AEFW

I have the dreaded AEFW. Still doing some research on how to get ride of them,  but this is what I have found. Levamisole ( pig dewormer), betadine and tropic marin pro coral cure. Anyone every tried any of these products or have any other remedies for these pests.
Thanks for your help.

Anyone every try African blue strip pipe fish?

Krazie - I have had no luck with Salifert's Flatworm Exit, and every study I've ever read...and every thread I've ever read...has come to the same conclusion. What dosage? How long? If this product actually worked, everyone would be doing it....

You may be able to control them with various fish, etc., but please do not share/sell your corals without disclosing that you have AEFW. Natural controls are not a cure. AEFW also have excellent camouflage, so predators often miss enough to be effective. You can take a turkey baster and blow them off weekly for fish to eat them, but if you forget a week, then your corals may not survive. Additionally, if a piece of a flatworm is uneaten and contains partial neurological tissue, it can regenerate. Most wrasses just take a bite of the flatworms then split them out (so you may be actually increasing your population by natural controls).

IME, there is no in-tank cure. Levamisole works, but it has a mortality rate of around 40-60% on your coral...not ideal. You can also use fluke tabs, but the mortality rate isn't much better (and the treatment time is about 4-6 hours). Various dips work, but they don't kill the eggs. You'll need to repeatedly dip the corals over several weeks to stop the life cycle. Personally, I like the Bayer Advanced Insecticide (found at Lowe's/Home Depot) since it's cheap and effective. You could also use Coral Rx, TMPCC, Lugol's, etc....with varying degrees of effectiveness.

This is how I dip/treat...you can return the corals to your display after treatment.

Week 1: dip all Acropora corals every day for 10-15 minutes...

Week 2: dip all Acropora corals every other day (same time)

Week 3: every third day...

Week 4-6: Once a week unless you're still finding them...then go back to Week 1's protocol...



Edited by ReefdUp - January 03 2014 at 5:00pm

Thanks for the info everyone. Might have to try the fresh water since I'm running nanos and don"t really have the water volume to do what reefup suggests. I hear you on the flat exit as well. Every thread I read said no go on flatworm exit. There were some who were increasing the dosage but I couldn't find conclusive evidence to take that route.

On the bright side I only have one acropora to lose but on the bad side lost my meteor shower over the weekend. She went fast within 24hr. Dont have a clue what happened. Guess I will do another post and see what everyone thinks

How did you get them?