Red bugs on your sps? Share your exp.
- Thread starter Mark
- Start date
There is no doubt in my mind that they do harm to the coral. No dis-repect to Dr. Ron but I believe this is one time he is wrong in his judgement. I have seen many people saying that they are losing color, if not the entire coral that they are on but not many saying they have seen no harm done when the bug is present.
Hi fellow plague sufferers,
I have been succesful at removing these guys by directing flow from a syringe across the coral. But not too hard or it will remove the coral's own tissue.
I have also noted that the bugs don't seem to like the Tetra Oomed very much. Individuals placed in even weak solutions of Oomed died much quicker than those left in just tank water. This was an experiment carried out in small cups so I don't know how much we can read into it.
Also, iodine is quite toxic to crustaceans so a Lugol's solution dip may kill them as well.
For those who have used dips to kill the bugs, how long did you find it took for the coral to recover? That is to say, how long for its original color to return?
Also, how many are finding flat worms on the ailing corals as well as the bugs. On several occasions, I have removed flatworms from the corals in addition to the bugs. The flat worms are virtually impossible to see even though some are up to 1/4 inch long. They seem to incorporate the coral's color into their tissue and lay flat on its surface. I have only seen them when I was actively trying to remove the little red bugs, but I have not found them on all the bleached corals. In my case, a flat worm may also be responsible for creating similar symptoms. Maybe I have two problems! On the other hand, maybe cjdevito's observation is correct and the flatworms are simply preying on the bugs on the coral. What a pain this is!
And a quick PS here. Even if the dip kills the bugs and the coral recovers and this event is reproducible, we STILL haven't PROVEN the bugs are the real problem. Don't get me wrong, I still hold them as suspects. But it could be, for instance, that the bugs are eating a fungus growing on the coral and the dip kills both the bug and the fungus.
Let's not let this thread die until we get an answer, Mutagen
I have been succesful at removing these guys by directing flow from a syringe across the coral. But not too hard or it will remove the coral's own tissue.
I have also noted that the bugs don't seem to like the Tetra Oomed very much. Individuals placed in even weak solutions of Oomed died much quicker than those left in just tank water. This was an experiment carried out in small cups so I don't know how much we can read into it.
Also, iodine is quite toxic to crustaceans so a Lugol's solution dip may kill them as well.
For those who have used dips to kill the bugs, how long did you find it took for the coral to recover? That is to say, how long for its original color to return?
Also, how many are finding flat worms on the ailing corals as well as the bugs. On several occasions, I have removed flatworms from the corals in addition to the bugs. The flat worms are virtually impossible to see even though some are up to 1/4 inch long. They seem to incorporate the coral's color into their tissue and lay flat on its surface. I have only seen them when I was actively trying to remove the little red bugs, but I have not found them on all the bleached corals. In my case, a flat worm may also be responsible for creating similar symptoms. Maybe I have two problems! On the other hand, maybe cjdevito's observation is correct and the flatworms are simply preying on the bugs on the coral. What a pain this is!
And a quick PS here. Even if the dip kills the bugs and the coral recovers and this event is reproducible, we STILL haven't PROVEN the bugs are the real problem. Don't get me wrong, I still hold them as suspects. But it could be, for instance, that the bugs are eating a fungus growing on the coral and the dip kills both the bug and the fungus.
Let's not let this thread die until we get an answer, Mutagen
tszetela
Reefer
Mutagen:
How long did it take and what dosage did you use?
I was planning to test three dips this weekend: Marine OOmed, Lugols, and lower salinity. I am a little nervious about the osmotic shock on the corals. I was planning to take them from 1.023 to 1.018 and see if this kills the "bugs". Any feed back on how much of shock this will be to the sps frags involved?
How long did it take and what dosage did you use?
I was planning to test three dips this weekend: Marine OOmed, Lugols, and lower salinity. I am a little nervious about the osmotic shock on the corals. I was planning to take them from 1.023 to 1.018 and see if this kills the "bugs". Any feed back on how much of shock this will be to the sps frags involved?
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va_reefman
New member
Hi everyone,
I have been following this thread from the beginning and haven't seen anyone mention that those bugs are ok. From my personal experience, I have a lot of these tiny criters on may be 1/3 of all my sps colonies. It has been there for over a year and I have not seen any ill affect to my SPS yet(knock on wood).
