Do redbugs cause sps to bleach or turn brown?

[ahchung]

Do redbugs cause sps to bleach or turn brown or both?

I have a SPS which fails to color up. It shows very good PE. It just remains in brown color. Will there be any chance that this is due to redbugs?

 

[MIKE NY]

red bugs, if you look closely you can see them. When I did battle with them last year the corals that had them showed no PE and loss of color

 

[reefdood]

look closely. They are as tiny as dust. The coral will loose polyp extention, brown, then bleach/ slough tissue. I had corals that were 100% white with no polyp extention come back after interceptor.

 

[Philwd]

It may just be due to high nutrients. I had a couple brown corals color up nicely when I added the Phosban reactor.

 

[clkwrk]

I have the rbs right now they won't kill your corals only irritate.BTW I have had them off an on for 2 years or so now.

 

[ahchung]

So if I have a brown acropora with very good polyps is where a higher chance that this is a high nutrient issue rather than a redbug issue?

 

[Kreeger1]

They can kill acros though, given enough time
Erik

 

[clkwrk]

no I don't think so . May be trigger an already stressed coral but not physically kill them . I have had them for the last 6 months this time around . None of my sps have croaked due to rb's. Heck I still have my orginal sps that had them for a year straight before they got a break from them . I have incredible growth rates form almost all of my corals so I doubt they are doing that much harm.

If they do kill them then I am just looking at a tank full of dead acros then .

 

[ahchung]

FYI, I have redbugs, but most of my acroporas are okay except for two of them. They were browned out previously due to high nutrient issue. Others colored up gradually even for my acropora tricolor.

I am wondering whether redbugs would slow down the color-up time for some of the acroporas.

Please share your experience. Thanks.

 

[clkwrk]

I don't think so I have corals and new frags color up easily . It's all water quality IMO. With the right water quality and water movement the colors will come. Although if a coral has been a brown out for a long time then yes I think it will take longer for it to come back . I have 1 brownout that was the most beautiful light blue when I got it and then browned out in my old 75 g mixed tank . It has been in my sps tank for 9 months now and is finally showing blue again and lightening up.

 

[Kreeger1]

They invade the skin of the coral which causes stress, then the stress leads to the slow decline of the coral. Not every case leads to death but a stressed out coral is more likely to be affected by other things that could kill them
Just like Aids, you don't die from Aids you die because you have it and it lets other things kill you.
Just because your personal tank has been fine doesn't mean that it doesn;t happen
Erik

 

[clkwrk]

right but you are saying it will happen ..Also do stressed corals grow like weeds?


Maybe it should be it could happen ,but again it hasn't been proven either way that they cause death .

 

[Kreeger1]

it hasn't been proven either way, and I've seen dead corals do to it
So your experiences vary from mine, just giving another side to the story
Erik

 

[clkwrk]

Cool Same here. But my reasoning is that they physically don't kill the corals . I have watched them thru a mesoscope and haven't observed them damaging the corals skin one bit . Unlike acro flatworms . Now they are proven to kill and eat your sps. Same with the monti nudis they are proven to eat and destroy montis. Same with zoanthid eating nudis . They are proven to eat and decimate zoanthids.

 

[Kreeger1]

Right they don't kill the acros. It leaves the door open for other disease to get to the acros and kill them. But they can die from having them indirectly though
The way I see it is if they killed the host that they need to live on that wouldn't be a smart action for the bugs. They weaken it to the point were other things can warm the coral easier.
Erik