help me I have RED BUGS

[TarHeelReefer22]

For a SPS reefer this could very likely be the worst nightmare situation. I have an acro heavy tank and have been red bug free for over three years! Last night while admiring my tank I noticed that some of my acros looked "off". As I examined closer I noticed that I have been infected with red bugs. Where they came from I don't know nor at this point do I really care. I have done hours of research on a cure that is "reef safe" and have been let down. The most effective treatment seems to be the meds from a vet for de-worming which unfortunately is not going to work for my situation as I have too many "permanent" invert residences in my tank. I can though remove all the colonies of acro in my tank as none of them have been allowed to encrust on any base rock for this specific reason. Someone please help me I am in frantic mode!

 

[ReeferEric]

Relax, it's not the end of the world. Keep in mind that the bugs could have been there for a whole now and you've just spotted them now. If your SPS colonies are big then they won't do much. It's not acro rating flat worms.

 

[TarHeelReefer22]

I see the majority of them on my GARF bonsai which is of a decent size...I know that RX says that they have not determined if their product is effective on red bugs but I have had success in the past with friends tanks using the pro version in highly concentrated dips and dipping multiple times to get the bugs off. I trade and swap regularly so even if they aren't causing "lots" of damage I certainly don't want them in there!

 

[TarHeelReefer22]

bump

 

[Battlecorals]

Walk in the park man. Get some sentinel or the Aussie interceptor spectrum and that's it. There are lots of threads about it. Trust me, there is nothing "dreaded" about red bugs

What inverts are you thinking your going to loose? Shrimp and hermits are about all you will loose and they can be replaced

 

[StikHedRon]

I would dose the tank with interceptor spectrum and just replace the inverts that you will lose. It's an easy process and I can help you get through it if you need it. I just went through dosing my tank in November for Red bugs.

 

[Intricateart]

If you want to keep things really natural, get a mandarin.

 

[PaulKreider]

I had them for months and I just checked today and they're completely gone.

Only thing I've done recently is use Phosphate Rx for the first time, Must have killed them off.

 

[-Logzor]

Walk in the park man. Get some sentinel or the Aussie interceptor spectrum and that's it. There are lots of threads about it. Trust me, there is nothing "dreaded" about red bugs

What inverts are you thinking your going to loose? Shrimp and hermits are about all you will loose and they can be replaced

+1

Interceptor is very effectively and safe to dose, except potentially for some shrimp and maybe crabs.

 

[bct15]

Redbugs are not that big of a deal, a couple interceptor treatments and they'll be gone. Really easy, the only inverts that might be effected are the ones with exoskeletons like shrimp, crabs, etc.

 

[TarHeelReefer22]

I have not heard of a dragonet eating red bugs can anyone else confirm, also I have had my cleaner shrimp for over two years and would hate to intentionally harm them...call me weak if you want just caring about the animals who's lives are in my hands. Also, how would my Maxima clams react?

 

[StikHedRon]

Clam will be fine, you can capture the shrimp and put him in qt till the treatment is done. The whole process takes about 3 weeks or so doing three treatments 1 week apart

 

[classklown90]

I've heard of the mandarin eating them but don't use that as treatment, they will reproduce faster than he can eat them all.

 

[spsfrag]

take a week or two to remove all you inverts. every night just snatch out your snails and hermits and get the shrimp with a meaty chunk of food in your hand then net him. i know its hard to get them all but if you take a week or two to catch them you can get most out into another tank then treat wc and carbon. just put a tester hermit crab in to make sure your good enough and your good

 

[-Logzor]

In my experience snails have been OK.

 

[TarHeelReefer22]

I have ever only treated for them once before and it seemed effective this is what I did see if this seems ok...
1. A highly concentrated Iodine dip (5-10) mins
2. Highly concentrated coral RX pro (5-10) mins
3. Fresh water dip or just really just about 30 to 45 sec wash

The only thing with this is when I did this last time all the red bugs came off and I didn't see them come back but some of my more fickle acros didn't react to it very well...as in they ended up dying

 

[Pete H.]

I just had some issues with red bugs. I went and used sentinel in the tank and it worked like a charm. 6-8 hrs, all the red bugs had died off. I did not lose any shrimp, maybe 1 or 2 hermits but that was it. The corals, fish, clams, etc all seemed fine. I would not have a hesitation doing it again.

 

[TarHeelReefer22]

I just had some issues with red bugs. I went and used sentinel in the tank and it worked like a charm. 6-8 hrs, all the red bugs had died off. I did not lose any shrimp, maybe 1 or 2 hermits but that was it. The corals, fish, clams, etc all seemed fine. I would not have a hesitation doing it again.

Where could I get this product?

 

[Pete H.]

I got it from a vet.

 

[bct15]

Your dip procedure listed above will most likely kill most of your acros. Sentinel / interceptor is the best method of completely erradicating the redbugs from your system. You have to decide, is it worth possibly losing your cleaner shrimp and getting rid of the bugs or are you going to deal with the bugs. To be totally honest your cleaner shrimp and most hermits will most likely survive, acro crabs are extra sensitive to it though...you will lose all acro crabs by the end of the third treatment unless you remove them.