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Reef Parasites

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Identification, Consequences, Treatment of Overview Pyramidellidea snails Red Bugs Acro Eating Flatworms (AEFW) Montipora Eating Nudibranchs Zoanthid Eating ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Reef Parasites


1
Reef Parasites
  • Identification, Consequences, Treatment of

2
Overview
  • Pyramidellidea snails
  • Red Bugs
  • Acro Eating Flatworms (AEFW)
  • Montipora Eating Nudibranchs
  • Zoanthid Eating Nudibranchs
  • Acoel worms (red planaria)

3
Pyramidellidea snails
  • Commonly called pyramid, pyram or rice snails

4
Identification
  • Look for 1/8 snails on bottom and in all
    crevices of the clam.
  • Clear jelly-like egg masses which will also be on
    the clams underside or in crevices of its mantel
  • When there are large numbers of snails on a clam
    it will make the clam pinch or not open fully and
    may be a sign of the snails

5
Consequences
  • Tridacnid clam killer as well as bivalves,
    gastropods, polychaetes, echinoderms and
    polyplacophorans
  • If left unchecked the snails multiply quickly
    Their egg masses can contain hundreds of eggs.
    These eggs hatch after about 15 days, become
    sexually mature at about 45 days, and have a life
    cycle of about 120 days. So, two Pyrams today can
    become hundreds in a month and thousands in a few
    months

6
Treatment of Pyramid
  • Tools
  • Soft Tooth BrushFor brushing around the edge of
    the shell and the byssal opening to avoid
    damaging any flesh
  • Stiffer brush(s) for scrubbing the middle of the
    shell where you wont be in danger of contacting
    the flesh
  • Wooden Skewers for digging in crevices

7
Contd
  • Quarantine all new clams inspect them once
    purchased for egg masses and snails and clean
    them off.
  • Pyrams are nocturnal. So about an hour or two
    after all lights are out in the aquarium the
    Pyrams will start to come out to feed on their
    host. Fill up two containers that are large
    enough to hold the clam with aquarium water.
  • Gently grab the clam and turn it so that the
    mantle is horizontal and slowly lift it out of
    the water. You never want to remove a clam from
    the water especially a large clam with the
    mantle pointing up (vertical) because clams can
    not support their mantles well while out of the
    water
  • Brush sides with stiff brush, use soft brush to
    clean close to flesh and opening use the skewers
    to clean crevices of the mantel
  • Scoop out the substrate from where the clam was
    to remove any Pyrams that might have been hiding
    there
  • for the next four to six weeks you will need to
    repeat this cleaning routine two to three times a
    week, discarding the substrate as well. Even if
    you dont see any snails, do the whole routine.
    After six weeks you can slow down to once a week
    for another six weeks

8
Contd
  • Possible Predators
  • six line wrasse (Pseudochellinus hexataenia), the
    four line wrasse (P. tetrataenia) and the yellow
    coris wrasse (Halichoeres chrysus) that may eat
    Pyrams, however at best, these fish will only
    control the population, not eradicate them.
    Remember, Pyrams are nocturnal (active at night)
    and wrasses are diurnal (active during the day).

9
Size Reference
10
Egg Mass
11
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12
Red Bugs
13
Identification
  • Red Bugs are flea like copepods which are yellow
    with a red head
  • Primarily affect smooth skinned Acros and seem
    to prefer Nanas and Validas
  • Usually acros that are highly infected will loose
    polyp extension as well as a loss of color.

14
Consequences
  • In small numbers they will go unnoticed unless
    you have seen them before.
  • Once in large enough numbers they will smother
    acros causing loss of color, polyp extension and
    eventually death of coral.

15
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16
Treatment of Red Bugs
  • Treatment medicine is Interceptor
  • Which is heartworm treatment for dogs and must be
    obtained by a Vet. Pills are for 51-100lbs dogs
  • First type of Treatment Quarantine Tank
  • Fill a small tank or container with your tank
    water and a small power head.
  • Take one pill and use a spoon to crush it into a
    powder. You will only have to use a small amount
    as one pill is enough treatment for 380gallons of
    water.
  • Put a small amount of powder into water and make
    sure its mixed well.
  • Now you place the infected coral or newly
    purchased coral into the container and leave for
    6 hours.
  • After six hours has elapsed gently shake the
    coral in the water to remove dead or dying red
    bugs and place it into (ideally) your quarantine
    tank.

