red bugs help!

[itz frank]

Chris also pointed out it'd be better to do this treatment by moving your infected sps to a quarantine and doing the treatment there so you don't kill all your inverts.

 

[jeffbrig]

But only if you can remove every single piece of acropora (or any other potentially affected sps) that's in your tank.

 

[gasman059]

In 2004, a "cure" to red acro bugs was posted on the forum Reefs.org by the user DustinDorton. It involves the usage of a dog heartworm medication called Interceptor, made by Novartis. Interceptor is the industry name for milbemycin oxime, which is an active chemical against nematodes (or heartworms in dogs) and some arthropods, such as the red acro bug.
This is surely a drug used for nematodes and in my parasitology back in the day it ceratinly was discused in tropical medicine. I guess u guys have had experience

 

[gasman059]

I'll be willing to ask my bro who's a vet to see if does have some experince and certainly time permiting i'll get some for u guys.

 

[chrisaggie]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8460895#post8460895 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by itz frank
Chris also pointed out it'd be better to do this treatment by moving your infected sps to a quarantine and doing the treatment there so you don't kill all your inverts.

I think you misunderstood. I recommend doing the treatment in the display tank, but said it is possible to do the treatment in a QT tank.

 

[jeffbrig]

I recommend treating all our your NEW corals (or those that could potentially carry red bugs) in quarantine BEFORE they go into your display tank.

 

[chrisaggie]

Yup, as I discussed at the meeting, I treat all incoming corals with a 100 stregth dip for 2 hours. Remember that it is very possible to get red bugs on corals other than acropora. I know exactly where I got red bugs for the first time. It was from an orange montipora cap frag.

 

[jessp]

when you say 100 strength what do you mean? i was at the meeting and didn't really understand that part.

 

[jeffbrig]

He means 100X the strength recommended by the Dorton method. Chris was (wisely) vague about the actual dosages, since that's VERY easy for someone to get mixed up in their head after hearing it at a meeting.

Personally, I have used a 3-4X strength bath overnight on new corals. I don't have redbugs, but I don't know for certain if any of my new corals were carrying them either.

 

[chrisaggie]

Yup, Jeff is right. I meant 100 strength to mean 100 strength of a normal tank dosage. So if 1 pill would treat 360 gallon of water my dip would consist of 1 pill in 3.6 gallon of water...or 28% (about a quarter) of a pill in 1 gallon of water.

 

[jessp]

so chris you use 100% of the reccomended strength instead of others that may prefer less or you multiple the reccomended strength by one hundred and use that instead as a kinda shock dose.

 

[jeffbrig]

jessp, remember that all of this is pretty much determined experimentally. When Randy Dorton discovered this treatment, he was searching for any medication that might work, and he tried different things. The published dosage is what he observed to be effective (and thought it was safe) for a 6 hour in-tank treatment. He also tested with stronger doses, even up to 100X, and found that it did not harm the coral. I don't believe 100X was ever tested in a display, and I don't think you should attempt to do that, either. The 100X is only if you are treating new corals in a bucket or holding tank.

I happen to use the lowest strength pills that are 1/10th as potent as the "large dog" pills. For me, it's more convenient since I treat in smaller containers. ~1/2 of a pill in a 5 gallon bucket works out to somewhere between 3X and 4X of the "normal" dose. With a bubbler and a heater, I leave the corals in the bucket for several hours, or even overnight.

 

[jessp]

cool makes sense, i don't have any acropora or sps so i really don't need to do this now, just like to know how the things work. I will be upgrading to 90gal in about 6 months and plan on setting up sps tank.

 

[reefsahoy]

when you treat the new corals do you throw out the water? what i mean is can you keep the quarantine water for say a month and anytime you buy water over that time frame you use the old water or do you make a fresh batch everytime you buy corals?

 

[jeffbrig]

I always throw out the water. I typically use a bucket for drip acclimation, and once that's filled, I go ahead and do whatever treatments I need in there. When I'm done, the water goes. Keep in mind that any critters that drop off, coral slime, etc. will foul the water if you let it sit. If you don't believe me, keep the bucket around for a few days and see how it smells.

Think of it as an opportunity for a water change. I would guess that 90% of my water changes are a direct result of using water from the display for acclimation, dips, and maintaining my quarantine tanks. The rest from siphoning.

 

[chrisaggie]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8469152#post8469152 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by reefsahoy
when you treat the new corals do you throw out the water? what i mean is can you keep the quarantine water for say a month and anytime you buy water over that time frame you use the old water or do you make a fresh batch everytime you buy corals?

I throw it out.

 

[reefsahoy]

good point jeffbrig i didn't think of that!

 

[reefsahoy]

started interceptor using chris aggies's method 12 pm will update on the hour.

1pm - looks like less red bugs on acros but some still there. coral banded shrimp ok and blood red shrimp ok so far. will have to wait to catch them if they start getting slow. can't catch them in the reef.

 

[reefsahoy]

2pm almost all the red bugs are gone. i see mabye one on a acro but not sure if it's dead. all shrimps look good. acro crabs look ok so far.

 

[reefsahoy]

2:30 there are some bugs on the arcos blowing around in the current but i think they are dead. shrimp and crabs looks good. considering running carbon now since the dose is so high also because there is really no instruction to this medication.