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View Full Version : Thank God for Interceptor! Acro newbies please read!


dirtyreefer
11/05/2005, 01:06 AM
I was always one of those reefkeepers that thought to myself "I don't have or couldn't have redbugs!" I've always blamed it on my husbandry, or because I didn't have a calcium reactor, or I have too much nutrients in my water column etc (even though I clean my glass less than once/week).

Man, was I ever wrong. I previously thought I did a pretty good job at observing my SPS many times for bugs or nudis etc (inside my tank), but never saw anything. I guess I don't have a trained eye like some of you guys do because to me these things are almost impossible to see with the naked eye. Until NOW! :eek:

After putting acros in my tank (frags and colonies) these past few months and slowly watching them decline in health (lose PE, loss of coloration, blotchy white spots etc), I decided to take a suffering acro out of the water and place it in a separate container with some tankwater in it. I then took a turkey baster and blasted it with water inside the container. Afterwards I placed the coral back into the tank and examined the container of water. It took a long time, but I finally noticed some red bugs swimming around. I didn't see that many, but at least it confirmed that I had red bugs.

I picked up some interceptor yesterday and performed my first recommended dosage for 6 hours followed by a 25% water change. I did notice my bali tricolor had better coloration as well as crazy PE on my pink milli almost immediately after that water change. Two more treatments to go! :cool:

Today I noticed that my acros are doing sooo much better. Better coloration, more PE, just healthier!! Most of my hermit crabs that I removed before the treatment died, but it was a small price to pay to save hundreds/thousands of dollars worth of current and future acros.

My message to all of you that wonder why they're losing color, or why there's no PE etc; and you also know that you are diligently maintaining your parms as best you can is to do the turkey baster test!! I hope I can at least help out another fellow reefer with the same symptoms to save any future loss of SPS due to thinking "That will never happen to me!" ;) I feel so much better that it's not my husbandry but because it was something else.

Now if only there was something that would consistently treat monti or acro nudis :confused:

drake66
11/05/2005, 02:38 AM
Very nice reference! *bookmarks it*

fishdoc11
11/05/2005, 07:42 AM
It's a good feeling isn't it:)

ahchung
11/05/2005, 10:27 AM
Originally posted by dirtyreefer
Most of my hermit crabs that I removed before the treatment died

Sorry I don't understand this. So did you remove the hermit crabs before the treatment, then performed the treatment, then put the hermit crabs back to the tank, and then most of the hermit crabs died?

Gobie
11/05/2005, 11:22 AM
I have Acroporas covered with the “bugs” and no problems in over four years. I fraged them several times. Acroporas are all fine and they grow and attach fast. Never lost one or had one bleach.

dirtyreefer
11/05/2005, 11:25 AM
Originally posted by ahchung
Sorry I don't understand this. So did you remove the hermit crabs before the treatment, then performed the treatment, then put the hermit crabs back to the tank, and then most of the hermit crabs died?

Yes, that's exactly what I did. Unfortunately they don't do too well with the treatment. There are others who say they were unaffected, but I followed the dosage pretty good but it still didn't help.

dirtyreefer
11/05/2005, 11:25 AM
Originally posted by Gobie
I have Acroporas covered with the �bugs� and no problems in over four years. I fraged them several times. Acroporas are all fine and they grow and attach fast. Never lost one or had one bleach.

You're pretty lucky, but I bet you'd see results if you performed a treatment :)

fishdoc11
11/05/2005, 11:33 AM
I have Acroporas covered with the “bugs” and no problems in over four years. I fraged them several times. Acroporas are all fine and they grow and attach fast. Never lost one or had one bleach.


I hope you tell the people you sell/trade them to that you have red bugs:)

FWIW it's a good idea to wait about a week before putting arthropods back into a treated tank. I had the same experience with loosing crabs I put back in the next day.

Chris

Gobie
11/05/2005, 11:40 AM
No, these bugs that people are finding are living on the coral as they do in the wild. I know for a fact that they are harmless to the coral and that they are found on them in the wild. They just live on acroporas because of the slime they produce. The corals don’t even know they are there. They collect particles trapped in the slime, they don’t eat the coral. These bugs have been around for years now with all the publicity with the internet they have become a problem.

People are looking closely and finding them now. Everyone with acroporas will find them eventually, they just don’t know they have them yet.

yznhmr
11/05/2005, 11:46 AM
interesting concept gobie, but in the wild the PARMS are perfect, in captivity the corals are already stressed some(some), and the bugs on them irritate them even more, so they dont flourish.
just my 2c

fishdoc11
11/05/2005, 11:49 AM
No, these bugs that people are finding are living on the coral as they do in the wild. I know for a fact that they are harmless to the coral and that they are found on them in the wild. They just live on acroporas because of the slime they produce. The corals don’t even know they are there. They collect particles trapped in the slime, they don’t eat the coral. These bugs have been around for years now with all the publicity with the internet they have become a problem.

Well IMO that's irresponsible.

Any links to studies that prove they don't harm corals in the wild? I have no doubt that they occour in the wild or we wouldn't have them in our tanks. IME red bugs DO harm corals in aquariums and I know of many other experienced sps keepers that would concour:)

Chris

otolith
11/05/2005, 12:17 PM
I agree that redbugs are "harmful" to acros. I couldn't believe the difference in how my corals looks after getting rid of the LRBs. The only problem I see with your argument, Gobie, is that in the wild, there are natural predators to red bugs that we don't have in our tanks, allowing the LRBs to "get outta control." Without anything to keep them in check, too many of them can/are problematic to our acros. FWIW.

Gobie
11/05/2005, 12:26 PM
I know a few people that always had the bugs and never did anything about it and their acros are growing like mad. I just followed their lead and have had the same success. Maybe they do harm some acros in captivity but not the species I have or I just have a very healthy coral.

yznhmr
11/05/2005, 12:41 PM
BTW i put in interceptor about 5 hours ago on my 1st of 3 treatments i will do, i have 450 gal water in my system, i will do a 100 gal wc, and run 1.5 lbs of carbon for 24 hrs, i will do this again in 7 days, and 7 days after that. I believe i will let the interceptor sit for 8-9 hours each time, and the 2nd and 3rd time i will increase dosage each time by 50%

dirtyreefer
11/05/2005, 03:41 PM
Originally posted by yznhmr
BTW i put in interceptor about 5 hours ago on my 1st of 3 treatments i will do, i have 450 gal water in my system, i will do a 100 gal wc, and run 1.5 lbs of carbon for 24 hrs, i will do this again in 7 days, and 7 days after that. I believe i will let the interceptor sit for 8-9 hours each time, and the 2nd and 3rd time i will increase dosage each time by 50%

Good luck with your treatment, hope everything goes well! :)

dirtyreefer
11/05/2005, 04:14 PM
Originally posted by fishdoc11
It's a good feeling isn't it:)

It sure is :)

I'm sooo happy it's not because of my husbandry. Up to this point I thought that it was my water parms etc. I am diligent when it comes to the overall health of my tank, and like to keep it looking immaculate. I spend at least 1 hour per day maintaining a "clean-looking" tank. Up till now I thought I was wasting my time :mad:

matt the fiddler
11/05/2005, 07:01 PM
woah.. wait a second...


