Red Bugs

[PaulKreider]

I think I found some red bugs on a frag of red planet today. Not quite sure what to do. I took the frag out, dipping it in coral rx right now, anyone have any tips other than getting a prescription from a vet? I'm not even 100% that they are red bugs but its got me all jumpy.

 

[PaulKreider]

Just checked... They're all over multiple colonies and frags. Now im freaking.

 

[kacrocorals581]

Interceptor should be able to get it from Dr.Foster an Smith.

 

[fragman2]

Relax, at least you diagnosed your problem. Many of our fellow reefers have these little varmets and don't even realize it. Yes they are a hassle to deal with, but as long as you are willing to follow the basic treatment protocol they are relatively easily dealt with. Don't try to treat individual corals as it will be totally futile.

The original Interceptor product is highly effective but was discontinued by the manufacturer over a year ago. I have no experience with the new version so I could only spectulate as to how well it works. If you look, you can get some of the original Interceptor. (I found it) Be aware that you will loose ALL of your crabs and Shrimp unless you remove them from the tank being treated. If you have more than one tank or system they are probably in all of them that house sps corals. Once you get rid of them do EVERYTHING that you can not to re-introduce them to your tank. Don't aquire red bug infested frags with the idea that you will simply dip them and all will be well. The chances are that it won't. You would need to quarantine them for a minimum of 10 days and treat them with Interceptor during the quarantine period. In my opinion it just isn't worth the risk.

Good luck my friend!

 

[general0]

I had red bugs in my old setup and they're not hard to eradicate like AEFW are. I initially tried a Dragon Face Pipefish and it kept the population from growing but never totally eradicated them. I had them for over 6 months until I decided to redo my system. I ordered some Interceptor Spectrum online and treated the tank. Haven't seen another red bug in 2 months and polyp extension of my SPS are better than ever.

 

[StikHedRon]

yeah, order interceptor spectrum from australia. I just finished treating my tank. One pill will treat 380 gallons. Buy the ones for large dogs and divide it up. Do one treatment, take your airline off your skimmer and run it while dosing, remove all po4 and carbon media. dose tank, leave for min 8 hours. do 25% min water change and add new carbon to tank and run skimmer as normal. Now I dosed again 7 days later following same procedure. and everything has turned around drastically. i kept the remaining pills just in case for some reason the come back. Some people do3 treatments, I personally only did 2.

 

[PaulKreider]

So what damage do red bugs actually cause? I'm assuming that ive had them for a while but my two wrasses kept them at bay, now that I no longer have any wrasses (carpet surfing) I'm seeing numbers of red bugs in full force. Will they kill the sps soon and should I be rushing?

 

[PaulKreider]

And will the interceptor kill all snails too?

 

[jduck]

From what I remember its just shrimp and hermit crabs that you need to worry about.
Typically is a slow death b/c of retracted polyps.

 

[magranche]

Check this article out! Bayer Coral Dip » Reef'd Up Aquatics

 

[trido]

I've had red bugs since I set my tank back up last spring. My acro's have plenty of polyp extension and great color. It's nothing to freak out about but you should take steps to treat it. Some small frags don't do too well with them and mostly, fellow reefers don't appreciate it when they suddenly have red bug because of you.

If you get AEFW's then you should freak out.

 

[ritter6788]

I have red bugs despite dipping every coral that went into my tank. I don't see them as much of a problem. My Acros look fine and have good growth. I really didn't even know I had them until I took a pic of an Acro,

I took another pic of the same Acro today,

Partial tank shot 12/29/13 by ritter6788, on Flickr

Dunno? I don't see them as much of a problem. Maybe they are but I haven't bothered with them.

 

[PaulKreider]

I heard they slow growth, I haven't seen any damage, I'm going to pick up another wrasse to try and keep the population down and if that doesn't work then ive already ordered the interceptor. I just noticed them today, it looks like I've had them for a while by the amount of them. And I haven't lost any sps because of them yet.

 

[Reefnjunkie]

From what I experienced they tend to be more of an irritant to the acro and not life threatening which looks to be true from the photos Ritter posted and again what I experienced. The bayer advantage will kill red bugs as an out of tank dipping treatment, outside of interceptor if I recall correctly, its the only dip Im aware of that will kill them-I could be wrong.

 

[bsagea]

Before you treat your tank with Interceptor, I suggest reading the numerous threads out there from those, including us, who have treated their tanks with Interceptor and then developed an AEFW infestation. Are they related, who knows but there's enough evidence to make you wonder. Three years ago when we had them, it took 3 1/2 months of dipping every acro we had every week to get rid of them. Personally, if we ever had red bugs again, they would
stay there as they really do not do any damage. The bushier acros supposedly will eat the redbugs. They might hurt a softskin, but believe that's about it. Just our opinion...

 

[PaulKreider]

Wrasse first it Is!

 

[PaulKreider]

Would dragonets eat the red bugs? Since they are a species of amphipods correct?

 

[TJ's Reef]

Wow! Thanks Paul, now I have Red Bugs.... OK, only just noticed after reading through this post yesterday decided to take a CLOSE LOOK at my Corals near enough for a handheld magnifying glass to work. I only notice it on my two Garf Bonsai colonies, just a few on larger colony and quite a few more on smaller one. I cannot see (to far from glass) any on my other thin-skinned Acros but have a new Tamron 90mm Macro lense coming in next few days which should help me get a closer inspection without having to remove from tank. Do not know how long I've had them in my system or where from.... maybe even from my close friend Duane (trido) ^above^ :boink: who knows and not going to worry to much about it. I will however dip both of the Garf Bonsai since they are not attached to main Reef structure so will easy enough. I to have been very religious in dipping all Coral in Coral R/X and if suspect an added dip in Lugol's or MelaFix.

Cheers, Todd

 

[PaulKreider]

I dip every coral that comes in so im not sure how I got them, but it seems most dips are ineffective at removing red bugs, I haven't noticed any harm so now im not as worried as before.

 

[Reefnjunkie]

Most dips don't kill the red bugs as I mentioned (or mentioned "as I recall") Bayer advanced insecticide killer does kill red bugs

Bayer Advanced, 1 qt. Concentrate Complete Insect Killer for Lawns, 700270 at The Home Depot - Tablet

It was for that reason I sold all my interceptor tablets- no need for them anymore- I don't know of any other dip that will kill them-many threads out there to support that..

Good luck with whatever you decide