Is my PC Rainbow dying or recovering?

[Rakie]

Wow thanks for pointing that out guys. I had no idea... and now I'm terrified because I have 6 other acros in the tank. I'm going to check them for bite marks too. So the only course of treatment is to remove all the acros from their rocks and dip them all at once and hope that gets all of the AEFW? I have Coral Rx. Would that work for AEFW?

If you dip and confirm AEFW you have to dip them once a week for 6 weeks or more. Twice the first week. It kills everything alive, and everything that JUST hatched that first week. The rest of the dips will kill freshly hatched AEFW not old enough to reproduce.

The only dip I know works for sure guaranteed is Melafix. You can try anything, but I know melafix works like a charm. And I know they can withstand bayer

 

[eamike261]

If you dip and confirm AEFW you have to dip them once a week for 6 weeks or more. Twice the first week. It kills everything alive, and everything that JUST hatched that first week. The rest of the dips will kill freshly hatched AEFW not old enough to reproduce.

The only dip I know works for sure guaranteed is Melafix. You can try anything, but I know melafix works like a charm. And I know they can withstand bayer

If I dip them the PC Rainbow and nothing comes off would that necessarily confirm that it's not AEFW? In other words, do they actually live on the Acro or could they live on the rock and just climb onto the Acro when they're hungry?

I just checked out the other acros as much as possible and I don't see any signs of similar looking bite marks (yet).

 

[Rakie]

There could be a few everywhere and on the other acros already. But they live ON the acro. It's important to know babies are so small you cannot see them with the naked eye.

EDIT: We dip for 6+ weeks which is far longer than their egg hatch time because some WILL wander around, get lost on the glass, and maybe lay some eggs in the corner somewhere. Those eggs WILL hatch, and infest the tank.

SO yes, they CAN wander about, and if you want to nip this fully you should expect it, and dip as if it's happened.

This whole thing will be resolved by being proactive, not reactive.

 

[eamike261]

I'm ordering some UCI Purge (in tank AEFW treatment) to hopefully help with the situation. I'm not positive this is AEFW but I agree about being proactive. I don't want to wait until all my acros are covered in bite marks before I take action. Thanks again for pointing this out!

 

[SashimiTurtle]

So uh, participating in this thread got me looking at some new corals I just got. Particularly one that I got to rehab. I dipped in Coral Rx Saturday and didn't get anything but a pod or two. I just dipped all my acros again, in melafix at 50ml/g. Luckily, I just got them and they are still on frag plugs. This is one that has visible bite marks, and this was in the bucket.

View attachment 20181112_013744.jpg

 

[DesertReefBoy]

Some LFS carry it. There's three kinds, Melafix Regular (1%), Melafix Marine (1.25%), and Melafix Pond (5%). It's made by API, and the only difference is concentration of medication. It's actually just Tea Tree Oil in RODI water.

It's a VERY strong dip that is time sensitive. Your hard corals will have no reaction unless you dip for 10+ minutes. It's a timed dip that is a hard 5-6 minutes. The concentration wanted is about 50mL / Gallon of the regular/marine mix, or about 10mL/Gallon of the marine. Scale that down to whatever sized container you are using.

Set your timer, do not get distracted. A 5-6 minute dip is totally fine. No longer than that.

Rinse corals in another cup of tank water before putting back in.

So which do you recommend? The marine? I’ve been using Bayer along with keeping a green coris wrasse but the wrasse became a butt hole so I got rid of him. I’m thinking about buying a yellow coris wrasse to act as one more layer of protection.

 

[DesertReefBoy]

Also just to be clear when you guys get a new frag you cut off the base of the frag? I’ve always just cut off the plug and not worried about the base of the frag. Should I start trimming more of the frag?

 

[Rakie]

I recommend pond. Yes cut the base of the coral.

 

[eamike261]

Update: here's how it looks after a 5 minute dip in Coral RX.... bad, really bad. Didn't see anything in the dip that looked like flatworms afterwards but I don't feel confident about identifying them. Either way, Purge in tank treatment will commence in a few days.

If you click the pic it will zoom more. Is it supposed to have parallel lines running along the skin?

 

[Texas Reefer]

I think parallel lines are normal for some acros.

 

[DMG Reef]

Yep, it's the tissue texture, normal and a good sign that there's no necrosis on the tips. The acro is hurting but not dead. Purge worked for me. My AEFW is gone. Good luck and keep us posted with your progress.

 

[Rakie]

Without naming names, I can tell you someone PM'd me the other night telling me they always dipped in coral rx, and just dipped new acros the day before and no pests came off. After this thread he tried melafix and "tons of aefw came off". With pic evidence.

Not trying to beat a dead horse here... But I'm gonna double down; if you aren't using melafix you aren't doing it right.

 

[DesertReefBoy]

Without naming names, I can tell you someone PM'd me the other night telling me they always dipped in coral rx, and just dipped new acros the day before and no pests came off. After this thread he tried melafix and "tons of aefw came off". With pic evidence.

Not trying to beat a dead horse here... But I'm gonna double down; if you aren't using melafix you aren't doing it right.

I used to use Bayer. I’m definitely switching.

What about other coral like LPS and zoas? Do you recommend using Melafix?

 

[DMG Reef]

I've never used CoralRx, but looking at the flatworm damage on the acro, some flatworms should have definitely come off in your dip. Sadly, it appears to be infested.

 

[eamike261]

Without naming names, I can tell you someone PM'd me the other night telling me they always dipped in coral rx, and just dipped new acros the day before and no pests came off. After this thread he tried melafix and "tons of aefw came off". With pic evidence.

Not trying to beat a dead horse here... But I'm gonna double down; if you aren't using melafix you aren't doing it right.

I'll definitely give Melafix a try. All I have is Coral RX so I figure it was better than nothing. For the record tons of crap came off... I just have no clue what it was. Most of it just seems like tiny super glue chunks. If it helps at all here is a pic. Not the greatest but it was the best I could do with my lighting.

 

[Rakie]

Good, It looks like a few may have come off!

Another guaranteed way to QUICKLY get AEFW off is a quick swish around in Fresh Water. I don't recommend this but honestly we used to do it all the time when I was young.

I would just grab some Melafix on amazon. I've seen it kill worms of all types, spiders, snails, crabs, etc etc. You name it, melafix kills it.

 

[eamike261]

I just snagged more pics of my other acros and saw little spots that look a little suspicious. Do these spots potentially look like AEFW too? They don't look like new polyps forming to me but I'm not expert at all. At least I don't see any signs of bites .... yet.

(don't be alarmed about the slimer being half colorless, that's just from lack of light, it's doing very well)

 

[DMG Reef]

I'm not seeing bite marks on the other acros. Looks like your PC Rainbow is ground zero. But they will eventually spread to every acro if no action is taken. Hopefully the Purge will arrive quickly and knock them out.

 

[Novareefer57]

@Rakie lol sorry just saw this thread. Would you recommend melafix for all corals, or just to remove AEFW off acros? I've been using CoralRx but I am yet to have any pest issues.

 

[Novareefer57]

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