EEFW infestation (euphyllia eating flatworms)

[vetteguy53081]

I'm struggling with flat worms at the moment but they only seem to be affecting my torch and are leaving my hammers alone.
If I got rid of all of my euphyllia will the flatworms still survive in my tank or will they die out as there are no euphyllia in the tank?

Will they only lay eggs on euphyllia?

They will deposit eggs underneath any given coral. They in numbers can smother bases of coral and block the needed light for production of zooxanthellae which is their energy source.
Removal can be accomplished by siphoning them with a 3/8" tubing into a nylon stocking and discard
OR
Add a wrasse such as Yellow coris, 6 line, lunare or malanurus OR even a springieri damsel which will eat them

With the number you have, for the next 2 weeks you will have to look for eggs and scrape off as there is likely some and would be future acoels. Eggs are really tiny

 

[spicyshrimp]

I'm struggling with flat worms at the moment but they only seem to be affecting my torch and are leaving my hammers alone.
If I got rid of all of my euphyllia will the flatworms still survive in my tank or will they die out as there are no euphyllia in the tank?

Will they only lay eggs on euphyllia?

Currently in the process of eradicating mine; I experienced the same thing where they ignored my hammers and went straight for the torches. That said, I have no reason to believe they won't eat hammers if they have to. I believe they only lay eggs on exposed coral skeleton, as they don't leave it once they've matured and lost their swimming ability.

Euphyllias are my favorite corals, so I would hate for you to get rid of them. These worms aren't actually that difficult to deal with, but you need to act fast and be consistent with your treatment, otherwise they will lay eggs and the cycle will start again. I dipped all of my Euphyllia every 4 days for ~2 weeks in Tropic Marin Coral Clean (any iodine based dip should work though) for 15 minutes to knock off the worms. After each dip, I used a set of 8x magnifying jewelers glasses to visually scan the entire skeleton for egg clusters, and scraped off any that I found with a razor.

The only reason I still have them is because I forgot to dip one of my torches, and the worms found refuge on it. It is critical that you find a way to dip every coral, because once the worms start breeding, the babies can scatter across the entire tank with ease.

Good luck, and let me know if you need any more info!

 

[Baldguy]

I'm struggling with flat worms at the moment but they only seem to be affecting my torch and are leaving my hammers alone.
If I got rid of all of my euphyllia will the flatworms still survive in my tank or will they die out as there are no euphyllia in the tank?

Will they only lay eggs on euphyllia?

The eefw I have live on almost all of my lps and can be found on mushrooms as well. Candy cane, pectinia and all the euphyllia. I've tried all fish suggested except a six line and no luck.

 

[vetteguy53081]

The eefw I have live on almost all of my lps and can be found on mushrooms as well. Candy cane, pectinia and all the euphyllia. I've tried all fish suggested except a six line and no luck.

Can you provide pics , even video under white light intensity?

 

[Baldguy]

Can you provide pics , even video under white light intensity?

Pectinia, candy cane and glass.

 

[jztalon95]

I have a similar experience. My research suggests these are flatworms of the Waminoa Genus, NOT polyclad flatworms. I could be wrong...

There’s a few research papers on these that a quick Google search brings up. Seems more benign but still worthy of eradicating from euphylia I would say.

I completely agree.

 

[Mac Gee]

will flatworm exit work on waminoa spp?

 

[Baldguy]

will flatworm exit work on waminoa spp?

I've tried it a couple times at much higher than the recommended dose and it did not work.

 

[vetteguy53081]

will flatworm exit work on waminoa spp?

While flatworm exit will help, often it’s an alternative and not solution
You with this product will have to siphon out the dead worms daily as they release low level toxins
Siphon as many as you can with a 3/8” tube and add a wrasse that will eat them such as yellow Coris, 6 line and even springieri damsel