Are red bugs really that bad?

[tom obrecht]

So I confirmed last night I have bugs, my corals not me!☺️ After reading numerous articles on how to eradicate them and the dangers of killing helpful critters such as crabs the thought came to mind...are they the kind of pest that can take down a reef? I mean they are annoying and can cause irritation to the coral but can they actually wipe out my display? Obviously they come from the ocean right? How does nature combat these? I've had flatworms a number times thru the past 20 years of reefing and over time they disappeared.
I've read that dragon pipefish will eat them but most who have tried those say they don't touch the bugs. If Red bugs started in the ocean initially something must eat them if they are truly bad for corals or we would be out of cors right? I know this sounds dumb but I'm at a bit of a dilemma. If I nuke the display to get rid of the bugs I eliminate my clean up crew and crabs simply because I can't get to them. What happens if I just let things go? Coral death?:uhoh3:

[Tweaked]

If you want to keep SPS, and healthy SPS at that, you need to eradicate them. In nature, there are natural predators to them, and the colonies are typically larger and can handle a few bugs. You can also just simply remove your acros for a few months and treat in a separate tank is all. Pretty easy to do, and worth it if you like to PE on your acros.

[markalot]

How about lowering the tank temperature to eradicate them rather than trying to do an in-tank dosing? I've read 72F can kill them and if done slowly not harm the acros. ???

[Logzor]

If you have a tank full of acropora then you want to treat them with medication. Red bugs will not kill acropora but will slowly weaken them over time an reduce polyp extension. Ultimately, this may result in the death of the coral or cause RTN if it gets bad enough.

Dosing interceptor is the best and lowest risk treatment. There are literally no negative side affects aside from potentially killing shrimp and crabs. Lowering your tank temp and potentially killing everything is very risky. Adding another animal to kill the red bugs is a waste of time and you'll just end up killing the pipe fish.

Spend $60 on the meds and wipe out the red bugs swiftly.

If you choose to go the dosing route:

Go to joespetmeds.com and order large dog interceptor spectrum. You must to administer the treatment three times over the course of a month or so. If you do not dose three times the red bugs will come back.

Remove the crabs from your tank or risk keeping them in. They might be dizzy or lethargic for a few days, I once dosed with my blood shrimp in the tank with no issues. I added a whole pill to my 150g reef but some people use less. I didn't bother running carbon afterwords and didn't do a water change. I didn't have any problems, you can do both if your concerned but let the meds run for 24 hours.

[JB NY]

I all honesty they are not that bad, Before we had a cure for them, lots of people just had them on their corals. I still was able to grow out large colorful colonies from frags with red bugs. I would recommend getting rid of them, but they will not kill you corals.

[tom obrecht]

So all I can locate is the chewable tablets. Is that what people are using? The reading I've done shows a hard table crushed into a powder then dissolved in water added to the tank. Am I looking at the wrong product? Can someone give me a direct link please! Sorry but I must be dumb!

[plantastic]

I, too, don't think they are pest worth the annihilation of all the perifereal organisms that are beneficial to a healthy reef, especially if you have a mature sand bed. I haven't experienced the loss of color, or weakened colony due to red bugs. I have experienced them multiple times. I only become aware of them, when looking at extreme close up macro photography, not because my corals/tank is failing to thrive.

If it is a brand new tank, with just a handful of frags, then I would treat them in separate QT, if you are adamant on eradication.

[Tweaked]

I for one wouldn't be able to sleep at night knowing my babies had fleas irritating them. Just one man's opinion however.

[Logzor]

So all I can locate is the chewable tablets. Is that what people are using? The reading I've done shows a hard table crushed into a powder then dissolved in water added to the tank. Am I looking at the wrong product? Can someone give me a direct link please! Sorry but I must be dumb!

Only the chewable tablets exist. The old version has been discontinued. The good news is that the new stuff works as good as the old stuff.

Here you go, you want the large dog version:

http://www.joespetmeds.com/heartworm-medication/interceptor-heartworm.htm

This ships from the opposite side of the globe but you don't need a prescription. Get on their mailing list for a $5 coupon which covers most of the shipping cost. I've ordered successful from Joe multiple times.

