My Battle is now Brown Clove Polyps

[obrien.david.j]

I just added this reply to an 18 page thread on R2R about killing Blue Clove Polyps.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/eliminating-blue-clove-polyps-with-fenbendazole.308994/post-6954867

I'm reposting here, looking for local insight.

My Battle is now Brown Clove Polyps.

My history: (120gallon display tank)

• I treated successfully for Blue clove polyps in March 2018 using Thomas Labs Fenbendazole, following MaxDraco instructions.
• But in spring of 2019 clove polyps were back. Not Blue, but clove.
• Re-treated Fenbendazole in June 2019, at approx 1.5mg/gal. And Added second treatment of ~1.5mg/gal two days later.
• Punch line, my Non-blue clove polyps never fully died.
• My made up name, I now have "Brown" clove polyps (picts below)

Since then,

• An aptasia eating Filefish didn't touch them
• A Regal Angel didn't touch them
• Twelve emerald crabs didn't touch them
• One Tuxedo Urchin doesn't touch them, although B(rown) CP's are on the side of tank Urchin doesn't go

I'm ready to give it another go and I'm looking for collective wisdom.

1. try the Double Tap 2-4 weeks apart
2. up dosage to 4mg/gal
3. perhaps switch from Thomas Labs to Merck Safeguard Goat Dewormer, (10% suspension) Under idea maybe drug itself is slightly ~different?

Otherwise, any other collective wisdom?
Does ANYONE claim to successfully remove Non-Blue Clove Polyps (but same size as BCP's) by Non-Mechanical means?

Thanks!

 

[Manny Tavan]

I did 2mg/gallon when I treated mine. So far so good. I thought that if any DNA remained it would come back so I nuked it with a double dose of fabendazole right off the bat. Like bacteria what you don't want is to develop a resistance. What most likely happened is that brown polyp you have now is resistant to it

Edited January 16, 2020 by Manny Tavan

[obrien.david.j]

My first treatment absolutely Eradicated the Blue Clove Polyps.  (they're actually very pretty, my family loved them).   But what remained with this ugly 2nd strain - which I assume the Blue Clove Polyps were hiding.

[LadAShark]

On 1/16/2020 at 2:43 PM, obrien.david.j said:

My first treatment absolutely Eradicated the Blue Clove Polyps.  (they're actually very pretty, my family loved them).   But what remained with this ugly 2nd strain - which I assume the Blue Clove Polyps were hiding.

They might have been outcompeting them too. 
 

If you’re really up for it, you could try to ‘train’ an animal that normally eats them to focus on eating them. For best effect it would be better to separate said critter, and then slowly reduce its intake of whatever foods you normally feed and replace it with clove polyps. This should, in theory, give you a chance to train your fish/cuc to recognize the polyps as food. This may work, it may not, but it may be worth a shot.

Copperband butterflies may help. I’ve heard some foxfaces may have a taste for clove polyps, and a cheat option are silver scats, which are coral friendly but known to eat clove polyps (and actually a fully marine fish despite being called “brackish”). 

Combination therapy with fenbendazole and praziquantel might be of assistance. Else you could look within the benzimidazole family of drugs (fenbendazole is one of them) to see if there’s something else that you can get that might help.  Though I would tread carefully overall when it comes to medication.

That’s what comes to mind at least. Hope something here helps. I’d personally consider a silver scat first since it sounds like the easiest and safest potential solution. 

[SuncrestReef]

I used my aiptasia laser to kill a bunch of clove polyps.  As long as you have a line of sight to them from outside the tank, it's easy to zap them.

[LadAShark]

15 hours ago, SuncrestReef said:

I used my aiptasia laser to kill a bunch of clove polyps.  As long as you have a line of sight to them from outside the tank, it's easy to zap them.

Sounds like a fun alternative to a mobile game 😜 

[obrien.david.j]

I'll hold off on the laser, but I like the idea of the Silver Scat.    I'll be off to look for one or two this weekend.

I may put them in my frag tank first, and move a small clove polyp rock there first.  Will let me confirm they really are reef safe, see if they zero in on cloves, and easier to catch if an emergency removal is needed.

[Flash21]

Try out wet spot for a scat?!

[obrien.david.j]

One Silver Scat acquired, acclimated, and added to the frag tank.   

[TheClark]

I am now battling this, any updates?  Frag tank, loaded with them.  DT, none?  All on the same system.  Thinking fish are playing a role.  

[obrien.david.j]

Grr.   My DT is full of them.  Silver Scat is a cool fish, but just doesn't touch them.

For yours, have you tried a Fenbendazole treatment yet?   If your considering it, my main advise is Nuke Them the First Time.  Big Strong Extended dose.   Besides shrimp/snails/etc - I really didn't have any lasting bad effects.  And didn't loose anything else.

[markvo]

They are really hard to get rid of, but you might be able to change them to blue clove polyps. The blue ones are much better looking.

[TheClark]

On 5/4/2020 at 5:37 PM, obrien.david.j said:

Grr.   My DT is full of them.  Silver Scat is a cool fish, but just doesn't touch them.

For yours, have you tried a Fenbendazole treatment yet?   If your considering it, my main advise is Nuke Them the First Time.  Big Strong Extended dose.   Besides shrimp/snails/etc - I really didn't have any lasting bad effects.  And didn't loose anything else.

It worked, thank you!

Have you gotten rid of them?

 

[obrien.david.j]

7 hours ago, TheClark said:

It worked, thank you!

Have you gotten rid of them?

Blue Clove Polyps are still gone, Brown Clove Polyps are still there going strong.    Scat still looks cool in the tank, and never touched the BCPs.

With the new 250 gal tank arrival (thank Ken), I am using this opportunity to reboot.   Zero of the original rocks are going into the new tank.    

(Although, thanks to extra space in my frag tanks in the dedicated fish room - the old rocks will live there, until the new display tank is up, and new sterile rocks get populated with biology.)   Or that's the plan...

 

[TheClark]

1 hour ago, obrien.david.j said:

Blue Clove Polyps are still gone, Brown Clove Polyps are still there going strong.    Scat still looks cool in the tank, and never touched the BCPs.

With the new 250 gal tank arrival (thank Ken), I am using this opportunity to reboot.   Zero of the original rocks are going into the new tank.    

(Although, thanks to extra space in my frag tanks in the dedicated fish room - the old rocks will live there, until the new display tank is up, and new sterile rocks get populated with biology.)   Or that's the plan...

 

Man, I hope I don't have the same thing happen!  Thanks for the update, congrats on the new tank may it be clove free.

PS:  My DT never had it, only the frag, yet they are plumbed together.. weird!

 

[obrien.david.j]

21 hours ago, TheClark said:

Man, I hope I don't have the same thing happen!  Thanks for the update, congrats on the new tank may it be clove free.

PS:  My DT never had it, only the frag, yet they are plumbed together.. weird!

Thanks - Clove-Free is my new chant.

BTW, if you even start to see them come back - Hit them Again, and HARD.  I think that may have been part of my mistake.