My Battle Against Acropora-Eating Flatworms

[nickkohrn]

Wrasses, some crabs and shrimp are effective if they can get to the worms. Easy when they are frags... not so much with colonies. YT Blue Damels are good too... and that whole genus.

I keep a Springeri Damsel in my tank to help keep flatworm populations down. However, I believe the flatworms that are mainly in my sump aren't AEFW.
I have a bare bottom tank so getting a wrasse other than a six line would have been a no go.
So far the Springeri is doing its job well as there is no flatworms in sight.

I have a Springer's damsel, which I have yet to witness consume flatworms, including the harmless Acoel flatworms that I have on my glass.

 

[nickkohrn]

I performed the first dip today, and I don't think that it went well...

I filled up both 10g aquariums with 5g of tank water each, which I pulled from the system that the corals are in during yesterday's water-change. I heated the water to the same temperature as the main system, and I added Melafix to one of the aquariums, following the ratio in this post. I soaked the corals for five minutes and promptly moved them into the second aquarium for rinsing before placing them back into the main system.

When I was done, my wife and I ran some errands. When we came home, I noticed that some corals are losing some tissue, and there is a stringy, brown material on many. I am not sure what it is, but it seems that it's part of a process of corals losing tissue.

Although I stated that I am prepared to lose corals, I am quite bummed after seeing this. I love the corals that are in my system, and that may cause me to change my plan. I may rely solely on Flatworm Stop to cause a slow starvation of the flatworms.

 

[Graffiti Spot]

The pump could have caused the peeling and or the dip was a little strong. Static water is best to dip in because you can see what’s going on. I have seen pumps peel flesh off while in a dip that would otherwise not have hurt the corals. Did the corals only close the the flow of the pump get burned? If they all looked rough I would say it was a little strong.
I am sorry I didn’t remember the amount I used when I dipped with melafix but maybe to some test runs before you dip again to get the dosage down.

 

[nickkohrn]

The pump could have caused the peeling and or the dip was a little strong. Static water is best to dip in because you can see what’s going on. I have seen pumps peel flesh off while in a dip that would otherwise not have hurt the corals. Did the corals only close the the flow of the pump get burned? If they all looked rough I would say it was a little strong.
I am sorry I didn’t remember the amount I used when I dipped with melafix but maybe to some test runs before you dip again to get the dosage down.

It didn’t seem that others had any issues. I dipped five batches of corals, and others that were close to the pump didn’t seem to have issues. It appears that only the AV99 Orange Crush (pictured above) has been lost; all others seem to be doing well after I spent time blowing the brown material away from them.

 

[nickkohrn]

So, I decided not to continue dipping my corals in Melafix. I have a variable schedule, and I don't want to get deep into a dipping schedule only to miss a day or two and have to start over. So, I have been dosing a double-dose of Flatworm Stop daily, which I will continue to do for the next six months, at a minimum. Some of my corals have not been looking great due to the strength of the initial dip. Before that, many turned brown due to a Fluconazole treatment for ridding my system of Bryopsis. Also, I switched from LEDs to T5s, which caused some of my corals to bleach even though I used a PAR meter; I understand that there are still other differences in the lights that can have impacts. To limit additional stress, I am going to simply continue dosing Flatworm Stop and let my corals recover; some are looking much better than they have over the last couple of months, so I want to keep on the path to recovery.

 

[flyfisherman]

why not toss the corals and start over or clip a few healthy tips and remount in a clean system? what corala are you trying to save? Your DT isnt effected, really? Is the amount of time spent battling worth the time lost? do you enjoy the challenge?

 

[Graffiti Spot]

Glad we have another reefer on the treatment protocol! Keep us updated!

 

[nickkohrn]

why not toss the corals and start over or clip a few healthy tips and remount in a clean system?

My system is filled with nearly 50 frags of only SPS corals. That would basically mean losing thousands of dollars in corals by simply tossing them. If I clip a few healthy tips, it's possible that I may not see small worms attached to the tissue, and it's possible that the dip won't kill them, causing me to infect the new system.

what corala are you trying to save?

