Acro Eating Flat Worms (AEFW)

[boozeman]

I would think that they eventually would pick on the polyps

....another thing you may try that many don't realize is that flat worms also depend on symbiotic zooanthellae for their survival so if you deprive them of light they will esentially suffocate. For this to work you have to completely darken the tank for 2-3 days with heavy cardboard or something like that.

LMK how this works out

 

[RichT]

TIME TO DIE!

Haven't added any drops yet so these guy's are happy

Wanted to add 1 drop but ended up with 3. One was pretty close to this guy so the effects started showing quickly. Notice the white/clear area starting to show. Probably expelling it's zooanthellae.

Having a hard time holding on. This was less then 5 minutes in.

The last worm about 10 minutes in:

GOING!

GOING!

GONE!!! Along with his buddies.

At the end of the day the only thing this proves is; three drops of Blue Life Flatworm Control in 8oz of water will kill 3 AEFW's. I'm not sure how that translates to our tanks.

 

[RichT]

Before I treated the cup shown in the pictures above, I took the frags with the egg clutches and placed them in a new cup with new water shown below. Last night there was at least one adult size worm and what appears to be multiple "babies" in the cup.

This morning, I was unable to find the adult and the babies are not very apparent either. I'm going to change a little of the water in the cup, place it back in the sump, and see what develops this evening.

 

[Phyl]

This is great, Rich. Looks like this will make an effective dip against these pests for our QT systems.

 

[chriscolt]

If anyone wants to try the levamosole as a treatment for these flatworms - LMK - I have a large bag to donate to the cause (6 or 8 oz)

Chris 908 400 2760

 

[NYPDFrogman]

If anyone wants to try the levamosole as a treatment for these flatworms - LMK - I have a large bag to donate to the cause (6 or 8 oz)

Chris 908 400 2760

just found out I have AEFW lost 2 colonies the rest look OK
but want to dip them

LMK if u still have levamosole or where I can get it
want to get it straighten out so I dont import it to the 450!
Thanks!
Frank

 

[mikem]

Frank. I would give Chris a call. He rarely has time to stop in.

 

[mott768]

Supposedly TLF revive works on AEFW and red bugs, I've been doing a lot of reading on it and from what I'm hearing at 1.5X the recommended dose for 15min and a good shaking it works on both AEFW and red bugs. I think it just stuns the red bugs (no sure)I would like to test this theory, I have revive here, if anyone has a frag with red bugs and or AEFW bring it by so we can do a dip test.

 

[chriscolt]

You can reach me at 908 400 2760 or 732 671 3941 for the LEVAMISOLE - and if we can arrange a swap!! - I have a bunch of other stuff I have to donate to the club - (samples of Salt Mix that I have been using exclusively for my reef for 18 months and PH/Alkalinity chemicals - all powders - lab grade - from our friends at "Get TAnked Aquariums" (new sponser) that I have to give away!!!) I would like to get my Hach Testing Equipment (Colormeter etc...) back I really need it - got a bit of a problem that I need to diagnose... I may be able to come to the next meet in Robbinsville (Mike are you going?? May be we can hook up and ride together if you are going - then I can bring everything including the big bag of Levamisole) - but obviously if needed before then - give me a ring and we can arrange a time/day for pickup or meet somewhere - I am in Middletown - I store the LAvamisole powder in the freezer to ensure potency (as directed).

I also want to write/post my reports on the last two big upgrades I made - the addition of a Professional Grade Sulfur/NITRATE reactor on the 600 gallon system (reef/fish) (Unbelievable results!!) and the replacement of my Metal Halides / T5 (total of 1800 watts) over the SPS/LPS 180 gallon reef with a single 72" Solaris "I4" 15K series (400W MH Equivilant) - Mixed results - Nitrate reactor in production 7 months, lighting 4 months..

Chris

 

[Phyl]

Chris, your Hach has moved back to Mike. He can take home any donations you have. He can also move the levamisole to NYPD when we help him move the 450 in 2w.

Looking forward to hearing from you when you have a chance to detail your upgrades!

 

[NYPDFrogman]

Supposedly TLF revive works on AEFW and red bugs, I've been doing a lot of reading on it and from what I'm hearing at 1.5X the recommended dose for 15min and a good shaking it works on both AEFW and red bugs. I think it just stuns the red bugs (no sure)I would like to test this theory, I have revive here, if anyone has a frag with red bugs and or AEFW bring it by so we can do a dip test.

the two colonies I found infested I dipped in TLF revive worms came off the eggs stuck I checked every other acro in the tank and see no evidence of eggs or the worms gonna do a betadine dip and a revive dip just to be sure and keep an eye out
Chris I';ll give you a call tomorrow
Thanks!
frank

 

[jbonk623]

woww i gotta look out for those

 

[Gonzapa]

Does anyone have a link of a site that sells levamisole?

 

[Gecko]

I read an article once where a guy placed a couple of camelback shrimp in a QT and treated the affected corals. He would take the infested corals and place them in the tank with the shrimp for a few hours each day; never leaving them in the tank for too long. He mentioned that if the corals are free of worms they will start attacking the corals.

He said this was successful and had no flatworms and no detrimental affects to his corals. I don’t know but to me this sounded like a good idea.

Good luck
Gecko

 

[concept3]

Does anyone have a link of a site that sells levamisole?

levamisole can be purchased at your local farm supply store. It is used as a pig de-wormer. It is very harsh however, and I found that using FLuke tabs by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals at a ratio of 4 tablets to 5 gallons works perfectly fine in loosening the flatworms from the coral so they can be easily shaken off.




Here are more pics of the eggs on a coral that I took in to treat from a friend, the flatworms have since been shaken off and unfortunately, the coral had to be fragged:

 

[GreekReefer]

Keep fighting you can win

 

[jerscity201]

what is that

 

[trigger99]

Good luck with the battle. I fought it for over 6 months and tried everything. Eventually, I killed all the AEFW as well as my entire SPS collection which was over 40 pieces. AEFW has become extremely commonplace in the market now and all it takes is one unsuspecting egg hidden on a frag and you will enter the circle of doom.