Got Corals from Nate?

[Chuck Spyropulos]

My Other (Latest) Disaster

Well, what the AEFWs did not get, the ozone overdose did.
I ended up losing almost every acro except for a handful that have been treated and placed in my frag tank.

I bought a new probe and calibrated. I also bought calibration fluid with known ORP values and verified the probe is correctly measuring ORP. I also clean the probe in vinegar every week, but I have not yet started using ozone again. The handful of frags I saved from the worms are wasting away, except for the Greg Hiller frags I got and a few others. So I won't be using ozone in the near future. I can't even get algae to grow on the front of my tank anymore! Never thought I would actually want algae to grow!

I am just going to lay low for 3-6 months without adding anything to my tank (yeah right, like I will be able to restrain myself ) for as long as possible. Until then I am re-aquascapiing, redoing lighting, building a frag QT system, and installing the new generator when the nice weather starts.

I see it could go eather way.

On another note....how goes the ozone battle? You get your ORP calibrated?

 

[Chuck Spyropulos]

Treatments

Yes, and at least people are becoming more and more aware of these pests which hopefully will help prevent the spread of these buggers. Many over in RC are doing all sorts of experiments on whole tank treatments. I hope someone finds the magic bullet but no guarantees. Meanwhile, I have learned a very expensive lesson.

Yep, we definitely don't have all the facts at this point. We're certainly getting there though. We're in much better shape than we were just 6 months ago, when we didn't have any treatments yet.

 

[gurumasta]

i got a couple corals from nate. i blasted and treated a lj type coral and a millepora and can not come up with any bugs. i also threw a colony that i wasnt to fond of in a bucket of fresh water long enough to kill the coral itself. i didnt find any bugs. the corals i got from nate were a tenuis and a staghorn. the stag is gone and the tenuis is healthy and i examined it and didnt see any bugs.

the only treatment i did when i got these corals was an iodine coral disinfectant dip. am i definitely infected because i got 2 corals from nate? or do i have a shot in hell here?

 

[dz6t]

Let's leave the Acro in the ocean and keep other corals till there is a monti-eatting flat worm shows up...well, there are zoa-eatting snails, clam-drilling snails, we will never win the battle.

 

[dz6t]

am i definitely infected because i got 2 corals from nate? or do i have a shot in hell here?

You are doomed, but kicking Nate's head will void your insurance policy

 

[Ray]

there are monti eating nudis out there

 

[dz6t]

there are monti eating nudis out there

I knew it! it must be already out there. Thanks for the info.

Now, is there a "toad stool eatting" flat worm/nudi/snail out there?

Give up the hobby will solve all the pain and suffering...don't you think?

 

[Ray]

Yes I think it is a snail that burrows a hole around the base of the leather and eats it from the inside out

 

[Ray]

Mitch Carl spoke at the Jan CTARS meeting on reef pests. Would be nice to see if we can get him to speak for us (not sure if he is or has yet)

 

[Reef55]

A couple of points IMO / IME...

1) Nate, the person who says they got AEFW's from you... are you positive they have not added anything to their system before or after what they got from you? They might have already had them in their in a low population before they got your frags.

2) Without knowing the exact taxonomy of these flatworms, it is hard to know their life cycle. However, after doing a lot of reading regarding marine simple flatworms that lay eggs, some species are known to lay both "summer" and "winter" eggs. The "winter" eggs being ones that lay dormant for months until conditions are optimal. However, seeing as our tanks remain really close to ideal temperatures, this seems a highly unlikely scenario.

3) If all SPS corals are removed from a system, and all treated with levamisole, and zero flatworms are found from this treatment, the odds of there being any in the system would be incredibly small. If flatworms exist in the tank, the chance of not a single one being on any SPS coral, but somehow being elsewhere in the tank, would be a highly unlikely scenario. IMO, I think that is a close as you can get to be "certain" AEFW's are not in your system.

 

[clamm]

in my case im pretty sure...i only have frags from 4 people. I know where all of them came from since I dont have very many...alot sure, but no one can be 100% sure.

I dont blame nate. I blame myself.

 

[dz6t]

Yes I think it is a snail that burrows a hole around the base of the leather and eats it from the inside out

That is terrible. We should get the guy in to give a talk.

 

[Liam]

Mitch Carl spoke at the Jan CTARS meeting on reef pests. Would be nice to see if we can get him to speak for us (not sure if he is or has yet)

He is already scheduled

 

[Ray]

He is already scheduled

very good! I think everyone should make a big effort to make that meeting. He gave a very good presentation on how to get rid of all these pests. I found out about the one that eats leathers and was able to find out what was wrong with a finger leather I had that was not doing well and saved it.

 

[jebar777]

if anyone wants to examine flatworms i have a seperate tank i am growing them in.....all diffrent kinds.

 

[One Eye]

Let's leave the Acro in the ocean and keep other corals till there is a monti-eatting flat worm shows up...well, there are zoa-eatting snails, clam-drilling snails, we will never win the battle.