[tom obrecht]

Only the chewable tablets exist. The old version has been discontinued. The good news is that the new stuff works as good as the old stuff.

Here you go, you want the large dog version:

http://www.joespetmeds.com/heartworm-medication/interceptor-heartworm.htm

This ships from the opposite side of the globe but you don't need a prescription. Get on their mailing list for a $5 coupon which covers most of the shipping cost. I've ordered successful from Joe multiple times.

Thank you!

[offdahooklikeoj]

Get rid of them now, that way in the future if you experience any other sps issues you will be able to rule out red bugs.

[tom obrecht]

Get rid of them now, that way in the future if you experience any other sps issues you will be able to rule out red bugs.

Good point!

[spsfreak25]

have you read about blue stripe pipefish. I have used them in the past and they do eat red bugs. they will also eat acro eating flatworms. I love the lil guys

[tom obrecht]

have you read about blue stripe pipefish. I have used them in the past and they do eat red bugs. they will also eat acro eating flatworms. I love the lil guys

Are you kidding! What a weird coincidence....I picked one of those up at my LFS this morning!! That's crazy! I hope he does the job!
I ordered the interceptor just in case.

[rovster]

They are more of an irritant, that said of a coral becomes infested they can irritate to a point that causes damage and or death. If your corals are super healthy it's usually not a problem. If your corals health becomes compromised the bugs can certainly take it over the edge....

[cmcoker]

Only the chewable tablets exist. The old version has been discontinued. The good news is that the new stuff works as good as the old stuff.

Here you go, you want the large dog version:

http://www.joespetmeds.com/heartworm-medication/interceptor-heartworm.htm

This ships from the opposite side of the globe but you don't need a prescription. Get on their mailing list for a $5 coupon which covers most of the shipping cost. I've ordered successful from Joe multiple times.
The original form (hard tablets) are back on the market, back in the spring.

I would get the tablet form.

http://m.1800petmeds.com/mt/www.1800petmeds.com/Interceptor-prod100142.html?q=Interceptor&un_jtt_redirect

[tom obrecht]

The original form (hard tablets) are back on the market, back in the spring.

I would get the tablet form.

http://m.1800petmeds.com/mt/www.1800petmeds.com/Interceptor-prod100142.html?q=Interceptor&un_jtt_redirect

So this being said and I already ordered the soft tabs...how do I administer to the tank with the soft tabs? Dissolve in tank water and add to the display?

[rburns24]

-
Yes. Dissolve it in water. I turned my skimmer off after dumping it in the tank and
left it off for a full day. I did 3 doses 5 days apart. This is to kill any of the red bugs
that hatched from eggs between doses.
-

[sahin]

If you have a tank full of acropora then you want to treat them with medication. Red bugs will not kill acropora but will slowly weaken them over time an reduce polyp extension. Ultimately, this may result in the death of the coral or cause RTN if it gets bad enough.

Dosing interceptor is the best and lowest risk treatment. There are literally no negative side affects aside from potentially killing shrimp and crabs. Lowering your tank temp and potentially killing everything is very risky. Adding another animal to kill the red bugs is a waste of time and you'll just end up killing the pipe fish.

Spend $60 on the meds and wipe out the red bugs swiftly.

If you choose to go the dosing route:

Go to joespetmeds.com and order large dog interceptor spectrum. You must to administer the treatment three times over the course of a month or so. If you do not dose three times the red bugs will come back.

Remove the crabs from your tank or risk keeping them in. They might be dizzy or lethargic for a few days, I once dosed with my blood shrimp in the tank with no issues. I added a whole pill to my 150g reef but some people use less. I didn't bother running carbon afterwords and didn't do a water change. I didn't have any problems, you can do both if your concerned but let the meds run for 24 hours.

I for one wouldn't be able to sleep at night knowing my babies had fleas irritating them. Just one man's opinion however.

I would get rid of them.

Like Joe says, you can grow and colour up SPS with Redbugs in your system...BUT I say get rid of them for a few reasons. I had Redbugs in my system around a couple of years ago. They were in my system for at least 8 months. I did notice their population go crazy and then reduce...not sure why.

