very pastel. Are you running low nutrient to achieve pastel? Or are they just the "Ice" color variety. Or it could just be the lighting.

I’m actually not really sure if it’s supposed to look like that or not. I just started experimenting with reef roids to see if that will change the color. I’ve been lazy and haven’t tested the nitrate or phosphate in months.

 

[ScottB]

I’m actually not really sure if it’s supposed to look like that or not. I just started experimenting with reef roids to see if that will change the color. I’ve been lazy and haven’t tested the nitrate or phosphate in months.

There are some folks that very intentionally run ultra low nutrient to get that look but it is a knife edge that requires attention.

Any nitrate test is close enough. For Phosphate you should own and occasionally operate a Hanna ultra low phosphate checker.

 

[monti mike]

There are some folks that very intentionally run ultra low nutrient to get that look but it is a knife edge that requires attention.

Any nitrate test is close enough. For Phosphate you should own and occasionally operate a Hanna ultra low phosphate checker.

I have both I’ve just been lazy

 

[monti mike]

I have both I’ve just been lazy

Alright you got me curious and motivated! My nitrate is 0 (Nyos) and phosphate is 0.01ppm

 

[Rick5]

Are you fat shaming the fish when they eat?

How often are you feeding and what are you feeding?

 

[ScottB]

I'd suggest you gradually but consistently aim to dirty that up a bit. Otherwise I will see you over in the dinoflagellate thread.

 

[monti mike]

Are you fat shaming the fish when they eat?

How often are you feeding and what are you feeding?

Oh no! I’m going to get fish protective services called on me! I feed them twice a day and mix it up between the options: