Red Bugs - How long will they survive without an acro?

[jimrawr]

I just noticed last night that I have red bugs. I am fortunate that I have a friend near me who has a large tank that also has red bugs, and he is going to start his treatment soon. I only have a small 30g cube with only a few acros which can easily be removed. Only 2 small frags have started to encrust, but I think I can just peel them off with my fingers (encrusted area is less than 1" diameter).

So I want to just bring my acros to my buddies and let him treat them along with his tank, but I was just curious as to how long the red bugs will survive in my tank with no acros to feed off?

Thanks

 

[jimrawr]

Crap I just realize this is probably in the wrong forum