Interceptor expiration date

[drw94]

So I have red bugs. Big bummer. The question is I have some interceptor that has been expired for 5 years. Do you think it will still work? My first thought it is still good. I only need to treat 50 gallons.

[Whisperer]

Do you have other choice? I would use it, it may still work.

[strittmatter]

For drugs used on humans usually the expiration date is when the drug reaches 90% of it original potency. I suspect it would be the same for interceptor. I know some antibiotics are dangerous outside of there expiration date but my guess is the interceptor is just not as strong as it was 5+ years ago.

[aqua80]

no problems to use it...
for human consumption, at the expiration date the product must retain at least 90% of its original strength... most of the time a dry pill kept in good condition will keep 90% of its strenght for at least 10 years...

i've used interceptor expired for 3 years 2 times and worked great.

[drw94]

Good news and bad news. I did an interceptor bath on two corals and it still works. Dead bugs all over. Bad news is I looked at some other corals I thought were unaffected and I was wrong. So I have a few options. I can treat the whole tank and write of my hermits and two shrimps. Or I can buy a bunch of other new corals and treat the tank and still right of the crabs and hermits. I think I got my wife talked into option 2. Either way the only option is to treat the whole tank. I might in the future buy a pipe fish that is supposed to eat these little bugs.
This just shows that everything needs to be dipped and redipped. I never did this as I bought all corals from a single source except two. The two I bought were well inspected and no signs of anything. One was a montipora so that eliminates that one all together and the other was a one inch frags of tricolor acro. This leads me to believe my LFS has red bugs. This surprises me alot as they are good friends of mine and know first hand how they take care to try to eliminate all pest with dips.

[Whisperer]

Hermits are easy to catch. They are nocturnal, you can find them sleeping between and under small rocks. I am talking about the red hermits, btw.

[psteeleb]

FYI - though redbugs are clearly fond of Acroporas, they have been found on other SPS and some LPS, so don't discount getting them on a Montepora. Some people I've talked to even believe they can survive (for periods of time undetermined) on things other then corals.