So one of my frags had red bugs

JG1

JG1

New member
I noticed one of my frags has TINY red things on it. I'm assuming red bugs. If I notice it on one frag, does that mean that they are in the tank and all frags will be infested?

I can't see the red spots on any other corals.

I'm gonna dip the frag in Coral Rx a little later but I just hope they do not spread to other corals.
 
Most likely they will be on some other corals too. It would be best to do a tank treatment rather than dip. that is the only way you can be positive that you get all of them,
 
Do you dip your corals before you put them in your tank? All corals not just sps? I have kept from getting pests by dipping all corals no matter where they come from but in the past some have slipped through the cracks. The worst is when they are eggs and if you dont see them, the iodine doesnt kill the eggs I believe. Then they hatch and make a mess.
 
I dip, but use Coral Rx. So maybe I'm not killing them.

Interceptor treatment my really only option?
 
JG1 said:
Is there a link for how to do the treatment?
Click to expand...

I basically follow melevs' instructions here: Red Bugs - No More!

Here are the basic steps when I treated mine:

  1. Wait until lights out.
  2. Crash the interceptor into power form and divided the correct dosage base on water volume. 1 interceptor pill treats 300g of water so assuming you have 100g of total water volume, you will need 1/3 of the power. Don't worry about the exact dosage and people have used as much as 3x the dosage without problem. The exposure time is more important.
  3. Take a cup of water from the tank and dump the power into the cup. Stir the cup for a few minutes until majority fo them dissolved.
  4. Turn off the skimmer, remove the filter socks, carbon and GFO.
  5. Pour the cup water to a high flow area.
  6. Turn the skimmer back on the next morning. Run carbon and do a small water change if you want.
  7. Inspect coral for red bug. You shouldn't see any.
  8. Repeat step #1 to #7 next week. And again for another week for a total of 3 dosages.
People have report skimmer overflowing from step #6 but I didn't experience this. I also didn't do 3 treatments; I did 2. After the first treatment, I can't find any red bugs but decided to do one more just in case.
 
dzhuo said:
I basically follow melevs' instructions here: Red Bugs - No More!

Here are the basic steps when I treated mine:

  1. Wait until lights out.
  2. Crash the interceptor into power form and divided the correct dosage base on water volume. 1 interceptor pill treats 300g of water so assuming you have 100g of total water volume, you will need 1/3 of the power. Don't worry about the exact dosage and people have used as much as 3x the dosage without problem. The exposure time is more important.
  3. Take a cup of water from the tank and dump the power into the cup. Stir the cup for a few minutes until majority fo them dissolved.
  4. Turn off the skimmer, remove the filter socks, carbon and GFO.
  5. Pour the cup water to a high flow area.
  6. Turn the skimmer back on the next morning. Run carbon and do a small water change if you want.
  7. Inspect coral for red bug. You shouldn't see any.
  8. Repeat step #1 to #7 next week. And again for another week for a total of 3 dosages.
People have report skimmer overflowing from step #6 but I didn't experience this. I also didn't do 3 treatments; I did 2. After the first treatment, I can't find any red bugs but decided to do one more just in case.
Click to expand...

Thanks!

What size water change is recommended after each treatment?
 
JG1 said:
What size water change is recommended after each treatment?
Click to expand...

It varies. I have heard recommendations from 30% to 50%. I personally did a 15%. Others don't even do water change after all treatments are done. Since interceptor isn't going to hurt anything but crustacean, it's more or less a personal preference. One thing I forget to mention is lots of people like to remove all shrimps and crabs before the treatment because they will likely be dead.
 
dzhuo said:
It varies. I have heard recommendations from 30% to 50%. I personally did a 15%. Others don't even do water change after all treatments are done. Since interceptor isn't going to hurt anything but crustacean, it's more or less a personal preference. One thing I forget to mention is lots of people like to remove all shrimps and crabs before the treatment because they will likely be dead.
Click to expand...

How many hours after dosing did you do the WC?

Did you notice pods die off?
 
Whisperer said:
I doubt that you can see red bugs with your naked eyes. I know I can't.
Click to expand...

I can absolutely see them.

They look just like this
redbugs_2.jpg
 
I waited about 6hrs to do a water change. Did the 3 treatments and no more red bugs:)
I could only see then with a magnifying glass.
 
JG1 said:
How many hours after dosing did you do the WC?
Click to expand...

I didn't do a water change to get interceptor out. I have a bi-weekly 15% water change routine so after 2 treatments, I just did a normal water change. On both treatments, I started around 10pm at night after lights out (turning off skimmer) and turn the skimmer back on next day around 9am.

JG1 said:
Did you notice pods die off?
Click to expand...

Yes I estimate about +90% pods must have died off. I couldn't find a single one right after the treatment even in the fuge after lights out. But a few must have survived because a few more days later, they started to come back. The interesting thing I notice is certain types of pods must reacted to interceptor better than other because I notice after the treatment, what used to be the dominated type is now the minority. I only have a single hermit crab at that time and it was killed.
 
For some reason, i can see them easily now that I know what they look like.

I didnt even change my water after my 2nd treatment, just ran carbon.

Chris
 
Yeah, I lost most of my hermits, skunk cleaner shrimp and fire shrimp. That is the negative side of treating with interceptor.
 
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