Red bugs on your sps? Share your exp.

I have yet to personally see an SPS dominant tank that does not have red bugs.
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I agree. These things are more common than one might think. Given the small size they are very hard to spot.
 
Indeed he is Dave, as I am sure many folks are. However I have seen these bugs in commercial setups. As far as I am concerned these things are hobby-wide.

I am of the school that believes the bugs are opportunistic. However, I am eager to see a biological control or chemical control for these critters.


Joe
 
hehe funny here is what I had just writen on another board not to long ago...

I believe alot of people have them, most dont even know. I have not seen anything detrimental to my corals from them tho. Some people think that these little bugs are killing all there corals. Im starting to think these little guy are just opportunistic and take advantage of sick and weak corals. But thats just my opinion. More research has to be done...

I think I agree with ya Scav :)
 
gumhead said:
I believe alot of people have them, most dont even know. I have not seen anything detrimental to my corals from them tho. Some people think that these little bugs are killing all there corals. Im starting to think these little guy are just opportunistic and take advantage of sick and weak corals. But thats just my opinion. More research has to be done...
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I agree with this statement also BUT I must also agree that they are killing people corals. If a particular coral becomes stressed for any number of reasons then it is possible that these bugs could send this coral to the grave. In this situation, I would say the bugs killed the coral. Without them, it would have probably made a full recovery.

I also believe they can bother/irritate a perfectly healthy coral. IMO, the best coral for red bug study is A. Formosa. They love this coral. Before my Formosa had bugs on it, it was absolutely the nicest looking coral. It had big green polyps and the color was great and ever since the bugs moved onto this piece, it has never been the same. It never polyps out like it used to. I have 2 other friends that have pieces from the same colony and we all have the same problems. I always debate on getting rid of that coral just because of the bugs. I don't notice damage from the bugs on my other corals, just my Formosa.

They are deffinately opportunistic and do the most damage when a coral is stressed. If they damage it when it stressed then they must bother it when it's healthy. I think our corals would be even nicer without the bugs.

Nobody is going to tell me that these things aren't harmful to our tanks. I hear a lot of people say that there have been no studies to prove if they are. I personally don't need a study to show me, I've seen the damage with my own eyes in many tanks. The corals with the least amount of bugs always look better than the corals with a lot of bugs. Study done, now please find a cure before I get an ulcer. :)
 
I am curious if anyone out there has succesfully ridded a bleached colony of red bugs and witnessed the color return to its original state.
 
I am curious if anyone out there has succesfully ridded a bleached colony of red bugs and witnessed the color return to its original state.
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I have.

Removed the bugs on all my affected corals with blasts from a turkey baster into a waste bucket. Every other day I would inspect the coral for more bugs. While I did not get rid of all the bugs( I believe there are aways some in the water column), I decimated their population so much that the corals had time to recover. Now I clean the corals that are most affected on an as needed basis.
 
Mandoman said:
I have.

Removed the bugs on all my affected corals with blasts from a turkey baster into a waste bucket. Every other day I would inspect the coral for more bugs. While I did not get rid of all the bugs( I believe there are aways some in the water column), I decimated their population so much that the corals had time to recover. Now I clean the corals that are most affected on an as needed basis.
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I do the same thing with a turkey baster. Be careful not to blast them too hard. I damaged a coral by blasting it too hard then the bugs really attacked it because it was even more stressed.
 
I re-dipped the two most infested corals last night again. The number of little buggas is minimal now. I will try hitting them with the baster regularly as you recommend. I will also take some pics of the most bleached piece to note the progress. I think it would be kinda cool to have a visual record of the recovery (assuming it will recover....knock on wood). So everybody meditate for me and channel your positive energy to my little buddy.

(attached is a pic of when I got it)
 
Another at 7 months...you will notice that the tips are still very blue. The pic shows it to be whiter than it actually was at the time. Now it IS actually this white and the tips are very pale.
 
I have a thought.... Does anyone who have the red bugs also does iodine regularly? My logic here is that we have certainly proven, short exposures (10-20 mins) of high levels of iodine (3-7ml/cup of tank water) does harm the bugs or at least knock them silly. What about long exposures to iodine at levels equal to or slightly higher then NSW?
 
AgentSPS - the coral in your picture actually looks like an A. tenuis. I have had one of mine, which looks very similar to yours, do the same thing in terms of fading in color. This happened well before my red bug problem started. After bumping up my Ca and Alk and keeping those levels steady via CO2 reactor and dosing pumps, the coral started to look better.
 
I agree, looks like a A. tenuis, I actually groaned outloud while looking at your picture progression. I hope it returns to its former glory for you.
 
I too have this problem recently discovered, actually, only a few hours ago.

i wonder if they release free floating eggs, if so perhaps a micron bag added to your filter might help. i believe they sell 50 & 100 micron. i have also seen info here and online about the mites letting go, i will be trying a micron filter soon, cleaned as much as i can, and see if it traps some of them.

I am really worried, and will be willing to try anything here. :(

i will be trying to dip the corals, both iodine, parasite treatment, and even FW. but only as a last resort.

i might add a mandarin, scooter, physchedelic, and even a 6-line
i will not be adding a yellow clown goby as i had a very bad experience with them, actually, worst than these bugs, hehe

i would love to hear from all of you on your experiences in treating this problem.

thank you
 
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