Red Bug Options??

osu133lbs · 05/14/2008, 10:52 AM

I just noticed some very small what appear to be red bugs on a turqouise stag that I got at the auction. What are my options to rid this pest from the coral and the tank?

icu2 · 05/14/2008, 11:05 AM

You need interceptor - med for dogs from your local vet. If they have some past exp and you show them the article they may just give them to you.

For info on how much go to the SPS forum.

osu133lbs · 05/14/2008, 11:16 AM

Thanks icu2, Call is in to local vet already!

osu133lbs · 05/14/2008, 08:02 PM

Will the red acro bugs live without the acro in the tank. I have no other corals, only a couple of other sps frags, that are not infected at this time. I am willing to trash the infected coral if the red bugs will starve in my tank?? Anybody have any experience with this? If so how long will the RAB live without a smooth skinned acro??

CleveYank · 05/15/2008, 04:27 AM

If the frag has been in the tank for any amount of time there is a distinct possibilty that everything has already been "exposed" to being infected. Redbugs if a coral is healthy is not always a death sentence. It impacts PE and growth and it's best to get rid of the pest. Best steps at this stage is to treat the whole tank. And even with the interceptor it's a good idea to use a light and magnifying glass and inspect all of the SPS. I've had a couple hardy ones survive the interceptor that I had to pluck off with an exacto blade. Talk about eye strain. And I did a repeat dosage after a couple of weeks to make sure.

As a prevent a heavier than normal dose via a dip method and removing from frag plugs if possible during acclimation is now a part of my introduction method. The eggs are usually near the bases and treating with an immediate fragging of the frag has been another noted prevent. But newly introduced stuff already has strikes against it to acclimate to your tank and such so the frag the frag method is risky.

Your final question is that others have noted a period of 5 days is the life cycle of redbugs so taking the offending SPS out would work if there are no other smoothed skin acros present. But if it's been in the tank you can just assume they have had the chance to infect the rest.

Really keeping the barn doors closed by adopting a treatment method with quarantine is still your best choice if space and money will allow while trying to build an inventory of acros.

mike660r · 05/15/2008, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by CleveYank
Really keeping the barn doors closed by adopting a treatment method with quarantine is still your best choice if space and money will allow while trying to build an inventory of acros.

Amen brother!

Depending on the size of the corals. You may want to pull them out and treat them several times in a QT tank. Using interceptor will wipe out pod populations, cleaner shrimp and some of the other inverts you may have in your tank. If you do have cleaner shrimp and decide to go the quarenteen method. I highly recommend you rinse the rocks the corals are mounted to very well. I lost 3 cleaners recently after reintroducing my mounted SPS back to the tank.

I can't agree with Cleveyank more on the importance of dipping and quarenteening corals for parasites. I have learned my lesson the hard way two times now with redbugs and now flatworms. The flatworms could have been handled easily last year while my system was being set back up. I am not about to get a third strike on the redbugs again.

Mike C

05/14/2008, 10:52 AM	#1
osu133lbs Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: San Marcos, Texas Posts: 183	Red Bug Options?? I just noticed some very small what appear to be red bugs on a turqouise stag that I got at the auction. What are my options to rid this pest from the coral and the tank? __________________ When you focus on money, you end up creating something you can't be proud of. But when you focus on what you can be proud of you create money. Current Tank Info: Planning new Nano

05/14/2008, 11:16 AM	#3
osu133lbs Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: San Marcos, Texas Posts: 183	Thanks icu2, Call is in to local vet already! __________________ When you focus on money, you end up creating something you can't be proud of. But when you focus on what you can be proud of you create money. Current Tank Info: Planning new Nano

05/14/2008, 08:02 PM	#4
osu133lbs Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: San Marcos, Texas Posts: 183	Will the red acro bugs live without the acro in the tank. I have no other corals, only a couple of other sps frags, that are not infected at this time. I am willing to trash the infected coral if the red bugs will starve in my tank?? Anybody have any experience with this? If so how long will the RAB live without a smooth skinned acro?? __________________ When you focus on money, you end up creating something you can't be proud of. But when you focus on what you can be proud of you create money. Current Tank Info: Planning new Nano

05/14/2008, 11:05 AM	#2
icu2 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,279	You need interceptor - med for dogs from your local vet. If they have some past exp and you show them the article they may just give them to you. For info on how much go to the SPS forum.

05/15/2008, 04:27 AM	#5
CleveYank 20 Years and Over Join Date: Feb 2000 Posts: 3,055	If the frag has been in the tank for any amount of time there is a distinct possibilty that everything has already been "exposed" to being infected. Redbugs if a coral is healthy is not always a death sentence. It impacts PE and growth and it's best to get rid of the pest. Best steps at this stage is to treat the whole tank. And even with the interceptor it's a good idea to use a light and magnifying glass and inspect all of the SPS. I've had a couple hardy ones survive the interceptor that I had to pluck off with an exacto blade. Talk about eye strain. And I did a repeat dosage after a couple of weeks to make sure. As a prevent a heavier than normal dose via a dip method and removing from frag plugs if possible during acclimation is now a part of my introduction method. The eggs are usually near the bases and treating with an immediate fragging of the frag has been another noted prevent. But newly introduced stuff already has strikes against it to acclimate to your tank and such so the frag the frag method is risky. Your final question is that others have noted a period of 5 days is the life cycle of redbugs so taking the offending SPS out would work if there are no other smoothed skin acros present. But if it's been in the tank you can just assume they have had the chance to infect the rest. Really keeping the barn doors closed by adopting a treatment method with quarantine is still your best choice if space and money will allow while trying to build an inventory of acros.