Red Bug Treatment ?

[arredondojason]

So im getting ready to treat my tank for redbugs and everything I have been reading says to remove shrimp and hermits crabs and crabs.

So my question is do I have to remove my starfish, and snails or are they fine in the water for this treatment.

[Psirex]

what product are you using?

[arredondojason]

my bad interceptor

[JSeymour]

They should be fine if dosed properly. Only crustaceans seem to be affected. I'd just take a 20 oz. soda bottle with some sinking food in it and push it into the sand so the opening is on the sand bed. Within 30 minutes or so, most hermits will be trapped and the ones that aren't will be gathered around the bottle, easy to find and pick up.

All new corals should be treated with Interceptor to remove parasitic copepods. Red bugs aren't the only ones out there, Aquarium Corals: Stony Coral Parasites: Part One: Copepods, Not Just Red Bugs (http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2010/1/corals), Aquarium Corals: Stony Coral Parasites, Part Two: Copepods: Family Xarifiidae (http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2010/2/corals), Feature Article: Parasitic Copepods: Enemies of Soft Corals, False Corals, Gorgonians, Anemones, Zoanthids, and Tridacna Clams (http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2010/4/aafeature). True, some of these are quite rare, but it only takes one egg-carrying female to start an infestation and become the next scourge.

And then there's flatworms...

[arredondojason]

no these are for sure red bugs and they are spreading and I am taking care of it but thanks for all the good info.

[Psirex]

are they red flatworms?

http://www.lionfishlair.com/hitchhiker/hitchhiker.shtml

if so use flatworm exit no need to remove anything.

[JSeymour]

Sorry, I wasn't saying they are flatworms, just pointing out that you'll want to implement a treatment/quarantine system for new corals. Red bugs are easy to treat in tank, parasitic flatworms are not quite as easy.

[arredondojason]

ya i dip everything im not sure what coral they came in on but it was a slow explosion so I assume I didnt dip for long enough on that coral and a few survived and started breeding just my luck but not to hard to fix.