Red Bugs

[jeffberg]

I sold a piece of coral to a local reefer who told me I had red bugs. This person is knowledgeable and I do trust him. I have sold corals locally and on RC and people who dipped the corals they got from me said they were clean. I too dip all my purchased frags in revive/Lugols during the acclimation process. I certainly do not want to sell or trade coral that have any problems. I do not see the redbugs and have taken a flash light at night looking for these critters. I have a 300 gallon tank full of acros and I have read much info about the red bugs; I personally don't see any evidence of them my corals and they look good with good pe. I am not stupid enough to believe I am immune to them so I will go to the vet today to get the interceptor; fortunately I have 5 dogs so I won't have to explain myself; maybe I'm in denial. I do try to choose fish for my tank that will control algae and that are predators to anything that can harm my corals or clams. Any thoughts? Thanks Jeff

 

[saltygeek]

I would maybe get another frag from the coral you gave him and check it. Maybe even just move the coral closer to the glass to get a better look. I was able to spot just a couple red bugs on one of my acros through the tank but my tank is small. So I would think putting the coral next to the glass and staring at it for awhile may work. I didnt need a magnifying glass or flashlight but they may help.

 

[Gyr]

I had a pretty good load of red bugs in my tank for I don't know how long, as I can not see them by just looking in the tank. The way I found out I had them was by taking a photo and zooming in for a close up look on one of my smooth-bodied acros. It's just a simple digital point and shoot, but it does have a 'macro' setting, so maybe you could do the same thing. Magnifying glass would probably work well, too, but I don't own one.
I had great results with a 3-step round of the interceptor, just losing the cleaner shrimp I couldn't catch and move to QT during treatment. I have noticed a gradual improvement in acro colors since completion of the treatment.

Good luck.

 

[3skitch3]

Actually it has been found that redbugs breed live so dosing interceptor once is all that is needed. I just recently dipped it on my 90 gallon and my cleaner shrimp actually lived, though my large sally foot crab died. Also the largest redbugs even get is about a cm in length so viewing from afar usually wont cut it.
I didn't even know I had redbugs until I had gotten very close up on one of my acro's to see them running around. Only started on one coral that still looked fine just no polyp extension. After about a month it had spread from one to almost every smooth acro I had (about 10). Hope this helps!

 

[MEDINAH00]

Do the red bugs look almost like nudibranch in that the way they move like a crawling motion??

 

[Eurobeaner]

Mine are very tiny... Think grain of salt, but orange/redish. But I can see them very well on my smoothe skin sps

 

[JasonD]

Red bugs are the Devil.

 

[DallasSVT]

Does Dipping corals kill red bugs? I dip all new corals as insurance!


Dallas

 

[James404]

Most dips do not kill red bugs. If you have good eyesight you should be able to see them, they move pretty quickly on the corals. I just got done doing my first treatment of interceptor, no sign of them anymore.