QT for Acro Eating Flatworms

[NaH2O]

I am acquiring some SPS from a friend of mine. There are some beautiful pieces, but some once gorgeous corals weren't doing so well. I picked up 3 of the corals over the weekend and had a QT waiting for them. I noticed right off the bat that they had Acropora eating flatworms. So, my questions have to do with the best method to handle the corals in QT. I do plan on picking up the rest of the corals in the near future. Here is what I have done so far (see below). I would like anyone with extra information on these to toss it in this thread. I know there is a long thread on RC about them, but I haven't had any time to read it.

For those that don't know what the acro eating flatworms are they are flatworms (different than the red flatworm/Convolutriloba retrogemma) that prey specifically on Acropora spp. They cause tissue loss and can wipe out entire colonies. They lay eggs, so subsequent treatments have to be followed. I feel these are the ultimate nightmare for Acro keepers. They appear almost invisible depending on the color of the coral.

Here is a shot of one of the corals before the dips:

I did a 10 minute dip in SeaChem Reef Dip at 1 cap full/1 gallon. Blasted the corals with a turkey baster to free as many of the flatworms as I could. The dip actually freaked me out a bit, because the flatworms started crawling around like crazy on the large Granulosa.

(click to enlarge) What was left in the bucket from the dip View attachment 13601

After the dip, I shook/swished the corals as hard as I could in a new bucket of clean saltwater. Even more flatworms came off.

(click to enlarge) What was left in the bucket after the swishing View attachment 13602

The corals were then put in the QT. I have periodically been blasting them with a turkey baster, and sucking up/removing any flatworms that break free.

The next post will be my plan of attack.....

 

[NaH2O]

The Plan...

I ordered some Levamisole and Praziquantel (Prazi-Pro) this morning. According to The Reef Aquarium Volume 3, page 650, the dosage for Levamisole is:

0.8g/100L (26 gallons) is recommended (Mitch Carl, pers. comm.) as a dip treatment in a bucket, holding tank, or propagation system lasting up to an hour, followed by large water changes, or removal of the treated corals from the dip treatment tank.

The purchase of Praziquantel was because of a post steve-s had made for maxx with regards to his acro eating flatworms. Maxx told me that the flatworms were still alive even with a double dose of prazi-pro in the QT, and the corals didn't make it, so I'm not sure of its effectiveness.

What I want to do is every 5-7 days (not sure of the length of life cycle/gestation period of the eggs???) do a dip in Levamisole for an hour, then move the corals to a new QT (transfer method). I will continue to transfer the corals back and forth with a dip in between to remove any flatworms that have hatched. The new QT will be treated with prazi-pro. It sounds like overkill, but I'm not sure the prazi-pro will even do anything against the flatworms based on maxx's experience.

I'm also going to remove the corals from their bases, cut off any part of the coral that appears to be dead, and keep only the parts of the coral that look like they could come back.

The reasoning for the transfer method is in case the flatworms lay their eggs on some other surface in the tank along with laying them on the coral. It will also give me a chance to clean out the tank the corals were in, and will serve as a 100% water change.

Thoughts? Comments?

 

[Krish]

Don't know anything about this one, but logically, it sounds like a great approach. I don't see why it wouldn't work. Things like this make me need to push setting up a quarantine tank for corals and fish in the forefront because I think I'd have a fit, if I had to deal with a situation similar to this in my main display...

I hope you get them all sorted out Nikki

 

[gman0526]

That's a nice infestation you have there. Did you notice any eggs anywhere on the acros?

 

[Scooterman]

Bumping this, maybe we should have a normal QT process & treatment page like steve-s did for fish & sticky it. That way when I need it later I'll know where it is easily oh & anyone else

 

[mungus]

Nikki

I am not sure how true this is but I was told by a WRS member not to use prazi pro on any SPS corals. He told me that 9 times out of 10 it will kill the coral. I have no experience in using it on any SPS so I guess it is kinda here say.

FWIW

Brian

 

[NaH2O]

That's a nice infestation you have there. Did you notice any eggs anywhere on the acros?

I looked closely, but didn't see any right off (although I'm sure they're there somewhere)...and I did scan quickly with a magnifying glass. My plan is to try and cut off any dead portion of the coral, so hopefully eggs would be on those portions. After I cut off the dead portions, I'm going to look as closely as I can for eggs. I've been blasting the corals in QT to try and get more flatworms off, and I haven't seen any. We'll see what happens in the next several weeks.

It is a nice infestation. Thank goodness for quarantine, and I'm also thankful I went the extra step and set-up MH lighting when I had the clams in QT. I'll be curious when I get the rest of the corals if the infestation is as bad on the healthy looking colonies. These corals were the ones that looked the worst. I'm going to be setting up the second tank for QT most likely tomorrow. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the Levamisole comes in soon.

Thanks Brian! I have not heard that about praziquantel and SPS . I'll have to think about that one, and maybe do a little more research. FWIW, I've also heard Levamisole is really hard on the SPS, too. I'm kind of at a cross roads...what am I supposed to do? (hence this thread ) I need to treat the corals with something. At least with the medications I have a chance to save the corals. If I leave the flatworms and not do anything, the corals will eventually die.....and I'm not introducing these to my tank until the flatworm problem is gone.

Keep the input coming! It is helping me to consider things I haven't thought of before, or maybe something I didn't put too much emphasis on that I should.

