help against AEFW

[Peppe]

guys I have a serious problem; in these months I have already lost two colonies of acropora. Others continue to fight for survival. Eat eggs at the base and take a bath with revive, but after a month or so they return ... how can I permanently eradicate them?
HELP ME

 

[blkhawk10]

You need to take all of your acros out and put them in quarantine tank for 5-8 weeks as to have a fallow period in your DT. You need to dip the corals once a week or more, some say every two to three days depending on how bad the infestation. Make sure you cover over any acros in your DT that have encrusted on the rocks with putty of some sort.

 

[Peppe]

You need to take all of your acros out and put them in quarantine tank for 5-8 weeks as to have a fallow period in your DT. You need to dip the corals once a week or more, some say every two to three days depending on how bad the infestation. Make sure you cover over any acros in your DT that have encrusted on the rocks with putty of some sort.

Thanks for the reply; the quarantine tank must be independent? or the main tank and quarantine tank can share the same water and the same water and the same Sump?

 

[Livinlocal]

They must be independent to ensure no cross contamination

 

[Gareth elliott]

Has to be independent.

Otherwise you could be constantly reintroducing fw to the qt who eat move to dt starting the qt clock all over again.
Aefw have a 21 day life cycle the qt and weekly dips are to interrupt that in the qt. The fallow is to let the afew starve to death in the dt.

Some other recommendations.
-Use bayer instead of revive dip.
-after week 2 start running polyfilter or increase carbon in the dt to remove any toxins from dying fw.

 

[Joellen.gonzo]

Has to be independent.

Otherwise you could be constantly reintroducing fw to the qt who eat move to dt starting the qt clock all over again.
Aefw have a 21 day life cycle the qt and weekly dips are to interrupt that in the qt. The fallow is to let the afew starve to death in the dt.

Some other recommendations.
-Use bayer instead of revive dip.
-after week 2 start running polyfilter or increase carbon in the dt to remove any toxins from dying fw.

I know it sounds like Lot of work but if you hope to keep any alive you must do it. Also in the future did with Bayer and quarantine your corals. Bayer does not kill the eggs. Some people quarantine for a month dipping every week. Our local group lost several beautiful tanks to this and we all learned a painful yet valuable lesson from this.

 

[JaimeAdams]

I know a lot of us cut frags off of the disk or base. AEFW lay the eggs at the base of the coral or in areas with no tissue. If you cut a frag off of the plug it is very likely you will have removed any eggs.

 

[Peppe]

but is it sure that they die of hunger without acropora? Is there a way to eradicate them without removing the acropora from the main tank? fish that feed on them? flatworm stop combined with coral booster?

 

[Gareth elliott]

There are in tank treatment options with praziquantel or fenbendazole. But dosage is hard to gauge and again do do not kill eggs. These are not entirely reef safe. Good worms and other inverts may be affected too. And the dangers of fw toxins increases.

 

[Joellen.gonzo]

There are in tank treatment options with praziquantel or fenbendazole. But dosage is hard to gauge and again do do not kill eggs. These are not entirely reef safe. Good worms and other inverts may be affected too. And the dangers of fw toxins increases.

Had one member who lost his 150 trying this me this, be cautious if you try this.

 

[Joellen.gonzo]

AEFW eggs hatch within a month, and I recommend dips every 5 days for 3 weeks, including inspection (for other pests as well), scrubbing & basting. If eggs or flatworms are found I'd continue that process for 8-10 weeks.

 

[thirst]

I’ve had success dipping my entire stock every 5 days for about a month.

Takes a lot of work, but I wanted to keep the stability of the tank.

 

[reefrf]

I also had success dipping all of my Acro’s then putting them back into my display of 250g. This is far easier when the Acro’s are smaller like frags. It’s a lot of work as mentioned but it can be done. You need to be sure that [emoji817] % of any acropora that has encrusted onto your base rock is completely removed or covered with putty, otherwise you run the risk of the worms returning.

I dipped every one of my Acro’s every 5 to 7 days for 8 weeks & I am now 1 year later with no signs of aefw. I would also suggest as mentioned that the rock they are attached to is removed & you inspect for eggs with a small magnifying glass.

I use Melafix with great success. I personally did not like Bayer because I couldn’t see easily if worms came off in the dipping container.

Good luck! [emoji1303]

Here is this tank today.

 

[Donavon]

Introduce a Wrasse in your tank, six line, Christmas, or similar, they will prey on the bugs.
I had nudibranches and flatworms, i put a two spotted Wrasse in there and never had another problem with pests

 

[reefrf]

Only if AEFW were that easy to eradicate.

 

[Peppe]

I also thought to take a bath at all the acropora, but I gave up ... many are big, many glued to difficult positions ... not all of them have signs of infestation; I only bathe those on which I notice bites and which are easily detachable. but these parasites attack only weak corals or all the acropora? this is my reef

 

[Gareth elliott]

Gorgeous tank! There are some biological controls you can add if your dipping some of the corals.

-acro crabs
-a wrasse known to eat fw, perhaps hoven’s wrasse?
-peppermint shrimp possibly might nibble, iffy on their effectiveness, plus the wrasse might eat them.

Not saying this would work but if really cant remove all the acros might help turn the tides. And safer than in tank treatments.

 

[jda]

Take the bad colonies for a dip in Bayer. Get rid of the eggs with a stiff wire or nylon brush.

Use a double dose of Flatworm Stop for at least 6 months - maybe a few weeks of normal dose and then start a double. It will not kill the worms, but does appear to interrupt the life cycle. ...at first the numbers are down, then eggs and then nothing in one experience that I had. At worst, it will really knock them back and let your thrive again. The flatworm stop is likely mostly wormwood and does not harm anything else.

I kinda documented my experience with it here:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/aefw-flatworm-stop-and-lifecycle-questions.348787/#post-4491897

 

[Peppe]

Take the bad colonies for a dip in Bayer. Get rid of the eggs with a stiff wire or nylon brush.

Use a double dose of Flatworm Stop for at least 6 months - maybe a few weeks of normal dose and then start a double. It will not kill the worms, but does appear to interrupt the life cycle. ...at first the numbers are down, then eggs and then nothing in one experience that I had. At worst, it will really knock them back and let your thrive again. The flatworm stop is likely mostly wormwood and does not harm anything else.

I kinda documented my experience with it here:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/aefw-flatworm-stop-and-lifecycle-questions.348787/#post-4491897

thank you, I'll take a look at the tread

 

[Peppe]

Gorgeous tank! There are some biological controls you can add if your dipping some of the corals.

-acro crabs
-a wrasse known to eat fw, perhaps hoven’s wrasse?
-peppermint shrimp possibly might nibble, iffy on their effectiveness, plus the wrasse might eat them.

Not saying this would work but if really cant remove all the acros might help turn the tides. And safer than in tank treatments.

can you post photos of the useful wrasses?