Biff0rz
Valuable Member
Back in March and April, I committed to a full-on, high-dose Interceptor treatment for my mostly-SPS reef tank—and what a journey it's been! I’d been battling a lack of polyp extension (PE) for ages, and while I never visually confirmed it, I had long suspected white bugs were lurking in the system. After years of frustration and random STN/RTN events affecting one or two corals every couple of months, I finally decided to go for it.
Some corals thrived, others sputtered along (looking at you, JF Jolt—held color but never grew), and a few just didn’t make it. I tried everything I could think of to get all my SPS happy and growing, but something always felt off. That’s what pushed me toward Interceptor. I first tried the chewable version and had some mild success… but the bugs (again, suspected—not confirmed) seemed to return. So I doubled down and went all-in.
I found a fish vet, got a proper prescription, and picked up a solid supply of the pill-based Interceptor. My total system volume, including the frag tank, is around 315 gallons, so my plan was to dose one large pill per 50 gallons each week—for six weeks. That meant six large pills per dose. A serious investment, but I was ready.
Weeks 1 to 3 were honestly pretty exciting. In the first week, I noticed a bit more PE on my acros—though still nothing major with my tenuis. Then weeks 2 and 3 brought a huge growth spurt! I could see daily changes—new growth at the base and tips of my acros. It felt like the tank had finally turned a corner.
But then came the “dark ages.” Weeks 4 through 6 were rough. Dino outbreaks exploded—seriously, everywhere. Algae started popping up on rocks, sand, pipes, pumps—you name it. I saw flashes of hair algae, cyano, diatoms… all at once. It was chaos. The tank’s bacterial balance clearly shifted hard, and it showed.
Corals across the board responded badly. My beloved King Kong shrooms shriveled up. All my LPS retracted. The acros and tenuis that had just started perking up lost their PE again—some even looked worse than before. TSA Carolina Reaper was the only acro still looking decent, but even that one eventually browned out. PE vanished, colors dulled. TSA The Fuzz went from “super fuzz” to flat brown. Tenuis, while paler, held onto some PE—which was at least something. To top it all off, my once-purple frag tank floor—previously covered in healthy coralline algae—turned into a mess. The coralline flaked off in chunks, clogging my gyres and leaving bare glass behind.
I did end up having two "losses". I put this in quotes because the corals are still alive. When the bacteria changed the bases of two corals started to STN. One is unnamed but the other, Garf Bonsai, is fairly well known. Almost the entire base turned white and I for sure thought I lost the coral. As time went on, it slowed and stopped. Oddly, PE & color was still good through all of it. I just have never seen a coral STN from the bottom up and not nuke the whole thing. But, here we are.
It was honestly heartbreaking. Seeing everything crash after trying so hard was tough—and I’ll admit, it got me pretty down. But I stayed the course.
My last Interceptor dose was in early April. And now, I’m thrilled to say the tank has finally bounced back! Dino’s are gone. The algae has receded (though I did use some Red Slime Remover to help). Corals are coloring up again—TSA Carolina Reaper is a vibrant mix of red and green and looking fuzzier than ever! My latest ICP results came back with normal, healthy levels across the board. Even the LPS and mushrooms are perky and happy again.
I do still have a few acros in recovery mode—low-ish PE, still a little green—but they’re slowly improving. Honestly, I’m just so excited to see the tank finally stabilizing and thriving again.
It’s been a long and bumpy road, but I wanted to share my experience so others know what to expect when going down this path. If you’re considering a serious Interceptor treatment, know that it can work—but it might test your patience and your tank’s resilience along the way. Hang in there. The recovery is worth it!
I took a video over the weekend of some of my corals, I'll put some comments about each one below -- each link is to the same video but I mark times at which each coral noted below appears
TSA Bubble Yum (tenuis)
Before: Pale, low coloration, no PE
After: Coloring up, blue's and pinks, lots of PE!
JF Blow Torch (tenuis)
Before: Nice colors, zero PE
After: Colors still recovering but you can see pinks/reds/blue's. Lots of PE! Lot's of growth too, lots of new branches forming near the base in the vid
CC Disney JR (tenuis)
Before: hyper pink coloration, minimal PE
After: Pink is returning, not as vibrant yet. PE is still recovering but all are present and coming out! Back behind it you can see WWC Heartbreaker (went green during treatment)
POTO Side Chick (acro)
Before: slow growth, nice colors, low PE
After: Colored up even more, lots of fast growth, and lots of PE!
TSA Carolina Reaper (acro)
Before: Bright red colors, lush PE, fast growing
After: Still coloring up, mid-way imo, MORE PE, growth returning
CC Pink Highlighter
Before: Nice pink color, nothing else color-wise, low low low PE, slow/no growth
After: Multiple colors -- pink, yellow, blue, lots of PE, and growth branches!
TSA Princess Peach
Before: Nice colors but not full, good PE, not great, mid growth
After: Colors returning (went all brown), still low PE but it's out at night, growth back to a mid-rate.
TSA Skywalker Millie
Before: No colors (green-ish), No PE, no growth
After: Color! Lots of PE, as it should be lol, and growing at the base like crazy!
JF Jolt -- this one I'm super happy about
Before: No growth, no color other than blue, no PE, notorious slow-grower
After: Colors, LOTS of them! Red polyps, blue branches, even some greens/yellows. Growth is going fast at the base, and seeing some new branches sprout up!
Vivids Confetti
Before: Slow growth, nice colors, mild PE
After: Fast growth, more vivid colors, lots of PE!