 

[LakeEd]

Nikki,

I know you already understand this... but from the little experience I've had with SPS's... I also found out that they are very sensitive to pH, Temp & Salinity changes. I'm sure you already are, but thought I might point out that all of the various containers that are getting used for treatment/rinsing... need to be matched for those as well along the way.

Like Scooterman, I would like to see this as a "Sticky"... so when I need to be reminded, its easy to find!

 

[mungus]

Nikki
I did a little reading today and this is what I found. You are right about the prazipro. It is hard on the corals but it can be used. From what I read it has not produced that good of results.

I also read about a treatment that they are using in Italy. The treatment is a 25 min bath in a solution of 2ml betadine to 1 liter of tank water. After the treatment you should use a soft bristled brush to gently remove the eggs. Then the coral should be rinsed in some tank water and placed back into QT. The initial results look promising. It may be worth a try because the betadine can be picked up for little $$ at a pharmacy.

FWIW
Brian

 

[NaH2O]

Thanks for all the extra information Brian. I didn't think the Prazi-pro had that good of results based on maxx's experience, but I thought it might be better than nothing. As for the betadine solution, I have considered trying it, as well, but wasn't sure of strength. I don't think the amount of SeaChem's Reef Dip was enough (capful per gallon), as the flatworms stayed on the coral...they just moved around very irritated. They did come off easily when blasted with a turkey baster in the dip solution, and also when I rinsed them in another bucket of tank water. For the eggs, I plan on cutting off any dead portion of the coral, but I forgot about using a toothbrush! Thanks for the reminder. Did the information you read on using Betadine give a time frame in between dips at all?

Ed, thanks for posting that. I am aware that SPS are quite sensitive to changes in chemistry, but it is a good reminder to anyone reading the thread and should be mentioned.

 

[mungus]

Nikki

I could not find a time line between baths unfortunately. I did send a message to a guy in Italy that has had good success with this treatment, as soon as he gets back to me I will post his response.

Brian

 

[NaH2O]

Thanks again Brian. I'll look forward to his response. This might help me determine the length of time between dips.

I received the Levamisole yesterday, and picked up some Betadine, as well. I think I'm going to try the Levamisole first, and see how the corals do. After the dip, the corals will move into the 2nd QT system, and the first QT will be cleaned out well, and set-up again for after next week's dip.

 

[NaH2O]

On Saturday evening, the 24th (day 6 in QT) the corals received their first dip in Levamisole, and were then transferred to a new QT system. I didn't see anything on the corals before I put them in the dip, and I did a good blasting and swishing before they returned to the fresh QT. Today, I had the time to take the corals out and really look for the eggs. If I saw eggs, I either ditched the branch, or cut the branch far away from the eggs, and super glued the cut area. I'm not going to remount the frags, yet, just as a precaution against any flatworms laying eggs on the base. Needless to say, I found quite a bit of eggs near the base of the corals, and also tucked in between branches. The nice Granulosa had a big circle of eggs right smack in the middle of the coral (of course). I had to break part of the coral apart in order to get at the egg mass. I tried using a toothbrush to swipe them away, but wow do they stick! I scrubbed them off the best I could, then covered the remaining eggs and the area where the eggs were with superglue gel, and swished the coral before returning it to QT. Not sure if that was a good idea or not (superglue on the remaining eggs), but I thought it might work. Hopefully, I won't have to do anything else to the Granulosa and it can maintain a fairly normal colony appearance when turned a certain way .

Here are a couple of shots I took of the eggs.

This picture is about a 1/4 of the eggs from the mass in the center of the Granulosa. This was on a small piece of a branch I removed:

This photo is from another coral, and is a branch I wound up pitching due to the amount of damage:

 

[Willy]

wow! what a mess nikki

 

[NaH2O]

Yeah - a mess for sure, but when you look at what the corals looked like when they were healthy, it will be worth all the work (keeping fingers crossed). Let's just take a peek at a shot of the Granulosa when it was looking good... (this is the first coral with the eggs in my last post)

 

[jake65]

This is an excellent thread, and even tho I don't do SPS it is still very informative. Thanx Nikki

 

[btuck]

Any luck with the betadine solution? How are the corals looking now? Any coloration at all? Come on we need updates

 

[NaH2O]

I've only used Levamisole so far. I'm due for another dip in the next couple of days. I think after getting rid of the eggs the corals will be in better shape, but I can't say for sure what the outcome is going to be. They still have plenty of dips to come. Potentially some eggs were missed, so I need to be ontop of dipping the corals to kill off newly hatched flatworms before they have a chance to lay more eggs.

I don't want to be wishful thinking, but the granulosa looks like it is starting to regain a hint of purplish color at the tips of some branches. Not a marked difference in coloration, but I can see where the purple is going to be, as opposed to the entire colony washed out of any color. I've had the corals (going on) 2 weeks, and the major amount of flatworms has been gone for that same time period.

 

[little fishes]

Great thread Nikki- I have a QT tank with a few acros in it now and the pictures of FWs and eggs are helpful so that I know what to look for. approximately what size were the FWs and egg masses? Anyone know how long it would take to notice the FWs -if say- you only aquired one on your new acro colony? I do not want to do precautionary dips as there are acro crabs, brittle stars, and barnicles. I will be following this one!
Cheers,
Tracy

 

[leebca]

Just watching!