AEFW Problem... they said our flatworms were no fun  -- 11/27/09
Hello,
I discovered my 1" Lokani frag had been decimated by a few AEFW.
<Acroporid eaters>
I was trying to figure out why it was losing so much color, checked water param.s, Alk/cal. lighting scheme, all was fine...had no idea what was going on. Didn't suspect AEFW at first because i didn't see anything. After a second closer look a couple weeks later, light brown patches, used a pair of tweezers to see if they would move, they sure did and confirmed that they are indeed aefw. Read up on it, not any known cures....
<Mmm, actually>
was wondering if you know if Salifert's Flatworm eXIT stuff works?
<I do and it does>
I have some on hand, i bet it works for regular Planaria, will it kill AEFW too?
<Yep>
I added a Sixline wrasse i had in a holding tank in hopes of at least putting a predator in there, doubt he will really solve or even reduce the problem. The flatworms have not overwhelmed tank yet, but my one lokani
frag is a goner, and starting to see a couple of my solitaryensis pieces lose color at the bases, tell tale signs they are laying eggs there and starting to create a stronghold in the tank.
<Bunk!>
so let me know if there are ways to treat the whole tank. I would hate to clip out and quarantine every Acro to see one flatworm creep out from the liverock and reinfest all the quarantined pieces again.
Let me know,
Thanks,
Matthew
<There are anthelminthics... Levamisol is a fave... Prazi/quantel... just got to make sure that the chemical aftermath of kill off doesn't take all else with it... Lots of new water pre-made to switch out, chemical
filtrants (GAC, PolyFilter...) to add. Bob Fenner>

Parasitic Worm on Midas Blenny  11/13/08 Hello, <<Hi>> Thanks so much for the wonderful and informative website and for answering questions so promptly! <<Mmm, not so prompt with this one'¦ But thank you for the kind words>> We have a 90gal reef tank with a 30gal sump. Water levels are all stable - 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, pH 8.4, calcium 430, nitrates are a little bit high at 10-20 but we are working on that with higher volume water changes. <<Hmm, do also try to determine the source of the Nitrates. Your source water possibly?>> We moved the tank from our old house approximately two months ago; all the fish have been doing well after the move - eating, growing, etc. We currently have: 1 true percula clown, 1 hippo tang, <<Really needs a bigger tank'¦ this is a large (to 12"), active, and very robust species that may suffer psychologically from just growing up in a too small environment>> 1 yellow tang, 1 green wrasse, 1 small three stripe damsel, <<This very aggressive fish may pose a problem as it matures/grows larger>> 1 flame angel, and 1 Midas blenny. We also have a coral banded shrimp (which is getting large and a bit aggressive) and a fire shrimp as well as several hermit crabs and snails. Everyone has been happy, and none are new to the tank. Last week we introduced a group of mushroom coral, a Red Sea pulsing Xenia, and a Turbinaria cup coral (spelling? - sorry!). <<Your spelling is correct>> All are doing well. However, yesterday morning we noticed small white very thin filamentous things hanging from the sides of the Midas blenny. "Jenny the Blenny," as we call her, is flashing and acting a bit stressed - hiding in her hole in the rock more than usual. <<Mmm, yes'¦ This behavior is indicative of a parasitic infection. These �filamentous things� are likely Trematodes/Flukes>> She is eating and does swim around. There is no tissue ulceration as of yet. No discoloration. The parasites are only a few millimeters long and appear solidly attached. <<yes>> The LFS said it was probably anchor worm. <<Would probably be more robust>> However, everything I have found about this organism indicates that it is primarily a freshwater parasite. <<Hmm'¦ I do believe there are saltwater varieties of Lernaea (Anchor Worm). Though I can't say that is the case here>> Any other suggestions? <<As stated'¦ Trematodes'¦>> We have introduced, per the LFS, 2 cleaner shrimp to help rid her of these unwanted visitors. Please advise per likely causative organism and treatment if possible. <<Try a temperature and pH adjusted freshwater dip first (see here and the related links in blue: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/dips_baths.htm) as this may do the trick without the need to chemically treat/poison the fish. If you find more drastic measures are required, see the info on our site re treatment of parasitic disease. A good place to start would be here (http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marparasitcurefaqs.htm)>> (Shall we treat the whole tank????) <<No'¦ Segregate the affected fish for treatment>> Thanks much, Rebecca <<Hope this helps, EricR>>

