Even the hardiest and most seasoned aquarium veterans are susceptible to the dreaded acropora eating flatworm(AEFW), only recently described as Amakusaplana acroporae. The dreaded AEFW can devastate an aquarium relatively quickly taking years of growth out in a matter of days and weeks, however a new crowdfunding project looks to research the AEFW and hopefully provide some answers (and a possible solution to getting rid of them).
Like Kickstarter and other crowdfunding sites, Microryza is a platform for discovering, funding, and experiencing new scientific discoveries. Titled “The Life Cycle of a Coral Killer: the Acropora-Eating Flatworm” the project is started by Kate Rawlinson and Cat Dybala to “undercover some key questions on the life cycle of the polyclad flatworm in order to develop a scientifically-based protocol for its control.”
Some of the key questions they look to research are:
- How long does it take for the eggs to hatch?
- Do they hatch as larvae or juveniles, or both?
- How long does it take for the worms to reach sexual maturity?
- How long can the newly hatched worms survive without food?
- How long can the adult survive without food?
With this research project we can hopefully gain some much-needed answers and the ability to keep our systems free of the pests. We feel this is pretty significant research and would love to see this get fully funded. The project goal is to raise just over $5,000 and they are just under $900. Let’s see if as a community, we can get this project funded by the end of the