Gobie, I know you think that you are 90% right, but i sure hope you tell people that there are red bugs on the corals... If there is even the slightest chance you are wrong for red bugs in any system... or if some one has a spicies of acro that is prone to red big damage.. you introduced a carrier coral.... ... ignore the rest of this post if you have told every person you have provided frags for before they got the corals...

it is very damaging and incredibly highly unethical to trade a infected coral with a known parasite that many well respected people have had, and have doccumented the damage it does to their corals... and the amount of health that came afterwards...

I know you have seen a couple of tanks..

let me look at the score..
"a few people's tanks i have seen" don't think they are harming.


vs..

probably 800-1000+ reefers, many have documented pictures before during and after infections.. including illiregular growth formations, coloration mishaps, stn, rtn, surly not all the fatalities wiht bugs are to blame on them.. but i haven't ran into to one person who said i wish i didn't treat for the bugs.. including my self.....

with how confident you seem about red bugs not damaging any acro, i hope you arn't "holding back telling" afraid people won't trade with you if you tell them... if you are right, then there is nothing lost.. if you are wrong.. you might as well throw a 9 volt battery in the people's tank who you gave frags to, inorder to round it off...

[/rant]




if you have a known parasite or plague in your tank either don't trade, or make it INCREDIBLY clear that your tank has it.

matt the fiddler
11/05/2005, 07:03 PM
could you please provide a scientific source, or a paper or an article that backs this up?

They just live on acroporas because of the slime they produce. The corals don’t even know they are there. They collect particles trapped in the slime, they don’t eat the coral.


we know they feed off the coral's slime.. but an overwhelming # of cases points to that it irritates pretty majorly as well

ssbreef
11/05/2005, 07:44 PM
I just dosed interceptor for the first time. YES I saw them TODAY! Damb things. dirtyreefer I also went through the same heart ack thinking it was me....

dirtyreefer
11/05/2005, 07:52 PM
Originally posted by Gobie
I know for a fact that they are harmless to the coral and that they are found on them in the wild. They just live on acroporas because of the slime they produce. The corals don�t even know they are there. They collect particles trapped in the slime, they don�t eat the coral.

There's one in every crowd :rolleyes:

matt the fiddler
11/05/2005, 07:52 PM
oh well.. i wonder how long we will wait for a paper or article containing his view...

conversly

gogin through my bookmarks when i had it..

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=470939

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/june2003/feature.htm


good article:)


"Such colonies continue to grow well, and healthy, the owner thinks nothing of trading the fragments of that colony with other reefkeepers. Once in a new tank, the parasites travel to Acropora species/variants more to their appetite and can eventually kill such colonies. My experience has been that if left untreated, only about 20% of Acropora species/variants are killed by the parasites, perhaps another 25% are stunted, or loose color, maybe another 25% are carriers, and the final 30% are immune and do not become colonized. Of course in times of other tank stresses like high temperatures, poor circulation, low calcium or alkalinity values, the additional ‘pressure’ that these parasites put on a colony might be enough to push other colonies ‘over the cliff.’
"

dirtyreefer
11/05/2005, 07:54 PM
Originally posted by ssbreef
I just dosed interceptor for the first time. YES I saw them TODAY! Damb things. dirtyreefer I also went through the same heart ack thinking it was me....

I hope your treatment was successful! Keep us posted on the results! :)

yznhmr
11/05/2005, 10:22 PM
well i lost most of my hermits(NBD) lost all of my acro crabs..., i saw dead bristle worms floating around, my sally made it along with my pistol shrimp.. no red bugs in site woo hoo...
only issue is the carbon made a big cloud in my whole system, very grey water.. i rinsed for 15 min, and couldnt get all the dust out.. i used Kent carbon, in a 100 micron bag (15 coffee cups of it in the bag)

jay24k
11/05/2005, 11:06 PM
That's why I'm worried about buying SPS from people on here. People who just sell it knowingly that they have red bugs. It's just not worth it.

ssbreef
11/06/2005, 01:53 AM
Well, I would never sell a coral to someone knowing I have the bugs. And I like to think that everyone that’s into SPS would do the same. Knowing what we go through to keep everything healthy and how much money we spend on this hobby.
Anyone that would knowingly sell me a coral that was infected, I would simply KILL!!:uzi: :wavehand:

jay24k
11/06/2005, 08:04 AM
I wasn't referring to you though just saying it in general.

Gobie
11/06/2005, 08:16 AM
Thats ok but I want to make this clear.
I do tell people I have the red bugs, most of them don’t care because they already have the bugs.
The ones that don’t have them treated the frags I gave them and they either don’t have the bugs now or the frags died from improperly treating for them.

Bryan89
11/06/2005, 04:08 PM
Even further proof of the reasons for an SPS quarantine tank, with a 1 month quarantine.

impur
11/07/2005, 05:35 PM
I am one person who had the redbugs and am sorry that i treated the tank for them. I don't dispute that the corals looked much better after the treatment for sure. But not only did i lose all my hermits, at least 90% of my pods, 2 porcelin crabs, and 1 emerald crab but i also got a horrible cyno outbreak thats taken 3 months to get rid of.

I will be removing all my SPS corals to a Q tank for at least a month and treating the bugs there.

prop-frags
11/07/2005, 06:12 PM
Interesting thread!
I too had the dreaded ARB and treated my system. I pulled out all the crabs and shrimp that I could easily catch and kept them in my Qtank. Wiped out my pods. Lost my cowfish, since he eats pods mostly (this is conjecture, but hey, isn't most of this hobby?). Corals looked a little better, nothing hugely dramatic, as so many have reported. But then again, most of my corals looked pretty good already, ARB and all.

