Does interceptor expire?

LobsterOfJustice

Recovering Detritophobe
Hey all,

I obtained my interceptor over a year ago, and took the pills to a pharmacist who crushed them and put them in a pill bottle. Today I put a few generous scoops into the tank, not worried about overdosing because I have used this stuff before. However, 4.5 hours later my porcelian crab shows no ill effects, he is still acting completely normal. I was able to remove everything else I wanted to save.

So by crushing the pill (exposing it all to air) and waiting a year, has my interceptor lost strength? Honestly I was expecting he porcelian crab to be upside down on the bottom by now.
 
I know if pill form they do have an experation date. So I am guessing this will affect it in powder form also. Was this in an air tight bottle? Moisture might also be a proble for the alst year, in the air.
 
Once powdered it makes sense that it would expire faster. What I do is crush it in the package with a hammer on my garage floor and then when I open the package it is powdered and ready to be disolved.
 
I also powder it before use. I put the pill between two sheets of poliethylene (or a polyethilene bag (Zip Lock) and use my tumb over one spoon to press it to dust. Works like a charm.
 
Yeah if you have access to a lab you can do what I did. I crushed a pill with a mortar/pestle, weighed out a bunch of samples on the scale there, and filled a bunch microcentrifuge tubes with enough to treat a 1 gallon bucket in each. This way I don't have to re-open the bottle with the remainder in it. I swear if someone just sold them like this for treating new corals, it would save a lot of time and overdosing problems.
 
I'm absolutely sure using 9 mo old interceptor for my dips is how I got RB. I had partially ground up the pill and stored it in a ziploc bag. So IME yes it does expire. And pretty fast.

Brand new interceptor used for my RB treatment killed my big emeralds within 3 hrs.
 
Alright, so for the second treatment I dumped the rest of the powder in the tank with no ill effects. I'm guessing this was at least 4 pills worth on a 150g volume system.

Then I ordered some new interceptor, crushed up half a pill, and dosed that in the tank (can you tell I really dont want to have to do this again?). I still have not seen any red bugs, or adverse effects on any tank inhabitants. My porcelian crab shed, but it still doing very well. I even see a ton of pods on my front glass. What gives? It's not like I'm trying to kill all crustaceans in my tank anyway, but I figure if these can make it through, what if two RBs make it through...
 
DarkXerox , no one can make this in a hobby formula because milbemycin oxime is a patented drug from Novartis and they will not release it for sale to any other drug companies for use in other products. This is common in the drug world.
 
I would love to know this as well. I keep mine crushed up in the right dosages for a whole tank(just in case) and for a prophylactic dip for new corals inside of the little sealable glass thingys that universities use at chemistry labs. I guess one way to find out would be to use it, but fortunately and unfortunatley I haven't used it in a long while. Fortunately becuase of no RB's, but unfortunately because of no recent new additions.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10675442#post10675442 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LobsterOfJustice
Alright, so for the second treatment I dumped the rest of the powder in the tank with no ill effects. I'm guessing this was at least 4 pills worth on a 150g volume system.

Then I ordered some new interceptor, crushed up half a pill, and dosed that in the tank (can you tell I really dont want to have to do this again?). I still have not seen any red bugs, or adverse effects on any tank inhabitants. My porcelian crab shed, but it still doing very well. I even see a ton of pods on my front glass. What gives? It's not like I'm trying to kill all crustaceans in my tank anyway, but I figure if these can make it through, what if two RBs make it through...

Still wondering about this. Would you say I am bug free? I am making an order soon with a bunch of shrimp etc and do not want to have to dose again.
 
If I were you I'd try to get ahold of a pill that is still in the package and not past its expiry. Treat the tank again before you get your new livestock. Its definitely worth treating now, than to find out you still have bugs and have to take the tank apart to get the shrimp out.

I've definitely noticed that exposure to air decreases the strength of the pills. If the pill I am using has been exposed to air for awhile (say the second half or something) I treat the tank longer than the usual treatment time.
 
I think brand new pills have a higher kill rate on big crabs. I killed both my 2-3" emeralds with a brand new pill in a 150G. They were dead within 2 hrs.
 
Right. I bought a new box, dosed 1/2 a pill in 150g worth of water. Porcelian survived, and I'm still seeing pods on the glass. No visible RBs though
 
Back
Top