So, I had something horrible happen the other day. I was making the rounds, selling & swaping a few frags on Monday night (in the blowing stupid snow) and everything was fantastic. However, later that night I got a text from one of the buyers of a montipora digitata frag saying that he just finished dipping the frag, and he said that he found at least a 100 AEFW on the frag, as well as a few dozen egg rings.
I immediately apologized profusely and offered his money back, which he refused, he's a nice guy - stating he just wanted to let me know so I could treat the tank before they took over and I lost all my other sps. He said he's treated a few tanks with this pest before and we swaped info about the types of treatment etc. After I was done, I went to my tank and started checking all my frags and colonies.
I couldnt find anything.
Not one bite mark, nothing moving or wiggling, no discoloration....
I grabbed a powerhead and started "basting" the corals in order to see if something would come off of them.
Again, nothing.
So, I figured I just didnt know what I was looking for, and went back upstairs to read up on these little pests. (It was after midnight, so I read a little before passing out on the couch) The next day, armed with all the pictures and observation techniques I could muster, I went in search again. Three hours later, I still couldnt find anything.
Now, I believe that the buyer did see something - BUT he didnt have any pictures he could send me, I cant find anything, and the frag was a monitpora digitata - NOT an acro.
So.... any ideas? All of my SPS are looking normal, no tissue recession or discoloration in the skin, great polyp extension. Tank parameters are stable and there havent been any spikes according to the APEX monitor either. I checked my monti caps and my other digis and I cant find anything on them either. Im not sure if I just am not seeing whats there, or if there isnt anything to see to begin with.
At this point Im curious if anyones had AEFW or any other flatworms for that matter and if there's something that I should be doing to help find these little buggers, if they are indeed present in my system.
Aside: I am planning to do another Bayer dip when I get back from the holidays, I just wasnt keen on dipping and then leaving for a week and not being able to monitor the corals health. I'll be able to see if anything falls off the frags once I dip then, so hopefully I'll have something visual at that time.
I have helped many reefers with AEFW. If your dipping in Bayer that is just about the best you can do. Many people use prazi-pro and that works pretty well but doesn't leave a residuals like Bayer that will kill hatchlings. AEFW are very hard to see as they are translusant and extremely small in most cases. I use a 30x electricians work light and magnifirer when checking for them. If you think you have them you will need to dip everything,all corals,rocks,power heads anything in the tank, and also QT any fish as the neuro toxin the Bayer contains is still on the coral. Even after rinsing.the residual toxin normally stays for close to thirty days. I know reefers who have blinded fish by not removing them from the dipped tank. A trick I have found that easily shows these pest is to place your Macro in your fuge( if you use it) on a plate of glass and shine a light from the back side. If you have them you will see them clearly useing this method. I personally dip all coral and QT them for 30 days min regardless who I get them from before I allow it in my DT. My dip practice is as follows. 1 st dip is in revive mixed strongly then rinsed. 2 nd I dip in Bayer 10 ml per gallon and soak in this solution for 15-20 min. Rinse and then Bayer soak again for 10 min then rinse and QT for observation for 30 days. A clean coral is a happy coral. Good luck and you don't need anything fancy to QT a ten or twenty long will do the trick every time