I went for months with no problems. No ARB. The pods have not returned to anywhere near pre-treatment levels (as most have reported). I QT'd all new entries to the tank. Then I made a mistake...

Ordered 15lbs of live sand from a popular online retailer. Within 2 weeks, my turquoise stag is teeming with ARB. I cannot see them anywhere else, but I've got a careful eye out. Of course I didn't QT the live sand. That would be a nightmare logistically to pull off, plus, the whole reason I ordered it is to restore my pod population. I just never dreamed that ARBs would be in the sand. There's just no other source I could have gotten the infestation from that I can think of.

So my conclusion?

1) Be careful/aware of "collateral" damage of these treatments.
2) Just because you detect ARB in your system, doesn't necessarily mean they are causing harm in your system.
3) You can get ARB from unlikely sources.
4) Many in this hobby are driven by conjecture vs fact

I need to keep reading on this topic. Thanks to everyone who continues to post their ideas and experiences.

MiddletonMark
11/07/2005, 06:20 PM
Originally posted by jay24k
That's why I'm worried about buying SPS from people on here. People who just sell it knowingly that they have red bugs. It's just not worth it.

My take on this is to always ask.

People either say:
they have them and I'm crazy thinking they're bad.
they've treated, and are open + honest about it.
feed me a line.
say they don't have them.

Frankly, for a batch of frags - QT or else a 6 hour treatment in a bucket is a good way to ease my mind.

I don't think most vendors are open and honest about their treatment/QT practices - and question them just as much as I do another reefer.

ghost
11/07/2005, 11:43 PM
have to try this out

MiddletonMark
11/08/2005, 06:35 AM
Originally posted by Gobie
No, these bugs that people are finding are living on the coral as they do in the wild. I know for a fact that they are harmless to the coral and that they are found on them in the wild. They just live on acroporas because of the slime they produce. The corals don’t even know they are there.

I contrast this with:

Posted by EricHugo
http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums...p?t=5119&page=6

They sometimes can inhabit Acropora without causing much damage, or they can damage them to the point they die.

--- and from a later post ---

I sent some video to Mike for uploading. You can see for yourself. They are digging, clearly, into the coral tissue. I think those excellent microscopy photos in the first post are very telling - the epiflourescence shows red in the gut, and chl shows up red. Zooxanthellae would be my guess given the digging, the fluorescence in the gut and the bleaching signs on infested corals.

If you watch that movie - it sure doesn't seem like it's just slime being eaten ... and if they're getting zoox as suggested by Borneman above ... that's in the coral's flesh.

I guess I'd love to see the movie or evidence of them eating only bacteria on the surface.

panic
11/08/2005, 12:35 PM
As far as a quarantine tank:

Do the red bugs move freely in the water colomn?
Would a Q tank need to be on a separate system altogether to avoid RB contamination in one's display system?

fishdoc11
11/08/2005, 01:07 PM
Do the red bugs move freely in the water colomn?
Would a Q tank need to be on a separate system altogether to avoid RB contamination in one's display system?

From what I understand yes and yes.

onthefly
11/08/2005, 02:58 PM
I picked up some frags from a local guy...great deal $5 each, big frags, etc!

Anyway, one of the frags was this nice big stag frag. In his tank, it was cream/tan with blue tips. I asked him pointblank, "Do you have, or have you treated for RB's?" His reply, "NO, I've never had them and look at my tank". Got home, did a quick inspection.....that stag frag was loaded!!! Did a 2 hr interceptor treatment......counted 400+ RB that were left in the tupperware after treatment, I could only see 5-10 on the frag.

After 3 weeks in my tank...the whole frag is sky blue!

RB's can harm SPS!!!! At the very least, cause color issues and since we're all about the color.....I say, "terminate with extreme prejudice!!"

gwaco
11/08/2005, 07:45 PM
o.k. i'll give my two cents ! yes i have red bugs (still think they should be called yellow bugs ) ! but for me they are on the bottom of my worry list ! i have to agree with gobie on this one guys and say that it has not seemed at all to be hurting or stunting or bleaching doing anything to harm the acros that they are on , they are growing fine and coloring nicely . their seems to be so many variables that may be a contributing factor with the demise of a piece of coral and the visual of red bugs , changes in water chemistry , changes in tank temps (out of the ordinary rises and or drops ) lighting , coral allelopathy (chemical warfare) , that you didn't notice the bugs until the coral was already stressed , loosing tissue , and the bugs being opportunist took advantage of it . do we really know enough about these bugs to resort to chemical warfare ? a couple of articles are 'not' enough reason for me to dose a chemical that oviously has dramatic consequences to other animals in the tank .. now if someone comes up with a natural predator that won't go mental when all the red bugs are gone then i would be happy to do it .

ahchung
11/08/2005, 09:13 PM
Are you sure the color change is not related to your tank condition but only redbugs?

Also, what I learned from here is that interceptor treatment should be performed for a few times. You only performed once. Is there any chance that your tank is now infested with redbugs?

Originally posted by onthefly
I picked up some frags from a local guy...great deal $5 each, big frags, etc!

Anyway, one of the frags was this nice big stag frag. In his tank, it was cream/tan with blue tips. I asked him pointblank, "Do you have, or have you treated for RB's?" His reply, "NO, I've never had them and look at my tank". Got home, did a quick inspection.....that stag frag was loaded!!! Did a 2 hr interceptor treatment......counted 400+ RB that were left in the tupperware after treatment, I could only see 5-10 on the frag.

After 3 weeks in my tank...the whole frag is sky blue!

RB's can harm SPS!!!! At the very least, cause color issues and since we're all about the color.....I say, "terminate with extreme prejudice!!"

dirtyreefer
11/08/2005, 09:30 PM
Originally posted by ahchung
You only performed once. Is there any chance that your tank is now infested with redbugs?

I think there is always a chance that perhaps some "unhatched" bugs might have gotten into his tank since he only performed a 2 hour dip, but let's hope not ;)

I have heard that the norm is a 6 hour dip, but there's no guidelines or evidence that 6 hours must be performed.

ahchung
11/08/2005, 09:41 PM
I believe we need to take care of the eggs as well...

Originally posted by dirtyreefer
I think there is always a chance that perhaps some "unhatched" bugs might have gotten into his tank since he only performed a 2 hour dip, but let's hope not ;)

I have heard that the norm is a 6 hour dip, but there's no guidelines or evidence that 6 hours must be performed.

dirtyreefer
11/08/2005, 09:48 PM
Of course! :)

fishdoc11
11/08/2005, 10:47 PM
it has not seemed at all to be hurting or stunting or bleaching doing anything to harm the acros that they are on , they are growing fine and coloring nicely .

