Just found red bugs!

LifeAquatic said:
I dosed two 5.75mg pills for 200 gallons of water volume. I unplugged the airline on my skimmer and pulled out my carbon and phose remover. The calcium reactor and skimmer were left running through the treatment. I treated the tank for a full 24 hrs and then fired up the skimmer and added carbon and phos remover.
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5.75 mg pills would (I guess) be for the small dogs. The recommended dosage , if I reamember correctly, would have been to use one large dog pill which is 23 mg pills for 200g. I used (2) 23 mg pills on my 400g system. It is very possible that you did not kill all the red bugs with that low of a dose. I am not saying it didnt just keep and eye out for those little buggers to make sure you got them.
 
I have read on other forums that 23 mg is enough to treat 380-400 gallons of water. So I cut that dose in half to treat 200 gallons.

I got this info from Melvesreef.com.

++One (large) tablet of Interceptor should treat 400g of water. I removed all the hermit crabs and shrimp I could find in my reef, putting them in a safe tank separate from my reef. They had circulation, a heater and were topped off daily to maintain salinity while in quarantine for their safety. I had live rock in their tank as well so they had something to pick food from as well as places to hide++
 
Yes, It is possible that more red bugs are alive. This was my first treatment using interceptor so I used an average dose based on reading what other reefers had used. I do plan on a second treatment where I might up the strength a little bit. All I can do now is visually inspect my corals for results. I am not sure which animal has a greater tollerance for the treatment ( red bugs, pods, shrimp) so I cant assume that becasue only some pods died the treatment didnt kill all the red bugs. I didnt think it was a good idea to throw a 23 mg interceptor pill into 200 gallons of water for the first treatment. After the first treament I can see the coral health improve dramatically. ( color and PE)
Havent seen any red bugs yet either. Also, I did treat the tank for a full 24 hrs before removing the interceptor with a water change and the addition of carbon. I was hoping a average dose treated for a longer period of time would solve the problem.
 
LifeAquatic said:
Yes, It is possible that more red bugs are alive. This was my first treatment using interceptor so I used an average dose based on reading what other reefers had used. I do plan on a second treatment where I might up the strength a little bit. All I can do now is visually inspect my corals for results. I am not sure which animal has a greater tollerance for the treatment ( red bugs, pods, shrimp) so I cant assume that becasue only some pods died the treatment didnt kill all the red bugs. I didnt think it was a good idea to throw a 23 mg interceptor pill into 200 gallons of water for the first treatment. After the first treament I can see the coral health improve dramatically. ( color and PE)
Havent seen any red bugs yet either. Also, I did treat the tank for a full 24 hrs before removing the interceptor with a water change and the addition of carbon. I was hoping a average dose treated for a longer period of time would solve the problem.
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your thinking sounds fine to me. I was just trying to give a heads up as I dealt with these pests too. Just keep an eye on the acros that had the bugs. If they are there you know what they look like and can spot them.
I hope everything works out and you get rid of these nasty bugs. Interceptor did work for me and probably will work for you too.

Keep us updated.
 
I'm going to dose tomorrow. A few questions.

I think I have around 180 total gallons in my system. Will 1/2 a large(51-100lbs) tablet work for a single treatment? I'm planning on dosing before each weekly water change over the next 3 weeks. Do I need to worry about overdosing? If it's 170 gallons actual will that be an issue.

I know shrimp and crabs will die. Do I need to worry about urchins, sea cucumbers or anemones?

How soon after a single treatment can I replace my inverts?

Thanks.
 
what is in the pill exactly ? and what does it do to the water that kills the bugs poisons them or adds iodine or iron an element?
 
Nanook said:
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.
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Nanook,
After you treated your tank, do you have to do a 100% water change?
I wonder about killing all the crabs, snails and pods, does it spike you NO3?
 
Found some red bugs on my acros this morning :( I am confused as to the correct pack of interceptor I should get. Luckily I can easily remove my cleaner shrimp.

I have a 120 gallon with 50 sump and 20 fuge. Can someone please help direct me to which pack I should order?

Thanks
 
I forgot about this thread.

I held off dosing interceptor until about a month ago. Lived with them for a year. My tank crashed in the meantime so the red bugs weren't the biggest issue I was concerned about. My cleaner shrimp died sometime during the crash.

Red bugs completely disappeared a couple of hours into the first dose. My fire shrimp made it through two of the interceptor doses. I never saw it again after the third dose. The two crabs in my system I know about both survived. I still see lots of pods in my fuge as well.

If I were to do it again I'd only dose twice and hope for the best.
 
I was at my friends just after I posted this and he just so happened to have some of the 50-100 lb pills for his dog. So he gave me two :) My cleaner shrimp is easy to catch and the LFS said they would keep him. I am worried about my pistol shrimp though.
 
My pistol is the only shrimp I had make it though all three treatments. I didn't see him for like 3 months and then there he was.
 
Wow you can just buy it straight up..may have to place an order. Hopefully I won't have to tho.

I am about to do my second dosing. Gonna do the recommended 3 times to finally get rid of them. I did it only one time last time and they were all gone but I guess the eggs hatched so now I'm seeing them again.

Will redbugs stunt sps growth? I hope so because I am getting very slow growth. Hopefully when they are eradicated my sps will flourish in growth.
 
Just for the record - my Mandarin didn't make it. I had him for 13 months before treating w/ interceptor. I lost him 3 months after treatment. He was starting to look really skinny and starting to swim oddly. He was nice and fat before the treatment. I don't know if it took this long for him to starve or what. I'll never know for sure but I figured I should document my experience.
 
Rumors of my Mandarin's death have been greatly exaggerated. He showed himself today during my water change. Looked like he was fine. No sign of weakness. I assumed he was dead since it was just under a week since I saw him last and when I saw him he looked bad - really bad. I measured higher than normal nitrate yesterday also. Glad he's still alive.
 
For a 100g tank, I would dose half a 32mg tab?

Three treatments? How many days apart?

Turn off skimmer and carbon for 24 hours?

Do I have to do a WC after each treatment? How much?
 
If I remember correctly, on pill treats 360 gallons, so use a little less then 1/2 a pill. Using 1/2 a pill should be fine.
3 treatments a week apart
Turn off skimmer and carbon for 6 hours
Do about a 15-20% water change 6 hrs after each treatment.
This is what I did and no more red bugs and didn't affect tank inhabitants except crabs and shrimp.
 
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