I will keep watching this thread to see if anyone come up with a safe, natural way to rid of those bugs. I don't like to use chemical in my system. I will let everyone know if I find anything.
For now my coral are still healthy and growing wild so I will keep my finger cross.
Happy reefing,
John
I have been following this thread from the beginning and haven't seen anyone mention that those bugs are ok. From my personal experience, I have a lot of these tiny criters on may be 1/3 of all my sps colonies. It has been there for over a year and I have not seen any ill affect to my SPS yet(knock on wood).
I will keep watching this thread to see if anyone come up with a safe, natural way to rid of those bugs. I don't like to use chemical in my system. I will let everyone know if I find anything.
For now my coral are still healthy and growing wild so I will keep my finger cross.
Happy reefing,
John
Mark
Premium Member
Just an update, these bugs definitely do not like lots of current. David Newman mentioned rehabilitating acros infected with them by simply placing a powerhead directed at it. Be sure to not make the flow too much, as it could stress the coral or damage the tissue. I placed a powerhead directly at one of my colonies. It was set on a wavemaker to give the coral some relief at times. I noticed in a matter of weeks it was regaining color. Upon closer inspection, I noticed the bugs were less prevalent. Just though you all should know.
Skipper
Premium Member
Here is what I did that seemed to work, and has not harmed the coral:
The frag was definitely not happy, and slimed up pretty bad for a day and a half, but after about three days seemed to return to normal. Here is a quote from their page on the Redox + liquid:
P.S. I forgot to add that ByTor suggested all of this. Thanks, ByTor.
- In a two cup measuring cup, I placed tank water.
I removed the frag and placed in the cup.
I began by putting in about 5 drops of Thiel Aqua Tech Redox +.
When I noticed the bugs were still remaining, I added a few more drops.
Let it sit for approximately 10 minutes until 90% of the bugs were off the coral.
Shook the frag and placed back in the tank.
The frag was definitely not happy, and slimed up pretty bad for a day and a half, but after about three days seemed to return to normal. Here is a quote from their page on the Redox + liquid:
P.S. I forgot to add that ByTor suggested all of this. Thanks, ByTor.
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SawCJack00
Professional Mind Reader
I know that my bugs came specifically from a local reef who I got some frags from. I actually saw them on the frags as soon as I added them, but due to the responses from several experts on our board that they were harmless, I decided to leave them in. I have since had a fairly major event (man made, do not want to go into detail) which caused me to loose several frags including several all of the infected ones. I did see the red bugs on one other frag fter my disaster, but decide to remove that frag also. I have not seen any red bugs on any other frags or colonies yet, although I think they are still present in small numbers and I am keeping a close watch on my tank for them. I may try that redox+ dip if they come back.
Jon_Hewett_85
Member
This stuff is based on dilluted Potassium permanganate?!?! I doubt this stuff is safe for all animals. Potassium permanganate is VERY VERY VERY strong stuff even highly dilluted. It is an insanely strong oxidizer. We use it (pure PP btw not the redox+) at a concentration of ONE HALF TEASPOON PER 300 GALLONS. That's plenty to turn the water a nice purple color and kill just about anything but the fish. Given the strengh of this stuff and what it does i would be VERY catious aboutusing it. ON another note if you wish to stop the treatment immeadiatly without remother the frag (or whatever you happen to be treating) you can stop the process with Hydrogen Peroxide.
Nek
Premium Member
These bugs are taking over a few of my frags.... Its funny, the outbreak coincided with the jumping death of my 6-line. Im not drawing any conclusions, but the 6 line might have been eating them. The infested frags definately are losing color---- uninfested frags are not. I just purchased a 5 bar wrasse, we'll see if he's interested. Ill keep you posted.
Hard to say for sure of the color of the bugs but looking at some of the above pictures, I may have those as well. Mine looked a little darker. I did not even notice the bugs until my frag started losing color at the tips of one branch. A beautiful lime green tipped acro. It just glowed! The color loss start at the tips and quickly moved down to the base. I fresh water dipped and numerous items came off..including those damn red flatworms as well. My bugs when prodded with a needle point, seemed to move in slug fashion though, not at all like copepods I have seen. These frags also came from GARF. This really sucks guys. My question to those using syringes and powerheads to blow the bugs off their corals...aren't they just going to end up finding another coral to invade??