Some corals they don't effect. Also I don't know how many times(including at the start of this thread) that I've read/heard people say that you just don't realise how much they are effecting your corals until they are gone. I can also attest to this. I do think it's funny that I see posts that say the bugs don't effect their acros and yet in the next sentence the poster wonders what will eat them. I personally don't care if anyone treats their tank or not. The part that gets under my skin is people that trade knowingly with them. I personally treat all corals that I get now because of that and because it's a real possiblity someone could have them and not know. I wouldn't put an acro straight into my main tank( I have put a couple in my zoanthid tank and treated them later) even if it was given to me by my sister the nun.

No offense to my sister or any nuns out there:)

Chris

Gobie
11/09/2005, 07:58 AM
I had a theory that there may be different “pods” and that they are not all bad. I found this article.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-10/rs/index.php

Stenothoid amphipod = not bad - Harpacticoid copepods = bad They feed on corals!

Unless you have a microscope and know what you are looking for, you can't tell the difference. If you see “BUGS!” and go dumping chemicals into your tank to kill them and kill almost every thing else in your system it's fine with me. Everyone should remain calm and think it through and not go off half cocked saying, “If you see little moving specks on your acroporas, your in big trouble and you should use a dog medication in your tank."

Some people probably have stenothoid amphipods, they are commonly found living on acroporas. They don’t harm the coral. This is probably why some use the term “carrier”and some say they seem like they harm some acropora and not others. There are different “bugs”. The color changes, deaths and growth rates can be influenced buy many other variables including “BAD bugs”.

tld
11/09/2005, 08:25 AM
Originally posted by Gobie
Stenothoid amphipod = not bad - Harpacticoid copepods = bad They feed on corals!


That's a little misleading. Not all harpacticoid copepods are bad, just Tegastes sp., in the case of reef tanks containing Acroporids.

And furthermore, every sample I've checked under the microscope have been Tegastes sp. , not amphipods. Of course, I haven't checked every reefer's tank, but I've seen enough for myself to know what they are. And I do have training in such matters. One of my previous jobs for about 5 years was sorting amphipods and specifically harpacticoid copepods.

Gobie
11/09/2005, 08:40 AM
What I was trying to get across, was that there are a lot of things that will live on corals and they are not all bad. Some look a lot alike.

tld
11/09/2005, 09:00 AM
Oh I agree with you on that point - there's tons of microscopic life in our aquaria and plenty of stuff living on/in/around corals. When something goes wrong and a hobbyist discovers an "unknown" critter on a dying/dead acro, it's easy to jump to conclusions.

There are no scientific papers that I know of proving that "red bugs" cause harm to corals. There is however, plenty of anecdotal evidence that Acroporids seem to fare better without "red bugs" present in large numbers. I too, have seen tanks infected with bugs - the corals are growing and seem fine. After treating my own systems, I can't help but wonder how those infected tanks would look without "red bugs". I understand that it's a hard decision to make - to kill most of the other microscopic crustaceans just to get rid of one species. In an 80-90% acro tank, I would do it without hesitation. In a mixed reef with only a couple of acros, I would be hesitant to treat.

marinelife
11/09/2005, 12:02 PM
There are people that have worked with the bugs and know that they cause problems

onthefly
11/09/2005, 12:07 PM
Coloring up is def. do to interceptor. The frag went from a begin under a 2x 400W radium to a 1x 70W 10kK ushio. The expected color change, if due to lighting, would have been the opposite (blue to brown)....I mean when was the last time you "greatly" reduced the lighting and had a brown coral turn blue?

For dip purposes....I use a 20X soln of interceptor for 2 hrs....with a heater and PH for circulation. ALL DEAD!

No eggs......I can't remember the thread, but Borneman's work suggested these bugs were brooders, not layers.

As a scientist, I don't need scietific literature to say the RB cause "issues" with corals....especially poor PE and poor color! My own observations tell me otherwise...

marinelife
11/09/2005, 12:15 PM
I was talked about on reef frontiers by eric that they cause problems and dig into the coral.

MiddletonMark
11/09/2005, 02:20 PM
I quoted/linked that thread above ... but no one seems to have noticed :lmao:

marinelife
11/09/2005, 02:39 PM
hehehe, that Mark

fishdoc11
11/09/2005, 04:37 PM
I noticed Mark but the link isn't working.

MiddletonMark
11/09/2005, 04:50 PM
You're right, I'll track the right one down :)

KH971
11/09/2005, 05:36 PM
I removed 5 pieces of rock from my tank before i treated,to help restore some of the pod population. I have them in a seperate rubbermaid sump with flow, heat and pc light. I plan on putting the rock back in after 12 days, that should be long enough for the bug to perish? The rock only has some zooanthids. I am only doing 2 treatments.

MiddletonMark
11/09/2005, 05:52 PM
Here we go, post #88 and at least a couple more good ones.
http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5119&page=6
Also look for the movie :)

[otherwise, www.reeffrontiers.com, advanced topics, `red bugs, inevitable?' page 6 [and more]

gwaco
11/09/2005, 06:08 PM
you all may be correct in your discoveries , and i am not doubting any results that you have observed when using interceptor. i just remember the big bristle worm scare and everyone trying to eradicate them , now after there has been more research done they are welcomed ! i just don't feel like jumping the gun , if when i feel that they comprimise the health of the corals , i am glad that there is a way to rid them .

fishdoc11
11/09/2005, 06:21 PM
Thanks for the link Mark...good stuff. I was and still am under the impression that at the recommended dosages Interceptor only kills arthropods and nematodes since it is geared towards heartworms(nematodes) and the mites that cause mange(arthropods). I was aware that it killed polycheates at higher than the recommended dosage but had not read/heard that the recommended dosage would kill them and this is also not my experience. I also don't have any Trochus snails and hadn't heard that Interceptor was toxic to any mollusk but apparently Eric has evidence to that effect.
Chris

PaintGuru
11/10/2005, 03:47 PM
Anyone know if/how the interceptor breaks down over time? I just recently found bugs on a frag I got (I think they are bugs), but don't want to treat the whole tank as I have 2 cleaner shrimp. I see many people say they nuke all their new frags with interceptor (20x concentration someone here said). My question is, do you guys mix up new batches every time you get new frags or just keep the same dip solution? I'm thinking of trying to concentrated dip method on my one frag first before going to larger scale methods.

fishdoc11
11/10/2005, 04:04 PM
I mix up new each time. Also the pills being sealed indicates that the dry medication will degrade over time once opened.

