rsaha
01/20/2014, 09:14 PM
I buried this in my build thread but thought I'd post a thread people could find in the future.
This is a not bad picture of what redbugs look like through the macro lens of a camera. They are the little yellow things with red dots at one end.
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5495/12042532085_35d6d6fd32_b.jpg
I have redbugs. I am in Canada so getting Interceptor is relatively easy. Just go to the vet and ask nice still works.
I also found this link that suggests it is back in production in the US http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/dvm/Parasitology+Center/Sentinel-Flavor-Tabs-reintroduced-to-veterinary-ma/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/810830?contextCategoryId=45703
You want to get the large dog pills for 51-100 lb dogs. These pills contain 23mg of milbemycin oxime. One pill doses 380 gallons of total aquarium water volume although many report no ill effects from over dosing. Before dosing you are supposed to stop your carbon/gfo and disconnect the air intake from your skimmer but leave it running. I used a full half pill for my 120ish gallon system. I cut the pill in half with a razor and ground it to powder with the back of a spoon. I tried to dissolve it into a cup of tank water but it did not dissolve fully. I assumed that it would eventually dissolve if introduced to the aquarium I also did run my gfo reactor long enough to cycle the water through it (medicated water) to make sure there were no redbugs left alive in the gfo reactor to repopulate.
I ran the Interceptor for 24 hours and then put 1 cup of fresh carbon into the reactor, did a 15 percent water change and reconnected the air inlet on my skimmer. After 24 hours of carbon I replaced the carbon in the filter (1 cup again). I will put the gfo back on line 48 hours after the end of the first treatment and remove the carbon from the system.
As warned all my crabs and shrimp died. I didn't have a ton so not the end of the world. Everything else appears to be fine. Snails, fish, corals and starfish were apparently unaffected. I have not yet seen my cucumber.
I cannot find any sign of the redbugs. I will be repeating the treatment after 7 days and again 7 days after that (three treatments one week apart) as recommended and will continue to report in hopes of providing a successful guide to eliminating redbugs. Some people have reported success after a single treatment and some have reported success after two treatments but others have noted a resurgence of redbugs when not completing the full course.
I have also heard of dramatic improvements of PE and colour and will post photos if I see any marked short term improvement.
This is a not bad picture of what redbugs look like through the macro lens of a camera. They are the little yellow things with red dots at one end.
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5495/12042532085_35d6d6fd32_b.jpg
I have redbugs. I am in Canada so getting Interceptor is relatively easy. Just go to the vet and ask nice still works.
I also found this link that suggests it is back in production in the US http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/dvm/Parasitology+Center/Sentinel-Flavor-Tabs-reintroduced-to-veterinary-ma/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/810830?contextCategoryId=45703
You want to get the large dog pills for 51-100 lb dogs. These pills contain 23mg of milbemycin oxime. One pill doses 380 gallons of total aquarium water volume although many report no ill effects from over dosing. Before dosing you are supposed to stop your carbon/gfo and disconnect the air intake from your skimmer but leave it running. I used a full half pill for my 120ish gallon system. I cut the pill in half with a razor and ground it to powder with the back of a spoon. I tried to dissolve it into a cup of tank water but it did not dissolve fully. I assumed that it would eventually dissolve if introduced to the aquarium I also did run my gfo reactor long enough to cycle the water through it (medicated water) to make sure there were no redbugs left alive in the gfo reactor to repopulate.
I ran the Interceptor for 24 hours and then put 1 cup of fresh carbon into the reactor, did a 15 percent water change and reconnected the air inlet on my skimmer. After 24 hours of carbon I replaced the carbon in the filter (1 cup again). I will put the gfo back on line 48 hours after the end of the first treatment and remove the carbon from the system.
As warned all my crabs and shrimp died. I didn't have a ton so not the end of the world. Everything else appears to be fine. Snails, fish, corals and starfish were apparently unaffected. I have not yet seen my cucumber.
I cannot find any sign of the redbugs. I will be repeating the treatment after 7 days and again 7 days after that (three treatments one week apart) as recommended and will continue to report in hopes of providing a successful guide to eliminating redbugs. Some people have reported success after a single treatment and some have reported success after two treatments but others have noted a resurgence of redbugs when not completing the full course.
I have also heard of dramatic improvements of PE and colour and will post photos if I see any marked short term improvement.