All of them, if possible. I have them because I enjoy them and want them to grow into mature colonies someday.

Your DT isnt effected, really?

My display system is all that I currently have. It was meant to be a display system, but I turned it into a grow-out system months ago, filled with only SPS corals. I recently made plans to downsize into a system that's more appropriate for maintenance reasons. I will have only one system, which will contain all of these corals. Currently, it's a Waterbox 100.3, and I will be moving everything into my 40-gallon breeder system when I am finished putting it together.

do you enjoy the challenge?

I enjoy the challenge of keeping SPS corals. I don't enjoy the process of fighting pests. Daily manual dosing of Flatworm Stop is as quick as feeding my fish. I want to try to save my corals with a proven solution that requires far, far less time and effort than weekly dipping requires in the hopes of this being another success story that others can emulate. I will be hooking up another doser that can automatically administer the solutions even when I am away from home.

Glad we have another reefer on the treatment protocol! Keep us updated!

I tossed a couple of corals that I clearly saw bite marks on, and then I dipped the remaining corals. I'm hoping that the effects of the Flatworm Stop will severely inhibit further damages since the infestation is still quite small. I'm excited to be able to fight off these pests while limiting further stress on my corals, and limiting further stress, effort, and time-consumption for myself.

 

[Braves Fan]

I am not a smart person when it comes to Acros ,, I am sure you know better than I do ,,, it just seems to me you are throwing a lot at the corals at one time ,, Bryopsis treatment ,, Acro Flat Worms and changing from LED lighting to T5 lighting ,,

 

[nickkohrn]

I am not a smart person when it comes to Acros ,, I am sure you know better than I do ,,, it just seems to me you are throwing a lot at the corals at one time ,, Bryopsis treatment ,, Acro Flat Worms and changing from LED lighting to T5 lighting ,,

Yes, that is true. However, those issues and changes were made over the recent five to six months; I didn't make them all at once. That's why I want to limit additional stress by discontinuing weekly dips. Since some of the corals are looking much better, I want to employ a less invasive procedure, which is why the Flatworm Stop will be my plan going forward. Some corals look as they did before they browned out, which is great. Others have taken a few months to come back around, but they are regaining their colorations, so I am hopeful that they will make a better recovery if I reduce or eliminate handling them.

 

[jda]

Bayer is way less harsh. The thing with MelaFix, CoralRx, Revive and all of those is that they do damage the worms, but they also are tough on some smooth skinned and other acropora. Some are fine, and some are not, which is why you have such mixed reviews on the web.

I have never had anything go bad dipping in Bayer. I have used so much of it that I warm it up since the volume will drop the temperature. I have a stash and there is some word that the new stuff has a different formula, so do your research if you do not have any. It still is supposed to work, but I have not been read up on it very much.

Whatever you do, wait until you see some growth and a good rebound before you dip again... if you dip again.

 

[vetteguy53081]

With the little water in the tank, that power head is probably vigorous on the soft tissue.

 

[TheHarold]

I am also losing the battle with Flatworms. Throwing away coral after coral..... it really sucks. Makes me wonder if I should just move out the LPS, fish, and anemones. Then bleach the tank to start over.

Really killing my enjoyment of the hobby, so might be time to do something drastic. None of the flatworm products (or fish) seem to be effective.

 

[nickkohrn]

I have never had anything go bad dipping in Bayer. I have used so much of it that I warm it up since the volume will drop the temperature. I have a stash and there is some word that the new stuff has a different formula, so do your research if you do not have any. It still is supposed to work, but I have not been read up on it very much.

I do have some Bayer that I purchased last year, but I didn't like it because it was quite difficult to identify what came off of the corals since it clouds the water.

Whatever you do, wait until you see some growth and a good rebound before you dip again... if you dip again.