PaintGuru
11/10/2005, 04:41 PM
Originally posted by fishdoc11
I mix up new each time. Also the pills being sealed indicates that the dry medication will degrade over time once opened.

Got ya I guess that is why people dip with small quantities of water :).

onthefly
11/10/2005, 05:56 PM
I took several pills and crushed them in a mortal/pestle and aliquoted them (2.5mg) into 1.5mL snap-cap tubes (eppies to the scienctists). They've been in the freezer for 2 years now and all I do is thaw one, add it to my QT dip, and bam.....dead bugs!

So, 2 years in the freezer, technically out of the package (but well cared for), and still every bit as potent.

fishdoc11
11/10/2005, 05:59 PM
Freezing.....good point:)

PaintGuru
11/10/2005, 08:31 PM
Originally posted by onthefly
I took several pills and crushed them in a mortal/pestle and aliquoted them (2.5mg) into 1.5mL snap-cap tubes (eppies to the scienctists). They've been in the freezer for 2 years now and all I do is thaw one, add it to my QT dip, and bam.....dead bugs!

So, 2 years in the freezer, technically out of the package (but well cared for), and still every bit as potent.

What volume water do you use for your dip?

reeftec
11/11/2005, 05:56 AM
what the hack this thread gave me all the push that i needed,i have had them for about 2 years now(that i know of),with not any major losses,but recently noticed a few frags that i brought from treated system to my tank didnot do as good as they did with no bug,so i have been doing research for a couple montha ,but just hesitant because i have tons of little shrimps,etc that i am worried thier die off could cause problem,but anyway i guess i'll try it ,good thing i have a dog ,i know some people had problem getting the drug

onthefly
11/11/2005, 11:46 AM
PaintGuru - I'm not very exact....but we have a 8" diameter/5" deep piece of tupperware....probably 1/3 ga. So, I just did the math, it comes out to a 10x dip for 2 hours. I drop a microjet in there for good circulation.

Since treating my system, I've done this for at least a dozen frag with "visable" bugs....I've never seen one in my main tank since.

dirtyreefer
11/11/2005, 01:25 PM
Originally posted by reeftec
what the hack this thread gave me all the push that i needed,i have had them for about 2 years now(that i know of),with not any major losses,but recently noticed a few frags that i brought from treated system to my tank didnot do as good as they did with no bug,so i have been doing research for a couple montha ,but just hesitant because i have tons of little shrimps,etc that i am worried thier die off could cause problem,but anyway i guess i'll try it ,good thing i have a dog ,i know some people had problem getting the drug

I really hope the push you needed turns out to be a success. I have not had any shrimp casualties (I have 3 blood shrimps at $25/each), only hermits died.

Let us know how it goes.

yznhmr
11/13/2005, 10:12 AM
my sally LF and my anomone crab, and pistol shrimp made it, havent seen my cleaners yet.. doing the 2nd treatment (2nd of 3) today, playing the waiting game now..

birdman204
11/13/2005, 01:58 PM
I'm a little late to the party, But I was gona suggest that Maybe, perhaps maybe. there is a possibilty that there is more than one type of 'pod that would live on coral tissue. I mean, there's bacteria that "eats" dung right ;) i still find it odd to this day I have never seen any type of these described bugs in my system. Then again, I haven't added anything to my tank in over a year that hasn't been Quarantined. :)

From the article... refered to in reefkeeping....
" Figure 3. Acropora bugs. The upper right image is a harmless stenothoid amphipod, found on Acropora. The other three images are of a harpacticoid copepod, probably Tegastes, which parasitizes coral. Note the close similarity of shapes; and although distinct differences may be seen, they are subtle. Probably the best character to distinguish the two crustaceans is the number of eyes. Copepods have only one, amphipods have two. These animals are about 0.01 inch long"

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-10/rs/images/image004.jpg

Hockeydad
11/14/2005, 12:57 PM
I have a question regarding the Red Bugs….
Are they apparent in the tank? Highly visible? While I don’t suspect that I have red bugs, I want to make certain that I know where and what I am looking for in the tank. Clues please?

dirtyreefer
11/14/2005, 03:28 PM
I have to pick up the piece in order to find them, I can't just see them from looking in my tank.

Some people have a trained eye where they can see it just by looking into your tank.

fishdoc11
11/14/2005, 04:15 PM
IMO they are very hard to spot until you've actually spotted them. I think this is why we read/hear so many people say "I've had an sps tank for years and never treated and I don't have red bugs" etc.........FWIW the last two frag swaps we have had someone who has figured out they have red bugs because other people found them on their corals. Once you know what to look for they are fairly easy to spot.
Chris

gwaco
11/15/2005, 08:09 PM
o.k. after bashing you guys earlier in this thread , i've reconsidered and thought i would give it a try . if it makes a difference than i will be grateful if it makes no difference than atleast the tank got some water changes ! before i start i want to make sure i got the math part correct . we are looking for .025 grams per 10 gal of water correct? so i figure i have total water volume of 85 gals , so 85 x .025 comes out to 2.13 grams correct? another question i have is should i consider lowering the amount per gal of the medication because i have a barebottom tank , so i would not have any possible absorption into sand .

dirtyreefer
11/15/2005, 08:33 PM
Originally posted by gwaco
before i start i want to make sure i got the math part correct . we are looking for .025 grams per 10 gal of water correct? so i figure i have total water volume of 85 gals , so 85 x .025 comes out to 2.13 grams correct? another question i have is should i consider lowering the amount per gal of the medication because i have a barebottom tank , so i would not have any possible absorption into sand .

Are you able to confirm that you have redbugs? Just curious.

Don't quote me on this, but I think just under a quarter of a 23mg tablet would work for your size tank.

Let us know your results.

gwaco
11/15/2005, 08:43 PM
thats a big 10-4 on the confirmation ! so i guess i will need to come up with a scale . although i would be easier to cut it into quarters and cut a little off that .

dirtyreefer
11/15/2005, 08:58 PM
For dosage, I just sorta calculated it out.

If one tablet treats approx 380 gallons:
- Half tablet will treat 190 gallons
- Quarter tablet will treat 95 gallons
- One eighth of a tablet will treat ~47 gallons

I used one eighth of a tablet without any ill effects on my 3 blood shrimps. Also, there are quite a few people dosing higher than the recommended dosage so I figure ballparking the dosage can't be all that harmful.

