EEFW infestation (euphyllia eating flatworms)

Cabinetman · Jan 6, 2021

Dip them using coral revive. They peel off in seconds using it. I’ve tried other stuff but nothing works even close as good as revive. They spaz right out in seconds and come off the torches Flatworm exit doesn’t work on these at all.

ReVive Coral Cleaner Dip

A revolutionary product developed by Julian Sprung for cleansing live stony and soft corals, zoanthids, and anemones. It is a surface cleaning dip based on plant extracts. Use for all general purpose live coral cleansing, as a part of acclimation to aquariums when corals or anemones are first...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

vetteguy53081 · Jan 6, 2021

Cabinetman said:
Dip them using coral revive. They peel off in seconds using it. I’ve tried other stuff but nothing works even close as good as revive. They spaz right out in seconds and come off the torches Flatworm exit doesn’t work on these at all.

ReVive Coral Cleaner Dip

A revolutionary product developed by Julian Sprung for cleansing live stony and soft corals, zoanthids, and anemones. It is a surface cleaning dip based on plant extracts. Use for all general purpose live coral cleansing, as a part of acclimation to aquariums when corals or anemones are first...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

It will have little effect if any on eggs. Eggs must be physically removed

Cabinetman · Jan 6, 2021

vetteguy53081 said:
It will have little effect if any on eggs. Eggs must be physically removed

Might not kill the eggs but I’ll garantee you it’s the most effective against the hatched ones. Dip every few days and they will soon be gone.

Ross Petersen · Jan 21, 2021

Cabinetman said:
Might not kill the eggs but I’ll garantee you it’s the most effective against the hatched ones. Dip every few days and they will soon be gone.

You referring to the Waminoa / Euphylia-loving flatworms? I dipped all my corals a few times in Revive as it worked great to get them off. Only had a few in quarantine though.

Sadly, noticed them again today in quarantine on the glass. Thinking about removing all corals/snails into a bath, dipping all corals and scraping plugs, and doing a 100% water change in the QT with a good alcohol / vinegar scrub.

Fun times - although I'm starting to think these Waminoa flatworms are relatively UBIQUITOUS in the reef game...

NickCage007 · Jan 24, 2021

Ross Petersen said:
You referring to the Waminoa / Euphylia-loving flatworms? I dipped all my corals a few times in Revive as it worked great to get them off. Only had a few in quarantine though.

Sadly, noticed them again today in quarantine on the glass. Thinking about removing all corals/snails into a bath, dipping all corals and scraping plugs, and doing a 100% water change in the QT with a good alcohol / vinegar scrub.

Fun times - although I'm starting to think these Waminoa flatworms are relatively UBIQUITOUS in the reef game...

The euphylia eating worms are not at all waminoa polyclads. Seeing them in person, youll understand. They are the size of ur thumbnail, if not larger. The euphyllia eating ones, discussed here.

The benign waminoa ones are tiny. Like 5 can fit on a frogspawn tip... can Seen on glass ect.

These that they are talking about wont leave the euphyllia.

So, just thought id throw that in, since u were derailing the thread, with no relation to what these folks are talking about...

Ross Petersen · Jan 24, 2021

NickCage007 said:
The euphylia eating worms are not at all waminoa polyclads. Seeing them in person, youll understand. They are the size of ur thumbnail, if not larger. The euphyllia eating ones, discussed here.

The benign waminoa ones are tiny. Like 5 can fit on a frogspawn tip... can Seen on glass ect.

These that they are talking about wont leave the euphyllia.

So, just thought id throw that in, since u were derailing the thread, with no relation to what these folks are talking about...

I'd ask you to reconsider that I'm "derailing the thread, with no relation to what these folks are talking about." It resonates with disrespect - not really what this forum is about. I am inquiring about a flatworm that lives on euphylia and treatment options for this. As this thread is focused on euphylia eating flatworms - I suggest my points are reasonable contributions for discussion.

Thank you for clarifying that a different species of flatworm on euphylia is at play here.

As an FYI, you indicate Waminoa flatworms are benign. There is published evidence that they negatively impact coral health: https://reefs.com/magazine/epizoic-flatworms-impair-coral-feeding-evidence-for-parasitism/. Please also see the recently published attached PDF on this matter.

stacksoner · May 20, 2021

Joining the EEFW party!! Started dosing with Prazipro tonight and it seemed to knock out all the visible ones pretty quickly. I hope my torches make it through

vetteguy53081 · May 20, 2021

Can’t see any flatworm but prazi generally does not impact them. If it worked- great
Do for the next two weeks look for presence of eggs which are tiny.

stacksoner · May 20, 2021

vetteguy53081 said:
Can’t see any flatworm but prazi generally does not impact them. If it worked- great
Do for the next two weeks look for presence of eggs which are tiny.