SawCJack00
Professional Mind Reader
Yup
npaden
New member
For those thinking this is some unnatural bug that somehow got introduced to our systems through frag swapping with the wrong guy, I know Simon Hunington in the U.K. has just found out he has the bugs and he hasn't traded with anyone in the U.S.
I'm still on the fence here. I think MANY people have the bugs and just don't know it as they are in low numbers in their systems for one reason or another. Just like the orange flatworms, for some they reach plague numbers and for some they don't. No idea why. Also I think they are similar in that they do not appear to directly feed on the corals tissue. One theory I think has some merit is that they may feed on mucus that the coral gives off. This would be why they don't stay on the corals in high current - there is no mucus for them to feed on. I doubt from the close up pics I've seen in the thread in Eric's forum that the power head could actually blow these guys off the coral unless they wanted to leave.
They could be like bristleworms and someday we may find out they are actually good to have.
In the meantime, I think I'm going to try to avoid trading with people who have these things!
FWIW, Nathan
I'm still on the fence here. I think MANY people have the bugs and just don't know it as they are in low numbers in their systems for one reason or another. Just like the orange flatworms, for some they reach plague numbers and for some they don't. No idea why. Also I think they are similar in that they do not appear to directly feed on the corals tissue. One theory I think has some merit is that they may feed on mucus that the coral gives off. This would be why they don't stay on the corals in high current - there is no mucus for them to feed on. I doubt from the close up pics I've seen in the thread in Eric's forum that the power head could actually blow these guys off the coral unless they wanted to leave.
They could be like bristleworms and someday we may find out they are actually good to have.
In the meantime, I think I'm going to try to avoid trading with people who have these things!
FWIW, Nathan
G-money
Premium Member
At first I thought they were definitely bad - I attributed them to the paling of a tricolor and also a green stag that I had. Now I'm not so sure. Both of the corals had experienced a minor bleaching over the summer. Didn't lose all their color, but definitely bleached a little. About a month or two after they paled, I noticed the bugs all over both corals. One was a smallish frag (tricolor) and the other (stag) was mid-sized colony.
Those were the only two infected acros at the time. I also had a pink mille and a wild colony (with crab) that were bug-free. Over the past 6 months since I first noticed the bugs, I have added about 10 more various frags of acropora. These are all colors - brown, orange, purple, tricolor, tan, yellow, green. I have noticed the bugs on a few of these frags, but have noticed no deleterious effects on the growth, color, or overall health. Even on the original green stag...I broke off a large portion of the slightly bleached area (where most of the bugs gathered) and left the still-colorful base to regrow. That coral still has the bugs on the base, but the polyps open and there is NO color loss. This coral does seem to be a bit stunted though, but it's also like a 7th generation frag...
I am led to believe that these bugs are merely commensal with acros and aren't at all killing them. A few of my frags have had them for close to 6 months without any ill effects. I realize I am not presenting any hardcore scientific data or astonishing gut pictures, but I just thought I would give my longer-term evaluation of them. JMObservation
Those were the only two infected acros at the time. I also had a pink mille and a wild colony (with crab) that were bug-free. Over the past 6 months since I first noticed the bugs, I have added about 10 more various frags of acropora. These are all colors - brown, orange, purple, tricolor, tan, yellow, green. I have noticed the bugs on a few of these frags, but have noticed no deleterious effects on the growth, color, or overall health. Even on the original green stag...I broke off a large portion of the slightly bleached area (where most of the bugs gathered) and left the still-colorful base to regrow. That coral still has the bugs on the base, but the polyps open and there is NO color loss. This coral does seem to be a bit stunted though, but it's also like a 7th generation frag...
I am led to believe that these bugs are merely commensal with acros and aren't at all killing them. A few of my frags have had them for close to 6 months without any ill effects. I realize I am not presenting any hardcore scientific data or astonishing gut pictures, but I just thought I would give my longer-term evaluation of them. JMObservation
PetShopBoy
New member
I've had these creatures (if they're the same ones) on some of my SPS colonies for over two years now. All colonies are healthy and grow at a tremendous rate. I've never noticed a loss in coloration. My tank is a 250Gal with 4-400W 10Ks and 830W of VHO lighting.
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