Again, that's just my suggestion so use it at your own discretion ;)

ssbreef
11/16/2005, 12:02 AM
Originally posted by dirtyreefer
I hope your treatment was successful! Keep us posted on the results! :)
Glad to say everything went super well. I treated for the second time on Saturday. My corals have never looked healthier. That might also be do to the added water changes. I don't think I'm going to be treating my tank a third time. I think the first treatment got them all because I didn't see any for a week before the second. And let me tell you, I looked at the tank and inspected the corals everyday that week. The only reason I did treat a second time was just to be on the safe side.

impur
11/16/2005, 10:57 AM
It took about a month for mine to come back after 1 treatment. If you've done 2, why not be for certain and do the 3rd?

gwaco
11/16/2005, 05:38 PM
Originally posted by dirtyreefer
For dosage, I just sorta calculated it out.

If one tablet treats approx 380 gallons:
- Half tablet will treat 190 gallons
- Quarter tablet will treat 95 gallons
- One eighth of a tablet will treat ~47 gallons

I used one eighth of a tablet without any ill effects on my 3 blood shrimps. Also, there are quite a few people dosing higher than the recommended dosage so I figure ballparking the dosage can't be all that harmful.

Again, that's just my suggestion so use it at your own discretion ;)
d.r. i follow you on your method of calculation ! that is what i came up with . a little less than 1/4 tablet for 85 gals . but then i also came up with this - we know one tablet contains 23 gr's of medicine , so with my math :cool: i need to use 2.13 grams for 85 gals of water ( 85x .025 = 2.13 ) so knowing how much medicine each tablet has if we do the same thing as you did - ( 23 / 2 = 11.5 grams in half a tablet ) then divide that by half comes to 5.75 for a quarter tablet - then divide that quarter in half that gives me 2.88 grams for 1/8 th of a tablet . so if my target is 2.13 grams this way shows i need a little less than an eighth of a tablet ! :confused: so hense my confussion ... also has anyone mixed up their interceptor and before dumping it all in the tank tried targrting the affected corals with the mixture in a turkey baster ? and then dump the rest in . kind of giving the corals a heavy semi isolated shot then dumping the rest in to disperace thru out . impur - you say yours came back in a month ! is it possible you under dosed ? from what i have read they are not egg layers but brooders , so i can't see why they should come back . oh ! one more thing i've checked around town and i can't seem to be able to find any scales that read down below 1 gram , with out spending over a 100 bucks for a medical one . the best i have been able to find was a dietary scale for $ 30 that reads to 1 gram . i plan on doing it this weekend so anyone chime in with thoughts . thanks gary .:D

fishdoc11
11/16/2005, 05:56 PM
The treatment is based on weight of the pill not weight of Interceptor in the pill.

gwaco
11/16/2005, 06:22 PM
Originally posted by fishdoc11
The treatment is based on weight of the pill not weight of Interceptor in the pill. :hammer:

impur
11/16/2005, 07:12 PM
Yah they came back in a month. I only did 1 treatment and most ppl are needing 2 or 3 treatments. I even overdosed by a little when i treated.

Fliger
11/16/2005, 07:47 PM
I have a big Patrick Monaghan Tizardi colony, the incredible sky blue one. I bought it from a local and it was a show stopper. He told me when I bought it that he had RB's and it turned a poop brown, then sky blue again right after the treatment. It stayed an awesome color, even when my tank wasn't doing very well. Then I got RB's and it turned poop brown again. (nice tips and base though) I'll be treating next week and I'm pretty sure I know what the outcome will be.

ahchung
11/16/2005, 08:28 PM
Do the infected acros show good PE?

fishdoc11
11/16/2005, 08:39 PM
gwaco,
Is that hammer intended for me? :lol:

reefkeeps
11/16/2005, 09:46 PM
Anyone order the stuff online?

dirtyreefer
11/16/2005, 10:57 PM
Originally posted by reefkeeps
Anyone order the stuff online?

I think you can order it from Canada, but most of the time you need to actually visit the vet to get it.

gwaco
11/17/2005, 05:14 PM
Originally posted by fishdoc11
gwaco,
Is that hammer intended for me? :lol:
nope its meant for me , here i'll do it again :hammer: :hammer: :hammer: i had read the interceptor package and saw that it medacine is in milligrams not grams like i thought , so i wasted part of my brain typing my ridiculas post ! :D

gwaco
11/17/2005, 05:16 PM
reefkeeps , our vet was very understanding . they had no problems selling it to me , and we have no dogs .

fishdoc11
11/17/2005, 05:47 PM
Well sometimes I deserve it so I was just checking:D

gwaco
11/17/2005, 05:59 PM
Originally posted by fishdoc11
Well sometimes I deserve it so I was just checking:D
when the ocassion arises i'll be sure to oblige ya !;)

gwaco
11/17/2005, 06:01 PM
i will let you know how it works out ! planning on doing it nice and early sat morning .

gwaco
11/19/2005, 12:24 PM
well dosed it in this morning . so far things seem to going good . i noticed the bugs slowing down within a 1/2 hour , and many bugs disappearing after an hour . i did manage to get my skunk cleaner out , but the blood shrimp was not going to come out . only causulity has been one acro crab and that was within the first hour . blood shrimp and what hermits i do have seem to be o.k. . about three hours left .:)

marinelife
11/19/2005, 04:22 PM
Here is what I did

Treatment 1

I dosed 4 pills, I crushed up 4 pills and added two to a cup full of aquarium water and the other two went into another cup full of aquarium water. I mixed the pills in the water really good in both cups. I then added one cup to the 180 and one to the 300.

