Red bug treatment POLL

[szesteve]

I performed the 1st of Dustin's Red-bugs treatment today.

Here's what I did:

1) Removed all crabs from my display tank & refugium
2) Used 1/4 tablet of Interceptor(for big dogs) to treat my tank. 1 tablet treats 380gallons of water. I had approximately 80 gallons of water.
3) Added crushed 1/4 tablet into my sump after removing carbon and shutting off the skimmer. Let the system run normally for 6 hours.

4 hours into the treatment, I could still see red bugs hanging on to my SPS. 6 hours into the treatment, all visible red bugs were gone from my SPS.

4) After waiting for 6 hours, I changed approx 15 gallons of water and dumped in a bunch of carbon.
5) I plan on changing out the carbon again tomorrow.
6) I plan on changing 20% water and carbon again in a week's time.
7) 2nd treatment will be applied in 2 weeks.

Here's what was lost in the treatment:

Red-bugs & small pods. Big pods remained fine. Everything else(SPS, clams, snails, LPS) looked fine.

 

[Ryan Mackey]

I have wondered if the milbemycin is evenly distributed through the tablet. If you think about it, the bulk of the tab is "meat flavoring" to get the dog to eat it. What if, in the production process, the drug is mixed unevenly(more to the left than the right) and cutting the tab in half or quarters does not yield an even dosing? Perhaps we should be crushing the whole pill to evenly spread the drug throughout the powder, then divide the total into half or quarters. Know what I mean? Ryan

 

[szesteve]

Thought about that too...

However, it's really hard to measure accurately even if u crush the tablet...u may end up using more meat flavoring...

 

[ReefWaters]

I would think that the drug mfg mixes the milbemycin very well into the meat flavoring and then molds the pills. Its probably in a liquid form and then dried in the molding process. They would have to take a lot of precausions to make sure the drug was evenly spread throughout the mixture to be able to make the ratio claims and to be able to sell it. Im not sure what the regulations are (they are not as strict as human consumption drugs) but Im sure they are very strict in making sure that what they say you get, you actually get.

 

[Ryan Mackey]

You would think that they mix it all together and then "squirt" just over a gram into a mold. But what if they don't? To a dog that is eating an entire pill, what would it matter if the 23mg of drug was "squirted" into the middle of the meat flavoring like frosting in an oreo. The stuff is not easily soluable into solution so, what if mixing it into a batch leaves "chunks" on the bottom? If you read the dosing information, Novartis makes no mention of an ability to "split" whole tabs into smaller doses, makes 4 different pill doses, and suggests combination of different pill "sizes" for dogs over 100lbs, rather than one-and-a-half 23mg tabs for a 150lb dog(for example, I know there aren't many dogs that weigh 150lbs) If a pill could be split, why make 4 different sizes? Novartis is the only company offering the Interceptor so why make 4 different sizes if they didn't have to? It would be much cheaper to produce one-size-fits-all. I will try to contact Novartis about this on monday or tuesday, put the question to bed. Ryan

 

[ReefWaters]

Ryan, you make a valid point. Of course I still think I make a valid point as well. But to be fair, I dont honestly know a thing about making any type of drug. Im just guessing.

I would be very interested to find out what Novartis says so please keep us posted.

P.S. Ask them if they could just send you a few gallons of straight milbemycin. :lol:

 

[Ryan Mackey]

Thanks

Thanks

It is so nice to have a disagreement and argue the differing points with someone on the internet, without the seemingly obligatory flame session followed by name calling and thread closing! Thank-you for your understanding disagreement. I also see your point. It does seem like they should evenly spread the drug through the tab. We will see, I'll keep ya posted. Thanks again. Ryan@advancedreef.com

 

[ReefWaters]

I dont argue unless I KNOW Im right!

This time I dont know....

 

[Ryan Mackey]

SURVEY SAID:

SURVEY SAID:

Here is what Novartis(maker of Interceptor) says regarding mixture of milbemycin and flavor in tablet:

"Although we do not recognize the use of Interceptor on Corals and do not suggest Flavor Tabs be split to alter dosage, we are fairly sure the drug Milbemycin is evenly mixed throughout the Flavor Tabs"

So there you have it. Ryan@advancedreef.com

 

[Freed]

Dustin, are you the same person that came up with this treatment on another board? Please let me know. Thanks, Jeff

 

[reefmutt]

I'm just reporting that after nearly 10 monthes since my last treatment, I am still bug free (knock on wood)!
All new additions to the tank over that period have been dipped in a very strong solution of Seachem's Reef Dip.
I still scan my corals once a week in a paranoid frenzy, looking for the little buggers!!!
...at least I have stopped having night terrors about them sucking the fluids out of my eyeballs.

 

[golfish]

Dustin,
Not sure if you still visit this thread but I'd like to thank you. I just finished this treatment a few months ago. It worked perfict with no problems.

All we need now is for you to find a in tank treatment for acro eating flat worms

Some people just ask for too much don't they

Thanks again man.

 

[msuzuki126]

Bump. Good thread.

 

[wentreefgirl]

Ummmm, I am a short term dip graduate. I recieved a coral that had rb on it and didnt find it till days later but pulled out the mesoscope and viewed all my corals and only 3 corals in the vicinity had them. So i took them out very carefully not to drop any of the suckers and measured out enough interceptor to do a dip. Dipped it for 6 hours and then put them back in and watched everyday for 2 weeks. Im 3 months clean so far.

 

[jski711]

so has anybody gotten rid of red bugs without using interceptor???

 

[fishdoc11]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11019606#post11019606 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jski711
so has anybody gotten rid of red bugs without using interceptor???

I'm sure someone has or will claim to have gotten rid of them without Interceptor. More often people claim to have controlled an infection with pipefish or selective dips in something containing iodine.....notice I say controlled not eliminated. Some people choose to live with them (see Menard's TOTM) and some corals seem to do ok, some don't. So, in short I haven't seen anyone get rid of them completrely without Interceptor, no.
Chris