I hope your joking. For every organism we keep there is another that eats it or causes damage to it in some way. With proper qt we can keep the pests out of our tanks. There are many people in our club that do use proper qt methods and have pest free tanks. Of course this requires some effort on the reefkeepers end. The time it takes me to set up and treat incoming corals is nothing compared to the time I have invested in my systems. The under $100 I have spent for my qt is a drop in the bucket compared to the thousands I have in equipment and livestock.
Your comment about everything dieing. Let's use Greg Hillers tank for an example. His LJ and NEAQ more specificly. He's had both of those colonies for approx 10 years. Plain old fashioned good husbandry and care in stocking his tanks has resulted in his corals continued growth, not decline. Yes, the base of the corals will eventually die off as the upper portion of the coral continues to grow and shade the base...that is natural, it's why they are called reef building corals. The dead bases provide new "rock" for other corals to encrust to and grow. The coral itself is thriving, it has been spread around to hundreds (if not thousands) of reefkeepers....and Greg got them from somewhere, which means those colonies have been living in captivity for over 10 years.

 

[clamm]

absolutely! With corals, they constantly grow and regrow...no reason they cant be kept! If you are unable to, then perhaps you can review husbandry with those who are more successful...greg, bec, liam to name a few, but there are many many more.

I hope your joking. For every organism we keep there is another that eats it or causes damage to it in some way. With proper qt we can keep the pests out of our tanks. There are many people in our club that do use proper qt methods and have pest free tanks. Of course this requires some effort on the reefkeepers end. The time it takes me to set up and treat incoming corals is nothing compared to the time I have invested in my systems. The under $100 I have spent for my qt is a drop in the bucket compared to the thousands I have in equipment and livestock.
Your comment about everything dieing. Let's use Greg Hillers tank for an example. His LJ and NEAQ more specificly. He's had both of those colonies for approx 10 years. Plain old fashioned good husbandry and care in stocking his tanks has resulted in his corals continued growth, not decline. Yes, the base of the corals will eventually die off as the upper portion of the coral continues to grow and shade the base...that is natural, it's why they are called reef building corals. The dead bases provide new "rock" for other corals to encrust to and grow. The coral itself is thriving, it has been spread around to hundreds (if not thousands) of reefkeepers....and Greg got them from somewhere, which means those colonies have been living in captivity for over 10 years.

 

[Ray]

Casey, on another note, it is possible that you brought the FWs into your system when you put things from another members tank into your tank to hold (clams, LPS, and softies) when that person gave you stuff to hold.

 

[delta]

A couple of points IMO / IME...

1) Nate, the person who says they got AEFW's from you... are you positive they have not added anything to their system before or after what they got from you? They might have already had them in their in a low population before they got your frags.

2) Without knowing the exact taxonomy of these flatworms, it is hard to know their life cycle. However, after doing a lot of reading regarding marine simple flatworms that lay eggs, some species are known to lay both "summer" and "winter" eggs. The "winter" eggs being ones that lay dormant for months until conditions are optimal. However, seeing as our tanks remain really close to ideal temperatures, this seems a highly unlikely scenario.

3) If all SPS corals are removed from a system, and all treated with levamisole, and zero flatworms are found from this treatment, the odds of there being any in the system would be incredibly small. If flatworms exist in the tank, the chance of not a single one being on any SPS coral, but somehow being elsewhere in the tank, would be a highly unlikely scenario. IMO, I think that is a close as you can get to be "certain" AEFW's are not in your system.

If you read Nates selling post he stated he had been exposed and he wasn't 100% sure if he was absolutely clear
http://216.235.242.50/forums/showthread.php?t=15051

Hi Karen, No problem with asking. I am as positive as anyone can be that I don't have redbugs, as I treat all incoming acros with interceptor for 6 hours.
About 4 months ago I was exposed to the acro worms, but I never found any signs of infestation, recession, eggs, or coral discoloration. I bought some frags from JMKeary when he broke down his tank, and an acro-eating flatworm was found on one frag after it was put in my tank. All corals were subsequently removed, shaken, inspected, and any that produced a flatworm or looked ill in any way were discarded. I continued this for a month afterward, and found no further worms after that original one. I have had no indication of ill-health since then, until this week (I just changed bulbs) when that tri-color bleached a bit. It is conceivable that it is due to the worms, but I haven't seen any of the telltale eggs at all, and I have looked very closely.

The Tri-color isn't receded it turns out. It's a little bleached at the base (polyps are still there, and the flesh appears intact so I should more properly call this bleaching, not recession). I am quite sure in my mind that the bleaching on the Tri-color is not due to a parasite (especially since the small bleached area has been improving this week).

HOWEVER, buyers should take all the normal precautions with corals they get from my tank. Nobody is 100% sure what's in their tank, and I only claim to be as sure as I possibly could be that my tank is pest free. Come take a look at the tank, and judge for yourself. The tank is very colorful and healthy. Also this tank has had no additions of corals in three months, so I doubt there are new problems that are yet to develop.

Nate

 

[dz6t]

I hope your joking. .

Man, you can't tell ? My bad.

Just being sarcastic.

Everyone, please relax..