Based on the successes of you, @Pedoconfuego, and others that have used Flatworm Stop, it's unlikely that I will dip my current stock of corals again. My infestation was not bad, and only a couple of frags had visible bite marks, so I will keep an eye on them and dip affected frags only if I don't see a slowdown caused by the Flatworm Stop. Some corals are looking really good again, and many are encrusting quite rapidly. I have noticed the presence of colorations on corals that I haven't seen in a few months, so I am going to keep my hands out of the tank and let the Flatworm Stop show me what it can do.

With the little water in the tank, that power head is probably vigorous on the soft tissue.

Yeah, it was probably too much for them to handle during the stress of dipping. If I dip again, I will forego the pumps.

Really killing my enjoyment of the hobby, so might be time to do something drastic.

This is exactly how I felt before my initial dip. Then, I was upset to see some corals suffer during and after the dip. I thought that I would just toss everything and start over, but I find the corals to be beautiful, and I am looking forward to them being colonies in the future. Also, it hurt to think about simply tossing all of the money that I spent on them.

Have you thought about using Flatworm Stop? It's clear that you will continue to lose corals until the effects of the Flatworm Stop begin to kick in, but it may be worth a shot. However, I don't think you have a small aquarium, so it may be quite an expensive option. I wonder if it would be cheaper than starting over with new SPS corals after your aquarium sits without them for an appropriate period of time.

 

[TheHarold]

This is exactly how I felt before my initial dip. Then, I was upset to see some corals suffer during and after the dip. I thought that I would just toss everything and start over, but I find the corals to be beautiful, and I am looking forward to them being colonies in the future. Also, it hurt to think about simply tossing all of the money that I spent on them.

Have you thought about using Flatworm Stop? It's clear that you will continue to lose corals until the effects of the Flatworm Stop begin to kick in, but it may be worth a shot. However, I don't think you have a small aquarium, so it may be quite an expensive option. I wonder if it would be cheaper than starting over with new SPS corals after your aquarium sits without them for an appropriate period of time.

Ive been using Flatworm stop for over a month, maybe. 6 weeks. No effect. Sucks.

 

[jda]

If it makes you feel any better, as of about a month ago, that patient zero tank was still flatworm free. I am amazed that he has not tried to trade and stuff, but maybe what I told him has sunk in. Maybe I am getting lucky that his tank is nearly wall to wall.

Keep the Bayer for dips of new stuff. While it is hard to see, I don't really care as long as it kills them. I do use it a lot for all new additions, but in a top-down port-hole type viewer thingy. This lets light in from the bottom and if I carefully pour out the top part, I can see what is in the bottom pretty well. I can tell pods from regular red planaria (rampant in Colorado) and mini brittle stars and the like.

 

[nickkohrn]

If it makes you feel any better, as of about a month ago, that patient zero tank was still flatworm free. I am amazed that he has not tried to trade and stuff, but maybe what I told him has sunk in. Maybe I am getting lucky that his tank is nearly wall to wall.

Keep the Bayer for dips of new stuff. While it is hard to see, I don't really care as long as it kills them. I do use it a lot for all new additions, but in a top-down port-hole type viewer thingy. This lets light in from the bottom and if I carefully pour out the top part, I can see what is in the bottom pretty well. I can tell pods from regular red planaria (rampant in Colorado) and mini brittle stars and the like.

Do you mind sharing what your mixing ratio for Bayer is? I’ve seen many different ratios, and I’m unsure of what actually works. Since you have first-hand experience and success with it, I’d like to try your method on my next acquisitions.

 

[nickkohrn]

Ive been using Flatworm stop for over a month, maybe. 6 weeks. No effect. Sucks.

Dang, that’s discouraging when you’re battling a pest that’s destroying your livestock.

Have you been using double-dosages?

 

[jda]

I float the bayer jug in warmish water in the sink and then pour it into some tank water until I cannot see into it. That is it. Seriously. Strong, but I do not measure. I would guess it is 20% bayer to 80% tank water. If was doing a larger dip like in your 10g tank, I would be more precise. I would rather kill the frag than have something slip through, so I go strong. Sorry that this is not helpful.

 

[nickkohrn]

Sorry that this is not helpful.

It is helpful. I would rather lose a frag than risk getting these pests again, so I appreciate the information.