During the time they were in my system some SPS wouldnt colour up:
SSC and some smooth skinned. The SSC was nicely coloured up before the RB's. Tenuis and Selago etc lost their green base and became brown.

Other SPS lost PE:
SSC and Granulosa and a few others lost PE.

Millepora etc were not affected as far as I could tell. These were still nicely coloured and had great PE.

After I treated for RB's I remember how the granulosa quickly regained PE and the SSC regained PE and colour. Actually, the SSC looked pretty unhealthy...within a week of treatment the SSC looked so much better!

I used to think they are not so bad before. I remember a thread from around 12 years back reefers were arguing over whether RB's are really bad or not. Back then and upto the point before I treated my tank, I thought they arent so bad...and they arent...but they do impact some SPS more than others.

However I would treat my tank right away now if I found my corals were infected with RB's.

All my SPS get a 10 hour triple dose of Interceptor and QT before going in my system now.

For sure ones corals can survive just fine with RB's in the system, but IME not all will be at their best. i didnt lose anything, but have heard of others losing some acros to RB's due to over infestation.

The other thing to realise is that you cannot swap/sell frags...even selling a zoa on a frag plug can potentially infect someone else's system. Not saying you personally, but just pointing out the potential impact.

[Tweaked]

have you read about blue stripe pipefish. I have used them in the past and they do eat red bugs. they will also eat acro eating flatworms. I love the lil guys

I never understood how anyone was able to keep these in a reef environment with powerheads.

[tom obrecht]

I would get rid of them.

Like Joe says, you can grow and colour up SPS with Redbugs in your system...BUT I say get rid of them for a few reasons. I had Redbugs in my system around a couple of years ago. They were in my system for at least 8 months. I did notice their population go crazy and then reduce...not sure why.

During the time they were in my system some SPS wouldnt colour up:
SSC and some smooth skinned. The SSC was nicely coloured up before the RB's. Tenuis and Selago etc lost their green base and became brown.

Other SPS lost PE:
SSC and Granulosa and a few others lost PE.

Millepora etc were not affected as far as I could tell. These were still nicely coloured and had great PE.

After I treated for RB's I remember how the granulosa quickly regained PE and the SSC regained PE and colour. Actually, the SSC looked pretty unhealthy...within a week of treatment the SSC looked so much better!

I used to think they are not so bad before. I remember a thread from around 12 years back reefers were arguing over whether RB's are really bad or not. Back then and upto the point before I treated my tank, I thought they arent so bad...and they arent...but they do impact some SPS more than others.

However I would treat my tank right away now if I found my corals were infected with RB's.

All my SPS get a 10 hour triple dose of Interceptor and QT before going in my system now.

For sure ones corals can survive just fine with RB's in the system, but IME not all will be at their best. i didnt lose anything, but have heard of others losing some acros to RB's due to over infestation.

The other thing to realise is that you cannot swap/sell frags...even selling a zoa on a frag plug can potentially infect someone else's system. Not saying you personally, but just pointing out the potential impact.

Appreciate the advice. Yes I agree on infecting others systems. I knowingly would never purposely sell corals that had issues. I know it happens and perhaps that's how I obtained mine. Who knows and it makes no difference now. Anyway I'll treat and see what comes about by doing so. Thanks!

[sahin]

Appreciate the advice. Yes I agree on infecting others systems. I knowingly would never purposely sell corals that had issues. I know it happens and perhaps that's how I obtained mine. Who knows and it makes no difference now. Anyway I'll treat and see what comes about by doing so. Thanks!

You will need to ensure you remove shrimps and hermits and other crabs. To ensure you do NOT re-infect any Redbugs via the hermit crabs shells etc I would keep them in a temporary small tank/bucket with a small filter etc for a week and half. From what I read on the subject, without SPS the redbugs die within a week.

I've had my Fire/Blood shrimp survive 3 treatments...he is still in my tank to this day. However, each time I treated the tank he used to fall to the sandbed but would recover after a water change.

Pods to die off. But even without reseeding the population does rebound. If you seed with a good pod kit or piece of liverock the pods will return.