Just found red bugs!

preef

preef

New member
Just when I thought my tank was doing great I decided to take some macro shots and there they were. They're on all the frags I could take macro shots of with the exception of one colony.

So I'm reluctant to treat the entire tank with interceptor because I know I won't get every crab and shrimp out of there and I'll kill all my pods and my mandarin will starve.

What are my options?

1. Take everything out and treat in a separate tank.
2. Leave as is just like in nature.
3. Treat the entire tank.

I've only seen pictures of red bugs on acros that have a lot of space between the polyps. Will they also attack a green slimer? Mine is getting so big it will be hard to pull it out of there.
 
you can take out individual colonys and treat with revive to kill the bugs on the effected corals. wont kill every bug however will destroy most of the population. after dipped you can try to get a fish that eats the bugs...certain filefish and wrasse eat them.
 
stevedola said:
you can take out individual colonys and treat with revive to kill the bugs on the effected corals. wont kill every bug however will destroy most of the population. after dipped you can try to get a fish that eats the bugs...certain filefish and wrasse eat them.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I didn't know any fish ate them. I have a green spotted mandarin but it doesn't even look at the corals.
 
I'm not doubting anyone, but I would be very surprised to see any of those fish mentioned eat a red bug. IMO an interceptor treatment is the only way to be sure they are gone. It's a lot less harmful than you think, and if you are really worried about pods you can buy some to seed your tank again. After treating, you'll be pleasently surprised to see how well your SPS will look. My mandarin did just fine. JMO! :)
 
CaliDreaminjC said:
I'm not doubting anyone, but I would be very surprised to see any of those fish mentioned eat a red bug. IMO an interceptor treatment is the only way to be sure they are gone. It's a lot less harmful than you think, and if you are really worried about pods you can buy some to seed your tank again. After treating, you'll be pleasently surprised to see how well your SPS will look. My mandarin did just fine. JMO! :)
Click to expand...

I can assure you that dragonface pipefish eat them. I've got redbugs and haven't gotten around to treating yet. I got a couple of these pipefish and I've watched them eat them. They won't eradicate them, but they will help keep the population in check. Interceptor is the way to go though to get rid of them completely.
 
Just bite the bullet and treat the whole tank. Your pods won't all be killed off and you can buy new hermit crabs later (your shrimp should be fine). Red bugs are an easy fix and well worth treating for. I treated an entire tank a couple years ago and the only thing affected was my hermit crabs. After, no more red bugs and my corals came back to life like never before.
Anything other than a whole tank treatment with interceptor will just be a temporary band-aid.
 
hatfielj said:
Just bite the bullet and treat the whole tank. Your pods won't all be killed off and you can buy new hermit crabs later (your shrimp should be fine). Red bugs are an easy fix and well worth treating for. I treated an entire tank a couple years ago and the only thing affected was my hermit crabs. After, no more red bugs and my corals came back to life like never before.
Anything other than a whole tank treatment with interceptor will just be a temporary band-aid.
Click to expand...

So interceptor won't kill shrimp? That's what I'm really concerned about. The hermits have a short life-span anyway and I only have a couple.
 
Red bugs

Red bugs

There are several fish that will natural eat them, however interceptor is the best way to go if you dont want to see them again.
 
I'm looking to get some Interceptor.

The dragon face pipefish look really cool. I may want to get a pair of those just because they look very interesting.
 
Don't be a wimp just treat the whole tank with interceptor... Its easy, your corals and fish will be fine. I did the treatment 3 years ago. I lost a cleaner shrimp, all my snails survived. I tried treating individually a couple times, they just came back.

After you remedy the problem. Make sure you dip everything that comes into your tank.


Remember, If your just controlling the problem with fish and you trade or sell a frag to anyone else your going to pass on the problem.
 
vangogh121 said:
Remember, If your just controlling the problem with fish and you trade or sell a frag to anyone else your going to pass on the problem.
Click to expand...


I completely agree with the above statement.

I had red bugs and treated my entire 400g DT, 100g sump along with skimmer and anything that water flows through with Interceptor. I disolved 2 large pills in water and poured right into the main tank allowing it to circulate into anything that has tank water in it. The Interceptor killed all the red bugs along with anything in my tank that had an eco skeleton ie crabs shrimp and such. This small loss was well worth getting rid of the red bugs that were harming my SPS. Since the treatment over 10 months ago I have not seen one red bug.

I went to my local vet and took some literature about the red bugs and the treatment with Interceptor and he did not have a problem selling it to me. He was actually quite curious about the bugs and my tank. We always talk about my tank now when I take my dog in.

I recommend treating the whole tank with Interceptor and not passing the red bugs on to someone elses tank! That is exactly how I got them. They came from a few frags I got from someone and they didnt tell me they had them until I told them I had them on the frags I got from them.
 
I'm currently treating my 1200g system for redbugs as well. I lived with them for a long time, but finally decided to just get rid of them once and for all as some of my corals were suffering. I am doing the three doses method, one dose every 7 days, then will change some water and run some carbon. It does kill shrimp, crabs and pods.
 
vangogh121 said:
Remember, If your just controlling the problem with fish and you trade or sell a frag to anyone else your going to pass on the problem.
Click to expand...

I agree. I would never pass it along.

My only concern is catching my fire shrimp before dosing. He rarely comes out. The cleaner shrimp eats out of my hand so that should be less of an issue. I don't want to kill them. I also have a couple of mithrax crabs that are impossible to catch. One is huge and I've never seen him do any harm either. I've gotten attached to him and his claw reaching out and scraping the rocks.
 
vangogh121 said:
After you remedy the problem. Make sure you dip everything that comes into your tank.
Click to expand...

I've always dipped with iodine based dip. I've lately added a drop of flatworm exit to the dip. I'll now have to add some Interceptor. What's next? Does dipping with Revive replace all three?

Any issues with anemones and Interceptor? I have a couple of BTAs.
 
ive had friends that dosed interceptor and had the bugs come back. nothing is 100% except death and taxes.
 
stevedola said:
ive had friends that dosed interceptor and had the bugs come back. nothing is 100% except death and taxes.
Click to expand...

I agree there are very few absolutes in this world.

However did they dose Interceptor one time only or did they do the 3 dose regime 7 days apart?
 
I believe it was the 3 dose regime.

Look im not saying dont dose because obviously it works well for many many people, Im just saying there are other (albeit less effective) ways to combat the bugs. Ive been of the mind, the less chems/drug in a system the better in addition to avoiding the murder of living creatures. If the bugs do reach critical mass then treatment is unavoidable however shouldnt other methods be at least considered?
 
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