17
Contd
  • In tank treatment
  • Calculate total water volume of your tank and all
    equipment.
  • Need to catch all shrimp, hermit crabs as the
    medication will kill most of them unless they are
    very large. Move them to another tank.
  • 1 pill 380gallons of treatment, its always
    better to go a little over on your estimate of
    gallons in your system. Crush the pill(s) into a
    powder and mix in a cup with your tank water
    until absorbed.
  • Turn off skimmer, UV, Carbon, phosban reactors
  • Pour cup of medicine into the tank and wait 6
    hours
  • End of 6 hours turn on skimmer, UV, add fresh
    carbon, phosban reactors
  • You can perform a large water change but is not
    necessary as the medication should go neutral
    after 24hrs
  • Ideally you should re-treat 7 days later and
    again another 7 days later to make sure you have
    killed all the possible eggs which could have
    been missed and hatched between treatments.
  • Once you have finished treating the tank you can
    re-introduce the shrimp and hermit crabs back
    into the tank.
  • Possible Predators
  • Wrasses- will not completely kill all red bugs
    but will help to control population
  • Mandarins- This is not a guarantee but some have
    seen them eat them

18
Acro Eating Flatworms
  • Commonly called AEFW

19
Identification
  • White marks on Acros (bite marks)
  • Small Orange/brown eggs at base or on coral
  • Loss of color
  • Tissue recession from their base
  • Loss of growth

20
Consequences
  • If left unchecked could cause total death of
    coral.

21
Bite marks, Photo from Melevs Reef
22
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24
Treatment of AEFW Paraphrased from Reefkeeping
Magazine
  • no in-tank treatment at this time
  • separate quarantine tank
  • Make sure this tank is well cycled and
    conditioned and is appropriate for housing
    Acropora corals
  • The corals can be treated and then placed
    immediately back into the display tank. Though
    not ideal (keeping them isolated in a quarantine
    tank is ideal)
  • Dips
  • Fresh water dips work but are very harsh on coral
  • Tropic Marin Pro Coral Cure(TMPCC) dips for 25 to
    30mins.
  • levamisole hydrochloride
  • Formula          Volume in Liters x PPM /mg/ml
    of drugFor instance most Levamisole drugs are
    either 80 or 90 active ingredients. For a 40ppm
    dose of 90 active Levamisole in a 5-gallon dip,
    the formula would be 5gal x 3.78L18.9L 18.9L x
    40ppm/900mg .84g of Levamisole.The 900mg comes
    from the active ingredient of the drug. If its
    100 active, its 1000mg/g. Anything less than
    100 active is a percentage of that. So a 90
    active drug is 900mg/g, an 80 active drug is
    800mg/g and so forth.
  • Dip length is dependant upon users discretion
    anything from 10 to 30mins
  • After Dip
  • take a small power head and blow all the corals
    crevices and branches to dislodge any stubborn
    flatworms. While doing this, carefully inspect
    the coral for any sign of eggs. If you see small
    brown egg sacs, either cut off the area, or
    scrape these eggs off of the coral. Sometimes it
    is best to cut off all the dead parts of the
    coral, leaving a healthy, flatworm- free coral.
  • Ideally place the coral in a separate Quarantine
    tank and watch for up to 6 weeks

25
Montipora Eating Nudibranchs
26
Identification
  • White frilly nudibranchs about max of 3mm in
    size.
  • If you see death on Montipora species coral that
    is in a band pattern it is most likely them

27
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28
7 days before was healthy
  • 4 Days later

29
Consequencesparaphrased from qualitymarnine
article
  • asexual reproduction (only takes one to make
    tons)
  • A single adult can lay over 100 eggs, they only
    take a few days to hatch as they have already
    been incubating within the adult before being
    laid.  The larvae start out very small, but
    within the first few days with an abundant food
    source present they grow quickly, reaching adult
    size in less than a week after hatching
  • If left untreated they will eradicate all
    montipora species in the tank

30
Treatment of Montipora eating Nudis
  • Treatment Options (as indicated by QualityMarine
    Article)
  •  
  • Chemical Dips
  • These options offer different ways to kill the
    adult specimens of nudibranchs.  Eggs are
    unfortunately resistant to these treatments
    however it may reduce the successful hatch rate.
    Eggs must be either removed manually, if they can
    be found, or allowed to hatch to be treated as
    adults.  The key is to eradicate any adults
    before they get a chance to lay eggs.  It is also
    best to dip all Montipora and Anacropora all at
    the same time as well as rocks in close proximity
    to the infected corals, as the nudibranchs are
    known to frequently roam around in search of new
    host coral.
  • Iodine/derivatives (ex. lugols iodine, TMPCC,
    Seachem reef dip) when used at recommended
    dosages and times, these medications will kill
    most if not all adults.  Throughout the procedure
    it is important to stir the coral in an effort to
    detach any adults from the coral.   Once the dip
    is complete, the coral should be inspected for
    any nudibranch remnants which can be removed
    using a toothpick.
  •  
  •  
  •  

