Red Bugs! Can we live with them?

G

Gills 619

New member
I think I have found RB in my tank. Sill cant make a positive ID as they are so small. I have looked at many pics on the site and they are yellow with red heads. The bugs on my corals only appear to be red, dont see any yellow. They are motionless most of the time, then sometimes they run around like little spiders. Intercepter is not available here in South Africa and the Vets that I have spoken to, say there is no heart worm in this country. Most have only heard of one or two cases ever and that only in imported dogs from the States.

Can I live with them in my tank? What will the damage toll be?

Should I brake down the tank, remove all corals and dip with Coral RX and start over? Any advice will be great.
Thanks Gills
 
I would say they look more red to the naked eye. I cannot speak to yellow somewhere on them.

In terms of living with them, that is a personal decision. Damage is hard to estimate.

Could consider trying a dragonface pipefish, but it may not be suitable for your tank.

Even if you break the tank down and dip in Coral Rx, I would still quarantine the SPS before putting back in display.

Also, the literature on Coral Rx states "Coral Rx should not be used on fish, shrimp, crabs, snails, clams or other invertebrates. Coral Rx may not be effective on Acropora Red Bugs."
 
I'd just try living with them. I can get Interceptor but haven't dosed yet because my corals seem fine with the bugs and I don't want to risk killing my shrimp.

This acro has them and it is growing quite nicely despite them.
IMG_5512.jpg
 
If that coral has red bugs they all must be camera shy. Nice coral by the way! IMO, they do have long term negative effects on corals. So no I can't live with them.

Ed
 
red bugs are just like fleas. irritants.

just interceptor the tank every 6 months like i do to keep your tank fresh.
 
red bugs are irritants. use interceptor and you will be impressed with how they return to life and color up again. i only used it once and did not do the 3x dose every three wks etc.
bugs never returned.
 
I have been living with them for at least a year now, maybe more. I have interceptor, just haven't been healthy enough for all the following water changes (( had my 5th back surgery over the last 3 years back in July )). I am sure the color has suffered a bit, but otherwise things have been going great.
 
Roll221 said:
If that coral has red bugs they all must be camera shy. Nice coral by the way! IMO, they do have long term negative effects on corals. So no I can't live with them.

Ed
Click to expand...

Thanks. They're there but hard to see in that picture. I lightened up and zoomed in but the picture is overly compressed since I'm working on the hosted image rather than the original. You can definitely see the see the golden color bugs.

IMG_5512.jpg
 
preef said:
Thanks. They're there but hard to see in that picture. I lightened up and zoomed in but the picture is overly compressed since I'm working on the hosted image rather than the original. You can definitely see the see the golden color bugs.

IMG_5512.jpg
Click to expand...

As you can see, these look yellow in colour. Mine are red. Sorry, cant post a pic as I dont have a macro lense. I will live with them for now or untill I can find intercepter
 
It is only a matter of time before the bugs irritate the coral enough for it to start losing it's color. IMO it is cruel to let your delicate acros constantly be irritated by those little pests. get yourself some interceptor and do the right thing for your sps.
 
preef said:
I'd just try living with them. I can get Interceptor but haven't dosed yet because my corals seem fine with the bugs and I don't want to risk killing my shrimp.

This acro has them and it is growing quite nicely despite them.
IMG_5512.jpg
Click to expand...

The polyps on this coral are retracted due to the RBs.
I just treated my tank and suddenly only after couple of days the corals look much happier. The colours are lighter too with the RBs. So no, can't live with them. Totally against what we're trying to do with SPS..
 
I'll just say most don't notice how much they affect your coral until they get rid of them, I didn't. The changes are subtle and the corals slowly go downhill. The treatment is relatively easy compared to other parasite treatments and dipping new corals is even easier. Just treating the tank every so often will likely contribute to drug resistance and isn't the most responsible option IMO. Plus there are much more destructive and hard to get rid of parasites one can get when being careless introducing newcomers to the tank...it's just not worth it.

hth, Chris
 
Will interceptor kill all the snails and other small fauna (ie: pods) along with the bugs? Should I QT as many snails as possible just in case?
 
TheCoralFarmer said:
It is only a matter of time before the bugs irritate the coral enough for it to start losing it's color. IMO it is cruel to let your delicate acros constantly be irritated by those little pests. get yourself some interceptor and do the right thing for your sps.
Click to expand...

Im with you 100% and it :furious: me off that these bugs are in my tank. This is South Africa after all and as I said before, no intercepter in this country so what are my options?
 
Just spoke to the vet. They have a chemist looking into another local product that may contain the same active ingredients as interceptor. They just need to make sure it does'nt contain anything extra that may be harmful.
 
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