So I made enough to treat 1520 gallons, my system is about 525 gallon total so I am almost 3 times the recommended dose

hour 1 - nothing seems any different.

hour 3 - Half way there, fish, corals, clams, snails, serpent stars all seem well and unaffected. The two cleaner shrimp have not moved and just hanging around (not sure if they will make it). The bug are no longer moving on the corals, not sure if they are dead or not

hour 5 - Notice the bugs are off most of the acropora, also notice some egg looking items on my on colony and will be looking at them after I turn the skimmer back on. I am going to clean the skimmer now and get it ready to turn on.

hour 6 - Noticed no bug, the Cleaner Shrimp are no where to be seen, so I will be looking for them

hour 7 - Skimmer is back on and I still see no sign of the bugs or the cleaner shrimp. The Fish, Corals, Starfish, and everything else seem ok. I will check at night for Pods and such.

hour 14 - saw my cleaner shrimp that was in my 300, did not know he was still alive as I have not seen him in months, still no sign of the 2 cleaner shrimp in the main tank. I has pods running around which is a good sign and still do not see any bugs another good sign. Everything else seems to be holding up well

hour 24 - Everything is looking good, but still no sign of the red bugs or the two cleaner shrimp

hour 48 - Everything is looking good, no red bugs or cleaner shrimp, so I lost 2 out of my 3 cleaners, Both were in the 180, the one in the 300 lived. I think this is because of the dosing, if I figure two pills went into the 300 that would only be a little over double the dose but 2 pills went in the 180 also so I figure that at 4.2X the recommended dose. I am sure that did it, I figure the 180 had an extra dose for a while because I do not have alot of current going into the overflow so it would take long for it to level out in the overall system. I am starting to notice a little more color on a few of the acropora corals.

hour 60 - I feel the 2 shrimp are gone, I see no remains of them and the serpent stars would have eaten them if they died. I am seeing lots of polyps out but no bug( )

hour 98 - All seems back to normal other than no bugs

Treatment 2
Mix one cup saltwater with one pill for the 180, Mixed one cup saltwater with 2 pills for the 300. Both getting around 2x the recommended dose

Added the treatment to both tanks

hour 1 - see nothing different

hour 5 - nothing different, nothing happening at all

hour 6 - Started the skimmer back up and everything seems fine

day 4 after my second treatment and I tell you the color is coming back or changing for the better on alot of the acropora corals. If you have bad coloring or poor polyp extension than you may have bugs and I would suggest a look under a microscope or magnifying glass

Treament 3
Not sure it is need but I am going to do it anyway because it says to do it.

hour 1 - nothing different going on.

hour 3 - nothing new to report

hour 6 - Nothing different noticed, everything seems fine

Extra info
So for I have performed no water changes and no carbon has been added. I will be doing my normal monthly water change once I have completed all 3 treatments

Looks like the bugs are gone, two of the three cleaner shrimp and all but one hermit crab, A red Scarlet Hermit Crab is alive and well.

gwaco
11/19/2005, 04:53 PM
just finished up . could not find any bugs , so it looks like this was effective . only loses were two acro crabs . i only used 1/4 of a pill seems to have been enough. i will let you know if there are any changes in the next couple of days ...

achillesheel
11/29/2005, 12:36 AM
good thread

glipper69
11/30/2005, 12:18 AM
which pill do I buy to treat the corals in a 10 gallon QT tank? and what is the dose per Gallon. I've reading ever thread for 2 hours and still know one has even mentioned it.

Thanks,
Frank

fishdoc11
11/30/2005, 05:55 AM
Here you go Glipper:
http://www.reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=45859

yznhmr
11/30/2005, 07:32 AM
ok so after all 3 treatments, water changes and large ammounts of carbon, my several of my fish now have lateral line/fin rot.. any ideas?

My corals are doing WAY much better, BTW.

glipper69
11/30/2005, 01:08 PM
where can I get this in canada without a scrip. I tried at one place but they require a scrip. anybody Know?

Thanks,
Frank

Hockeydad
12/01/2005, 11:43 AM
120 gallon tank...what is the recommended dosage and frequency needed? Thanks

Leopardshark
02/06/2006, 02:20 PM
Ok, so here´s my story.
I have a 300gal sps tank with lots of acros.
Corals were growing very nicely and I never payed attention to red bugs when I read posts in here.
Somehow, about a 8-10 months ago, many acros started to fade, they loose colors, no polyp expansion, and... they started to die.
I assumed that it was caused by bad water quality since my calcium reactor pump died on me (this is the 3rd in 4 years! Lifereef calc reactor BTW), and also I was tired of maxijets coming off the glass so I turned them off for a while.
After ordering a new pump and buying more powerhead suction cups and everything "back to normal", there were still many corals dieing and also they showed the same symptoms, no polyp extension, and slowly wasting away and dieing.
Water params were now ok and the remaining corals were ok, but now radiant.
So then I noticed them... RED BUGS!!! tons of them all over my acros, specially the ones that were wasting away but also on the healthy ones as well.
3 weeks ago I received 2 tunze 6200 streams and removed the maxijets, boy those pumps are awesome and the flow in the tank has never been like this (previously I had 7 MJets and 1 closed loop with 2 sea swirls) but these pumps really kick a$s.
Acros are starting to look better, acros with no polyp extension are looking better now and polyps are out again but I don´t think bad water flow was the reason they were wasting away, I think it is just that it is making "things better for them" probably red bugs can´t stay in the acros with lots of water movement, but red bugs are still there and definitely don´t want them in my tank anymore.
So I came up with this thread and I´m definitely going to nuke those bugs.
My only concern are my 2 emerald crabs (I have a huge one) which I won´t be able to catch and the other acro crabs. I have a fire cleaner shrimp but he hides all day so I won´t be able to catch him too.
I will try to buy interceptor on line, but since I live in Mexico I would try to get it here, does anyone know it´s active ingredient?
Thanks guys for this thread, you have showed me the light and I´ll keep you posted.
Any comments will be appreciatted.
Marco

dirtyreefer
02/06/2006, 03:34 PM
Good luck with your treatment. If you can, it would be best to quarantine your fireshrimp and other crustaceans as the interceptor will get to them too. I had 3 fireshrimp but since I didn't have a quarantine, I had to leave them in a bucket while I did the treatment. After a 25% water change after the treatement, I introduced them back in but only 2 survived. Most of my hermit crabs died as well.

I am sure you'll have positive results with your acros though, interceptor is definitely the miracle drug when it comes to erradicating redbugs. Let us know how it goes.

Leopardshark
02/06/2006, 08:44 PM
Thanks Dirtyreefer,
Unfortunately the problem is the quarintine itself but catching the crabs and shrimp.
I would have to tear the tank apart and that is not an option.
BTW, are cukes in danger too?
Mmmm, this is a tough call but I´ll go for it.
BTW, if I can´t find the stuff locally and can´t buy it online, will anyone send me some (I would pay via paypal)
Thanks
Marco

fishdoc11
02/06/2006, 10:10 PM
Your cukes should be fine. Crabs and shrimp are actually relatively easy to catch/trick depending on the individual creature. This thread might help
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=707656
When I treated I tried to take out a few hermits each day when I saw them and managed to get the majority out. Dirtyreefer makes a good point about not putting susceptable critters back in too quick though. I would wait about a week after you are done to put the crabs and shrimp back in just to be safe. I made that mistake too by putting crabs back in the next day:rolleyes:

hth, Chris

glipper69
02/06/2006, 10:12 PM
you might want to try taking all the affected corals out and quarantining them instead. this way you can treat the corals not the whole tank. I did that about a month ago, I took all my SPS out even if they didn't show any Bugs put them in a 20 gallon container along with any rock that came with them. I did a massive overdose (1/2 a pill) waited 24 hours took them out and they where like new again. It's been a month and still no sign of the bugs. The corals where no worse for wear.

when I treated them I could actually see all those little red bastards floating on top of the water Dead. it was a lovely sight.

any way you might want to give that a try first. instead of putting all your other inhabitants at risk.