It's on the back glass. I believe praziquantel kills all worm parasites, no?

carmodpg · May 20, 2021

Take a look at this recent article about using Lanthanum (slowly) to kill all flatworms (even AEFW). I started and it is working nicely.

The Lanthanum Solution: Combating Flatworms in the Reef Aquarium - CORAL Magazine

Daniel Knop examines the many methods that reef aquarists employ in an effort to eliminate problematic flatworm pests in reef tanks, including one option that may well be the ultimate weapon to eliminate flatworms once and for all!

www.reef2rainforest.com

vetteguy53081 · May 20, 2021

Although Prazi states turberellis and flatworm on the bottle, I have found it less effective than those such as salifert flatworm exit.
Other option is to siphon out with a 3/8" tube as well as adding a wrasse such as yellow coris, 6 lined, lunare or melanurus which should eat them

csund · Jan 30, 2022

I’ve had these guys. I found that Bauer seems the least stressful on euphyllia. I tried Revive and Coral RX. Revive seemed the most stressful. Took a day or two for polyps to open. With Bayer they open up almost right away when placed back in the tank.

I choose to do five dips four days apart. I couldn’t find any conclusive data on hatching cycle but that seemed to work.

I have a 48x32 tank setup just for euphyllia. It’s packed pretty full with hammers, torches and frogspawn but they seem to prefer torches. I would find a couple on the hammers and frogspawn but the torches would be covered.

mdb_talon · Jan 30, 2022

vetteguy53081 said:
Although Prazi states turberellis and flatworm on the bottle, I have found it less effective than those such as salifert flatworm exit.
Other option is to siphon out with a 3/8" tube as well as adding a wrasse such as yellow coris, 6 lined, lunare or melanurus which should eat them

You keep bringing up flatworm exit, but as others have stated it is useless against polyclad flatworms and just pouring away money. Flatworm exit is great for for common planaria and even pretty effective with zoa nudis...useless for polyclad flatworms, AEFW, etc.

BroccoliFarmer · Jan 30, 2022

i_declare_bankruptcy said:
Dipped with Seachem reef dip. Didn’t stun the worms to the point of letting go but it did make them move around, making them easier to stop. I was able to get them off gently with a tooth brush.

Recovering corals

Flatworm aftermath

+1

jassermd · Jan 30, 2022

Jumping on this thread...
Been there and dealt with the same EEFW! They are the worst pest I've encountered... And that includes the monti eating nudis.
Found them on my torches (yes, multiple) and started the process... I dipped using Revive exclusively; Tried others, but Revive was the only one that worked.
Dip every 5-7 days and when doing so, taking time to scrape the eggs (as vetteguy noted, they are extremely small) with a #11 blade. Did so for 4 weeks and was able to get past the fiasco. Lost 15-20 heads of euphyllia; not to the dipping process, but to the flatworms. As others noted, they will lay eggs on and IN the skeleton of the euphyllia they attach to. So, to combat that, I cut off the dead/dying heads to keep them at bay.
Repeated dipping and scraping the eggs is the only thing that worked. I did add a 6 line wrasse that helped along the way.
There is no easy process... dip, scrape, repeat every 5-7 days.

BroccoliFarmer · Feb 1, 2022

I was on another reefing forum and they indicated that fenbendazol (dog pills as they put it). Is that something that would address these little buggers?

jassermd · Feb 1, 2022

Not sure... you may want to try it as a dip as opposed to treating the tank.
May be worth risking a receding torch to see if it works...

Baldguy · Feb 1, 2022

I've had the waminoa variety for years. I've tried basically every fish mentioned and none worked. Flatworm Exit had no effect. Dipping works but I can't dip the whole tank. I do want to try lanthanum. That sounds promising.

bruno3047 · Feb 1, 2022

You need to get some Bayer Complete Insect Killer. Here’s links on the procedure;

Bayer dip - Reef Central Online Community

Bayer dip Reef Discussion

www.reefcentral.com

Another option for red bugs - Page 24 - Reef Central Online Community

Page 24- Another option for red bugs SPS Keepers

www.reefcentral.com

bruno3047 · Feb 1, 2022

Baldguy said:
I've had the waminoa variety for years. I've tried basically every fish mentioned and none worked. Flatworm Exit had no effect. Dipping works but I can't dip the whole tank. I do want to try lanthanum. That sounds promising.

I prepare a dip 20 mL Bayer per cup of water and dip for 20 minutes. It’s a little bit more than the usual 15 minutes but the Bayer is very gentle on the corals. Then I dip in Reef Dip iodine-based for another 20 minutes. Then in untreated tank water for 5 to 10 minutes to rinse. Let me know if you have any questions