Bahama Mama Millie
Before: No growth, no color, no PE
After: Noticing some base growth, its got some color and PE now!! wooo!
Needless to say, I'm super happy with my results! I hope this post helps someone else in some way.
Some corals thrived, others sputtered along (looking at you, JF Jolt—held color but never grew), and a few just didn’t make it. I tried everything I could think of to get all my SPS happy and growing, but something always felt off. That’s what pushed me toward Interceptor. I first tried the chewable version and had some mild success… but the bugs (again, suspected—not confirmed) seemed to return. So I doubled down and went all-in.
I found a fish vet, got a proper prescription, and picked up a solid supply of the pill-based Interceptor. My total system volume, including the frag tank, is around 315 gallons, so my plan was to dose one large pill per 50 gallons each week—for six weeks. That meant six large pills per dose. A serious investment, but I was ready.
Weeks 1 to 3 were honestly pretty exciting. In the first week, I noticed a bit more PE on my acros—though still nothing major with my tenuis. Then weeks 2 and 3 brought a huge growth spurt! I could see daily changes—new growth at the base and tips of my acros. It felt like the tank had finally turned a corner.
But then came the “dark ages.” Weeks 4 through 6 were rough. Dino outbreaks exploded—seriously, everywhere. Algae started popping up on rocks, sand, pipes, pumps—you name it. I saw flashes of hair algae, cyano, diatoms… all at once. It was chaos. The tank’s bacterial balance clearly shifted hard, and it showed.
Corals across the board responded badly. My beloved King Kong shrooms shriveled up. All my LPS retracted. The acros and tenuis that had just started perking up lost their PE again—some even looked worse than before. TSA Carolina Reaper was the only acro still looking decent, but even that one eventually browned out. PE vanished, colors dulled. TSA The Fuzz went from “super fuzz” to flat brown. Tenuis, while paler, held onto some PE—which was at least something. To top it all off, my once-purple frag tank floor—previously covered in healthy coralline algae—turned into a mess. The coralline flaked off in chunks, clogging my gyres and leaving bare glass behind.
I did end up having two "losses". I put this in quotes because the corals are still alive. When the bacteria changed the bases of two corals started to STN. One is unnamed but the other, Garf Bonsai, is fairly well known. Almost the entire base turned white and I for sure thought I lost the coral. As time went on, it slowed and stopped. Oddly, PE & color was still good through all of it. I just have never seen a coral STN from the bottom up and not nuke the whole thing. But, here we are.
It was honestly heartbreaking. Seeing everything crash after trying so hard was tough—and I’ll admit, it got me pretty down. But I stayed the course.
My last Interceptor dose was in early April. And now, I’m thrilled to say the tank has finally bounced back! Dino’s are gone. The algae has receded (though I did use some Red Slime Remover to help). Corals are coloring up again—TSA Carolina Reaper is a vibrant mix of red and green and looking fuzzier than ever! My latest ICP results came back with normal, healthy levels across the board. Even the LPS and mushrooms are perky and happy again.
I do still have a few acros in recovery mode—low-ish PE, still a little green—but they’re slowly improving. Honestly, I’m just so excited to see the tank finally stabilizing and thriving again.
It’s been a long and bumpy road, but I wanted to share my experience so others know what to expect when going down this path. If you’re considering a serious Interceptor treatment, know that it can work—but it might test your patience and your tank’s resilience along the way. Hang in there. The recovery is worth it!
I took a video over the weekend of some of my corals, I'll put some comments about each one below -- each link is to the same video but I mark times at which each coral noted below appears
TSA Bubble Yum (tenuis)
Before: Pale, low coloration, no PE
After: Coloring up, blue's and pinks, lots of PE!
JF Blow Torch (tenuis)
Before: Nice colors, zero PE
After: Colors still recovering but you can see pinks/reds/blue's. Lots of PE! Lot's of growth too, lots of new branches forming near the base in the vid
CC Disney JR (tenuis)
Before: hyper pink coloration, minimal PE
After: Pink is returning, not as vibrant yet. PE is still recovering but all are present and coming out! Back behind it you can see WWC Heartbreaker (went green during treatment)
POTO Side Chick (acro)
Before: slow growth, nice colors, low PE
After: Colored up even more, lots of fast growth, and lots of PE!
TSA Carolina Reaper (acro)
Before: Bright red colors, lush PE, fast growing
After: Still coloring up, mid-way imo, MORE PE, growth returning
CC Pink Highlighter
Before: Nice pink color, nothing else color-wise, low low low PE, slow/no growth
After: Multiple colors -- pink, yellow, blue, lots of PE, and growth branches!
TSA Princess Peach
Before: Nice colors but not full, good PE, not great, mid growth
After: Colors returning (went all brown), still low PE but it's out at night, growth back to a mid-rate.
TSA Skywalker Millie
Before: No colors (green-ish), No PE, no growth
After: Color! Lots of PE, as it should be lol, and growing at the base like crazy!
JF Jolt -- this one I'm super happy about
Before: No growth, no color other than blue, no PE, notorious slow-grower
After: Colors, LOTS of them! Red polyps, blue branches, even some greens/yellows. Growth is going fast at the base, and seeing some new branches sprout up!
Vivids Confetti
Before: Slow growth, nice colors, mild PE
After: Fast growth, more vivid colors, lots of PE!
Bahama Mama Millie
Before: No growth, no color, no PE
After: Noticing some base growth, its got some color and PE now!! wooo!
Needless to say, I'm super happy with my results! I hope this post helps someone else in some way.
