bugs on frogspawn

[RoscoPColtrane]

My frogspawn has not looked good recently. After closer inspection there are tiny white bugs on the heads that i assume are irritating the coral. I tried a fresh water dip that and a dip in prazipro, both were unsuccessful. Any other ideas?

 

[jc-reef]

My frogspawn has not looked good recently. After closer inspection there are tiny white bugs on the heads that i assume are irritating the coral. I tried a fresh water dip that and a dip in prazipro, both were unsuccessful. Any other ideas?

You can read through this thread linked below as to process what worked for me. I had the same issue with 'white bugs' on my FS. The key is to set up a 'lighted' QT tank with interceptor (use proper dose for volume of water in QT) this way the FS will open up allowing the medication to kill the bugs in between the polyps. I used old water from a WC in QT tank so the chemistry parameters were familar to the FS and it opened up like nothing was different.

You can PM me if you have any questions.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1776624


Good luck!

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[RoscoPColtrane]

Thank you for the great info. I was really hoping to avoid interceptor due to availability problems. It's unfortunate that it is not easier to obtain. Guess I will need to work on getting some...

 

[RynosReef]

+1 to jc-reefs reply. I had the exact same issue and interceptor worked like a charm. I put the frogspawn in qt for 6 hrs with interceptor and after inspecting I put it back in the display. After a few days it was bigger than ever with fat polyps. My frogspawn was my first coral so when I saw it dying it really bothered me. But the iterceptor worked great.

 

[mgraf]

interceptor alternative

interceptor alternative

There is a thread in the sps keepers forum about an alternative to intercepter that you can buy at home depot. I also have had the issues with these white bugs. The alternative is made by bayer and is an insect killer diluted it has worked well for many to wipe out red bugs. I dipped my frogspawn in this two weeks ago before I went on vacation and it killed all bugs on the frogspawn, however, I noticed yesterday they have returned. I dipped again today to see if Maybe it will take a few dips to eradicate these pests. I must say, with in hours of the dip, my frogspawn and hammers were expanded and looked better than they have in a long time. Interceptor may be better but, I have had a hard time getting a vet to give me some. If I wouldn't have come across this alternative, I was gonna pick up a stray dog and take him to the vet for hartworms!LOL

 

[RynosReef]

I ordered interceptor from an online pet supply company in australia. It took about a week for it to arrive but that was the only hassle. Ill try to look up their site and post it. But if you google interceptor pet supplies it will likely be one of the first to come up

 

[RoscoPColtrane]

Thanks for all of the replies. I am considering trying the Bayer bug killer, although this has worked well for many with SPS few have tried this with LPS. If this is unsuccessful I will use Interceptor. All of my other corals are doing well but I find it hard to believe these bugs are confined to one frogspawn. Hopefully I will not need to go the route of a whole tank treatment with Interceptor.

 

[jc-reef]

Thanks for all of the replies. I am considering trying the Bayer bug killer, although this has worked well for many with SPS few have tried this with LPS. If this is unsuccessful I will use Interceptor. All of my other corals are doing well but I find it hard to believe these bugs are confined to one frogspawn. Hopefully I will not need to go the route of a whole tank treatment with Interceptor.

You DONT have to do the whole tank treatment with interceptor...only a QT tank that is LIGHTED so the FS can open up. You will only need to treat for 6-12 hrs in the QT. If you dont have a tank, use a 5 gal bucket. Just be very careful not to overdose. These particular white bugs appear to only affect FS and not other types of Euphilia. If you insist on Bayer, then try the same way as I just explained but use the Bayer instead.

Let us know how you managed.

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[roblack]

Excellent to catch up on this one. Happy to hear the frogspawns have a defender! Has anyone else tried fw dips?

 

[mgraf]

One week after my second Bayer insect killer dip and no bugs. I upped the dose a bit more and instead of shaking the frogspawn frags for them to close a little befor taking them out of my tank, I just pulled em out and plopped em in the dip. Extension is great, they look like new froggies again! Keepn my eye out for more white bugs!

 

[mgraf]

Also, for what it is worth, I had a torch and a hammer next to the frogspawn frags, and have never and still have not seen these bugs on the torch or the hammer, only the frogspawn. However, I did dip them all this time just in case, all are doing fine!

 

[lecher]

One week after my second Bayer insect killer dip and no bugs. I upped the dose a bit more and instead of shaking the frogspawn frags for them to close a little befor taking them out of my tank, I just pulled em out and plopped em in the dip. Extension is great, they look like new froggies again! Keepn my eye out for more white bugs!

Which Bayer product and dosage did you use? The Complete Insect killer or the one with germ killer. People seem to be using both, but there seems to be some confusion as to which is better. Maybe they both work equally well?

 

[Renton777]

I too have had the "white bugs on frogspawn" issue for about 2 months with the FS very much retracted. Last night I dipped it in Bayer Complete Insect Killer (6ml of the insect killer in 1 liter of tank water) for 12 mins. I did see lots of dead bugs. I rinsed it in a separate container of tank water and placed it back in the tank.

This morning I could not find any white bugs on it and the frogspawn appears to have extended a bit more then it has in the past month. Things look promising.

 

[RoscoPColtrane]

Just wanted to update this thread. I dipped my frogspawn in the Bayer insect killer with wheat germ (6mL/L of tank water for 10min) and the frogspawn looks much better. I rinsed in a 5 gallon bucket with a small power head afterward. No sign of white bugs and extension is much better. I will be keeping a close eye but this appears to have been effective.

 

[mgraf]

white bugs still gone! Think I got em whipped.

 

[Renton777]

My frogspawn is looking the best it has looked in 3 months. The white bugs have not returned since I did the dip about 3 weeks ago.