Naso Tangs Hello Bob, <Hello Sanjay> I'm unsure if you remember, but approx 3 months ago I wrote to you regarding Naso tangs and intestinal worms. My plan was to investigate intestinal worms in Naso tangs as a reason for their decline in captivity. <Interesting possibility> I purchased a healthy six inch Naso and introduced it to my QT system.  It settled in well and after a week or so I began my experiment.   To half a cube of frozen food I added approx 20mg of an anti-thelmic preparation called Mebendazole.  I obtained the liquid form which sticks to frozen food. I fed this twice a day for two days without any ill effects to the Naso.  However I did not see any worms. <Have you taken a look to and through the scientific literature on issues involving such worms and Surgeonfishes?> On the third day, hey presto, hundreds of tiny round worms (confirmed by the local vet) about 1 cm in length.  Nasty looking organisms might I add. <Have any pix?> The QT tank had a little live rock, which proved to be a great mistake.  Many worms sought refuge in this rock.  At the same time the anti-thelmic agent seemed to dislodge the worms, but did not kill them.  I tried to remove as many as I could.   The tang re-ingested the worms and began to decline in the same manner as my previous Naso did in my main system. The Naso became increasingly thin over a few days. Eventually the tang died from what I suspect to be an over load of worms. I decided to discard the live rock, but as I was about to do so, I spotted a very large round worm about half an inch thick and six inches in length. My conclusion from the above may provide a reason for why Naso tangs decline for no apparent reason in captivity. <One hypothesis... how will or might you go about devising experiments to prove, disprove it?> I am not repeating this exercise as I do not want to be responsible for another Naso death. However I believe that importers of these beautiful creatures may find my studies interesting and take on the responsibility of de-worming these fish before they are passed on to retailers, (in an  Ideal world). <... better to have a larger sample size... and more "cures" folks can attempt> I also conclude that those who read this post and decide to de-worm a fish in QT,  must do so with either a more effective anti-thelmic drug or a greater concentration of Mebendazole.  Ensuring the tank is devoid of live rock is also essential. <Okay> Hope this has been of interest to you, thanks in advance for taking an interest. Regards Sanjay Patel <And thank you for writing. Bob Fenner>

- Parasite Problems - Hello guys/gals I have a problem with one of my tanks and wanted to see if you guys could help me. I have a 75 gallon tank in the garage with about 80 lbs of live rock with a blue dot puffer, a clown trigger and a Hawkfish that is my holding tank until my 375 gets in. Well everybody was doing fine for the longest time then about a month ago I noticed that my blue dot puffer was getting very skinny but he would still eat a lot therefore I went from feeding every other day like I've always done to feeding every day even though the other 2 guys were very fat. Well even with me feeding every day the puffer kept getting skinnier and skinnier until he died a few days ago and now my Clown Trigger is starting to look skinny. Is there some sort of disease or parasite that could cause this or am I just not feeding them enough. <Yes, I'm afraid so... nematodes and Cestodes are the most common culprit - like tapeworms, they can out-compete for nutrients.> I had the blue dot puffer for over a year and he was a nice size for the longest time. I feed them all sorts of stuff such as Mysis Shrimp, Blood Worms and Squid. Thanks for your help. <Do try to get a hold of some Fenbendazole from your local veterinarian. Your best bet is to put this fish in quarantine for about three weeks and treat the quarantine tank directly with the Fenbendazole for that entire time. The Noga book of Fish Disease recommends 2mg/liter or 7.6mg/gallon of tank water. This should give your fish the upper hand against these parasites. Cheers, J -- >