fishypets Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 Although the process started two weeks ago, I would like to take the time and share with you guys the biggest nightmare one could imagine. I suspected something was up when I started losing color fast on my sps. I suspected a pest but never imagined the AEFW. I first noticed by fraging a branch of a coral that appeared to have little "bite marks" all over. I made a quick lugols dip and what I found next almost brought me to tears. After confirming this coral had the AEFW I inspected about 10 other sps and every one had the little buggers. cwm21.gif I knew the road ahead would be a long one but started seeking advice from fellow reefers and quickly came up with a plan................To remove everything from my tank and place into a QT for a minimum of 10 weeks and treating the AEFW with Fluke tabs. I also called a few guys that had received frags from me and one other (MOJO) also confirmed he had the little pest. I didn't know where I would find a QT tank and then Ace (hobogato) showed up. He constructed one of the finest looking QT tanks built with such short notice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dhayden Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 I know little about these things. I assume you treat all the coral in the QT tank. and with no food, whatever is in the main system will die off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishypets Posted October 27, 2006 Author Share Posted October 27, 2006 Main tank? Only thing left is sand and fish. The rocks are cooking in the garage and the sand is coming out this weekend. Stay tuned for more pics and details. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedude Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 That's exactly the idea however, that the flatworms period from egg to adult is less than 10 weeks by far. With no food source, any new flatworm eggs recently hatched will starve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojo Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 Yep, as Clint mentioned, I had been smitten as well. I suspected them due to poor coloration and PE in my acros, even after killing red bugs with Interceptor. The worst coral in my tank was this millepora frag. I simply removed it and placed it into a small bowl of tank water. Check out the bottom, between the purple putty, and you can see a cluster of AEFW eggs. I then placed 5 drops of Lugol's solution in the container and after 1 minute and a little water movement with a turkey baster, here's what I found. So now all of my SPS (except for my monti caps) are living in Clint's QT. More updates to come from Clint, I'm sure. As a group, all of us at ARC need to be very diligent and compulsive about dipping and/or quarantining all of our corals. This will be very important so that we don't continue to pass these and other pests into other tanks locally. Let's all commit to good quarantine and dipping procedures so that we can make central Texas a "no pest" zone. It will certainly make it easier for all of us to continue to share frags and advance our husbandry practices. That will be a lot more fun (and less expensive) than refining our skills in killing parasites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dhayden Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 Why do you have to cook off your rock? will the parasites live off of something on the rock if all of the coral is gone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GKarshens Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 I am glad you started this thread. It will help us all to know what to look for. This also helps me in seeing the worms. That is definitely not what came off my colony that I dipped. So hopefully I am in the clear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedude Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 Yeah these things are fairly large and easily seen by the naked eye once dislodged from the coral. I might mention that they did come off of the corals I dipped that came from this years MACNA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishypets Posted October 28, 2006 Author Share Posted October 28, 2006 Why do you have to cook off your rock? will the parasites live off of something on the rock if all of the coral is gone? To get a clean start from unwanted algae and other ugly looking crap. Once my tank is back up and running it should be stunning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishypets Posted October 28, 2006 Author Share Posted October 28, 2006 The first treatment was done with Tropic Marin dip, due to the fluke tabs not making it in. Here is a sample of what came off the first few corals. By the time the last coral had been dipped I bet we killed 500-1,000 flat worms and scraped a ton of eggs. You can see on this milli colony the egg mass. Scraping eggs wasn't fun but lucky for me I know a good surgeon. Check him out. I hope he doesn't bill my insurance for the many hours he was over last week Well that is all for now, but stay tuned for more fun and excitement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojo Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 Who is that guy, he looks like a total dork in those glasses! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedude Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 I freaking want a pair of those glasses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejaustin Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 Me, too, dude! ej Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammondegge Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 group buy? glasses1.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishypets Posted October 29, 2006 Author Share Posted October 29, 2006 Lets try to keep it on topic here guys and gals........... Just joking So Mike what is up with the group buy on the dork glasses? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojo Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 I'd be glad to head up a group buy on the glasses, if there's some interest. I actually want another pair anyway. Mine only magnify to 2.5x, and I'd like to get a pair that goes to 5x. Just let me know who's in. If I were you all, however, I'd use the money to get a new Deltec skimmer instead (a really BIG one) . Plus, I don't think any of you out there would qualify to wear them, since you have to be a dork to pull it off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedude Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 I've got a Deltec so I guess all I need is the glasses. I'm in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefman Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 Mike, What was the silver cylinder looking thing you were holding? Not sure how much y'all were joking about the glasses, but Mike correct me if I'm wrong, the ones you had are pretty expensive? As an alternative, if anyone is really interested, you can get a Mag-Visor that will give you the magnification for around $30 - $40 at most better hobby stores (I would recommend King's Hobby on Lamar). You can beat that price on the Internet by $10 - $20 as well. Finally, Fishypets mentioned a good dip and quarantine procedure for new corals. Could someone outline a good step-bystep process for that for us newbie's, including any recommended brands (know of Lugol's and saw Tropic Marin mentioned)? Stephen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojo Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 Mike,What was the silver cylinder looking thing you were holding? It's a state-of-the-art flatworm detector that utilizes light waves to detect substances obscured by particulate matter that otherwise hinders the transfer of light energy. In other words, it's a flashlight .Yes, the glasses are quite pricey. I wasn't kidding about the cost equaling a REALLY BIG skimmer. The 5x ones that I'm going to get cost even more. Unless you have a professional use for the glasses, get the Mag-Visor that you mentioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefman Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 I'm Impressed! Stephen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishypets Posted November 1, 2006 Author Share Posted November 1, 2006 Mike,What was the silver cylinder looking thing you were holding? It's a state-of-the-art flatworm detector that utilizes light waves to detect substances obscured by particulate matter that otherwise hinders the transfer of light energy. In other words, it's a flashlight That is too funny! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishypets Posted November 1, 2006 Author Share Posted November 1, 2006 Mike BTW my G/F wants to know if you can get some ear drops for her 2 year old. The ear gunk is back She is about 35 lbs and very hairy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojo Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 Sorry, Clint, 35 pounds is fine, but I don't do "hairy." Any feedback on that red worm you found? How do the corals look w/r/t color and PE? Everybody happy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishypets Posted November 7, 2006 Author Share Posted November 7, 2006 Been a while since this thread was updated with useful info and I'm afraid this report isn't a good one. It all started yesterday after the fluke tab treatment I noticed some of the table acros were starting to RTN (Rapid Tissue Necrosis) I removed the corals that were stressed and went to bed. This morning I wake up and more coral has died overnight so I remove them and go to work. When I came home this afternoon and opened the front door the smell of dead sps almost knocked me down. I ran to the QT tank and noticed some big colonies had bit the dust or were starting to RTN. With the help of the Dude we changed out water, replaced carbon and fragged everything that was still healthy. Here are a few pics I took during the process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejaustin Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 Wow! So sorry to hear... ej Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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