31
  • Another option for chemical dips is Levamisole,
    It acts as a contact poison blocking nerve
    transmission to kill or stun the parasite. This
    drug has proven to be a very effective treatment
    for both parasitic nudibranchs and flatworms.  We
    recommend a minimum dosage of 50ppm for a total
    duration of 10 hours or more. At this dosage the
    nudibranchs become paralyzed and fall off the
    coral.  This treatment can be used in an existing
    reef system, however it is advised that it be
    administered in a separate tank, as there can be
    a lot of secondary die off of aquatic life.
     Note, Levamisole is only available with a
    prescription from a licensed Veterinarian.
  •  
  • Freshwater dipping is a very dangerous yet very
    effective treatment option. Freshwater creates a
    large difference in osmotic pressure between the
    inside and outside of the body of the
    nudibranchs. This sudden change in osmotic
    pressure causes the cells to rupture and quickly
    kills the nudibranch. The dip must be done with
    de-chlorinated water adjusted to the pH and
    temperature of the tank and must last no longer
    than 15 seconds. Note, this is not recommended as
    a safe treatment option as it can be very harmful
    to the zooxanthellae in the coral, longer
    exposure times can and will kill coral.

32
  • Manual removal of adults and egg masses 
  • This method is very effective for aquarists with
    smaller colonies and the ability to remove those
    colonies/fragments from the water.  Colonies with
    deep inaccessible crevices may need to be broken
    apart in order to provide access to all areas of
    the coral.  With good eyes and careful
    observance, these pests can be eradicated within
    a matter of weeks, as their egg cycle time is
    less than a couple weeks in length.  Nudibranchs
    can either be scooped up with tweezers but
    scraping/squishing their body with a toothpick
    will also work.  Just be sure to either shake the
    dead nudibranchs off in a separate container of
    water or use a jet of water from a pipette or
    baster to remove any remaining parts. 
  •  
  • Introduction of natural predators.
  • Fish such as certain members of the
    Pseudocheilinus (Sixline wrasses), Coris (Coris
    wrasses), and certain Thalassoma (Banana wrasses)
    Genus are known to actively feed on these
    nudibranchs.  While this can be an effective
    control mechanism, it may not completely get rid
    of all nudibranchs.  Most of these wrasses lack
    the mobility to get to most of the places where
    the nudibranchs hide.  There are many other
    natural predators, including certain crabs,
    several other nudibranchs, and perhaps more,
    however these are not as commonly available to
    the aquarist as the aforementioned fish.

33
Zoanthid Eating Nudibranchs
34
Identification
  • Zoanthid will stop opening
  • Loss of Zoanthid polyps
  • As they digest the Zoas they turn the color of
    the Zoas so its harder to find them

35
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39
Consequences
  • Asexual reproduction
  • If left unchecked will consume all polyps

40
Treatment of Zoa eating Nudis
  • Fresh water treatments are most common
  • Also see treatment of Montipora Nudis

41
Acoel Worms
  • Common name is Red planaria

42
Identification
  • Red/pink/brown/orange flatworms
  • 1mm to 3mm in size
  • Usually cover substrate and can cover corals

43
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44
Consequences
  • They can reproduce asexual therefore can reach
    plague proportions very fast
  • If left unchecked they can smother coral and
    cause coral to slowly die
  • They are very toxic and once in plague
    proportions if food runs out there can be a
    massive die off which can kill fish and
    invertebrates.

45
Treatment of Acoel worms
  • Siphoning them out of the tank
  • Fresh water dip corals to get them off
  • Flatworm exit will kill them but you need to
    siphon as much of them out as possible and follow
    directions on the box to ensure your livestock
    doesnt die from the toxins.
  • Chelidonura varians slug feeds primarily on them
    but once flatworms are gone it will die.

46
  • Chelidonura varians

47
Sources
  • Distressed Clam http//reefkeeping.com/issues/200
    8-02/nftt/index.php
  • Red Bugs http//www.melevsreef.com/redbugs.html
  • Red Bugs http//www.dfwmas.org/Forums/viewtopic.p
    hp?t14402
  • AEFW http//reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-09/mc/ind
    ex.php
  • AEFW Photos and info also from Joseph Weatherson
  • Montipora Eating Nudis http//reefkeeping.com/iss
    ues/2007-09/eb/index.php
  • Montipora Eating Nudis http//www.qualitymarineus
    a.com/article.asp?pagefeatureidFA22AE9A-A335-4F
    27-A5C5-0913F83DCB60
  • Pests http//reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-10/sp/fe
    ature/index.php
  • Red flatworms http//www.advancedaquarist.com/iss
    ues/may2002/short.htm
  • Acoel worms http//www.ronshimek.com/Animal20Gro
    ups202a20Flatworms.htm
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