Good luck,
Frank

Leopardshark
02/07/2006, 09:21 PM
Sounds like good advice to me, but I have about 30 acros and removing them would be very difficult. I also have pieces or LR with small pieces of acros attached to them (when an acro touched a rock it would incrust on it ) so I´m afraid I should treat the whole tank.
I will try to catch the emerald crab, I don´t have hermits and there is a nasty mantis shrimp in there so hopefully he will die.
Thanks for the info!

jiggy
02/08/2006, 11:14 AM
will mandarins eat red bugs?

glipper69
02/08/2006, 04:22 PM
i have 2 mandarins in my tank and I've never seen them go after them

Frank

marinelife
02/08/2006, 06:09 PM
http://www.ericborneman.com/Tegastes-content/Tegastes%20index.html - good picture with likes to information to the left of the picture

Leopardshark
02/08/2006, 10:28 PM
Wow that is an impressive link!
I´ve spend all night reading it and haven´t finished. I´m still missing the reefs.org threads but I think it is all already covered in here or in Eric´s web page.
Eric says NOT to treat the whole tank, others say you SHOULD treat the whole tank.
Both arguments seem pretty logic to me, but the problem if you don´t treat the whole tank is that if you treat the acros but there are some bugs still on the tank, the treatment would be useless.
The guys on the web page who sells interceptor haven´t answered my email, I´ll try to get that in here.
I´ll keep you posted.
Marco

SHOmuchFUN
06/21/2008, 05:17 PM
Hey everyone... I will be treating tomorrow.

A quick background.
I will be dosing interceptor on a 33gal mixed reef tank. I have a brand new 75gal reef ready tank setup and ready to transfer everything into, once the treatment is finished.

My plan:
I've already moved most, if not all of my hermits into the new 75. I have removed my cleaner shrimp, but I don't think I'm going to bother trying to catch my two peppermint shrimp. Call me a murderer, but they are what $5 a piece?

I will dose half a salifert spoonful into the 33L and let it sit overnight.
In the morning, I will transfer all remaining inhabitants (rock, sand, corals, fish, and snails) from the 33L into the 75.
I'm currently running carbon on the 75, so that will be set.
I will discard all water in the 33.

I think I'm at an advantage, in that I'm moving everything into a new tank... I received some interceptor from a fellow RC'er, but it was all broken up and some was already crushed, so it's nearly impossible for me to gauge how much to dose based on tablet size, but have heard that dosing by a salifert measuring spoon was okay too. Will half a salifert spoon be enough on a 33?

Am I missing anything in particular?
Thanks everyone!

Emster
06/26/2008, 04:05 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6060326#post6060326 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fishdoc11
Some corals they don't effect. Also I don't know how many times(including at the start of this thread) that I've read/heard people say that you just don't realise how much they are effecting your corals until they are gone. I can also attest to this. I do think it's funny that I see posts that say the bugs don't effect their acros and yet in the next sentence the poster wonders what will eat them. I personally don't care if anyone treats their tank or not. The part that gets under my skin is people that trade knowingly with them. I personally treat all corals that I get now because of that and because it's a real possiblity someone could have them and not know. I wouldn't put an acro straight into my main tank( I have put a couple in my zoanthid tank and treated them later) even if it was given to me by my sister the nun.

No offense to my sister or any nuns out there:)

Chris

I have the same view on this one. Red bugs do hurt and they are worth getting rid of IMO

zdawgnight
06/26/2008, 08:16 AM
Im about ready to do treat my tank and was wondering what would you reccomend me do with my snails and hermits? I dont have a qt or second tank. Could I just stick em in a bucket with a power head for a while?

SHOmuchFUN
06/26/2008, 08:21 AM
Don't need to worry about snails.
The hermits seemed exceptionally sensitive to the treatment (I lost both my peppermint shrimp too).

I treated a separate tank and when I added the contents of that tank into the new tank, I STILL had hermits die even though everything was transferred into pristine water (essentially a 100% water change). The residual medication left on the rocks, corals, etc. must've leeched into the new water and killed the hermits.

I would recommend keeping the hermits/shrimp in a bucket with a heater and powerhead for at least a day or so.

zdawgnight
06/27/2008, 06:23 AM
so snails will be fine during an interceptor treatment?? what about urchins and brittle stars?

SHOmuchFUN
06/27/2008, 06:26 AM
Stars were fine... Only hermits and shrimp.

zdawgnight
06/27/2008, 08:00 AM
well that makes my life easier thanks

torhav
08/11/2008, 01:31 PM
A friend of mine crashed his tank some months ago. I did not want to see all of his corals die, so I told him that he could store them in my tank until he had fixed the problem he had.
After some days I dicovered a lot of RB on a couple of corals and asked my local pet if he could order interceptor for me.
They just laughed at me at the beginning, but after some googling they were convinced.
I put the interceptor in the fridge and left home for some days (work).
My girlfriend called me the last day I was gone complaining about noise from the tank. She started pulling sockets until the sound dissapeared. It appeared that my fresh water tank was empty.
She filled this up, and connected ALMOST every sockets. The one she forgot was the cooling fan!
When I got back the same evening the HQi was still on and the temperature in the tank was 31C/88F.
I cant say how many hours the temperature was that high, but I guess max 3 hrs.
After this episode I can not see one RB, and this is one and a half month ago.
I guess this is a high-risk threatment, but if anyone would like to check if this is what killed the RB it might be wort loosing a couple of frags if it works.
In my tank all corals survived the accident, and as I know I did not loose any snails, pods, shrimps etc.

gskidmor
08/11/2008, 04:41 PM
aside from Torhav's treatment:), has anyone else found something else that works for QT? I have reVive, but have not had a chance to check it out on redbugs (or AEFWs luckily). Has anyone had success with Revive