SPS PREADATORS Red bugs, AEFW's ,Monti nudis and Sea spiders. Pictures Inside

[fishdoc11]

Very nice pictures Marc

 

[wentreefgirl]

 

[Wonder]

my contribution

Convolutriloba retrogemma

 

[Mike O'Brien]

I'm in the middle of a treatment for red bugs right now. I'm doing it a bit differently than most, so I just wanted to share my method.

1. Set up ten gallon tank with some rubble, a few small power heads and a LOA 65 watt light and a 50 watt heater. Used reef tank water to fill.

2. Place all the Acropora in the tank

3. Change 50% water daily for 6 days in a row with reef tank water.

4. On day 6 add 1/4 of the Interceptor pill to the treatment tank and treat for 12-24 hours. According to Borneman

5. Day 7 change out most of the water in the treatment tank with reef tank water.

6. Day 8 Close inspection, and corals go back into the display tank.

I was thinking about treating the corals first, but I chose to do it this way so I could keep changing the water with water from my reef throughout the entire period rather than having to use fresh salt water. IMO the treatment and being in the small tank are enough stress. Any bugs introduced into the treatment tank before the drug is added will be killed by the treatment. After the treatment, enough time would have gone by that any bugs remaining in the display tank will be dead.

 

[SaraB]

Mike O'Brien - I'm not sure if 8 days is long enough for the redbugs that are left behind in the tank to die off with their lifecycle. I did QT and treatments in a 10 gallon tank as well, but they were in that tank for 15 days with 3 treatments total with 100% success.

 

[H@rry]

I think you need to go ahead and bite the bullet and treat the display tank. That's what I did and I'm not sorry for it. No more red bugs.

 

[mkbtank]

I just found a bunch of red, flatworms concentrated on a zoo colony on the bottom of my tank. - How do I know if they are AEFW, or another type?

Also, should I yank the piece out?

They don't look to be anywhere else (Yet)

 

[mkbtank]

Sorry for the blurry pic, but you get the point.

I am thinking the worst.

Thoughts?

 

[Mike O'Brien]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11288443#post11288443 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sara B
Mike O'Brien - I'm not sure if 8 days is long enough for the redbugs that are left behind in the tank to die off with their lifecycle. I did QT and treatments in a 10 gallon tank as well, but they were in that tank for 15 days with 3 treatments total with 100% success.

Five days is all that's needed. I'm playing it safe by going a few more days.

 

[fishdoc11]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11288611#post11288611 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mkbtank
I just found a bunch of red, flatworms concentrated on a zoo colony on the bottom of my tank. - How do I know if they are AEFW, or another type?

Also, should I yank the piece out?

They don't look to be anywhere else (Yet)

Those sound like plain old planaria or "red/brown flatworms".....a nuisance but not harmful to corals. AEFW's would be on Acros and you most likely wouldn't see them even upon close inspection.

 

[mkbtank]

better.

ok- I didn't have these before, and they really looked isolated to that one spot, so is it possible that they recently hatched?

I just took that piece and the surrounding rocks (on the bottom) out of the tank. I didn't want them start to divide and conquer.

 

[mkbtank]

thanks fishdoc.

 

[Mike O'Brien]

A TMPCC dip will take care of them for you if they are only on that rock.

 

[ct_vol]

Wild Montipora foliosa colony I got in a month ago... I've dipped the colony twice in TMPCC over the past month... Its sitting in a bath of TMPCC as we speak and I'm going to try and scrub it a bit more... Any other suggestions out there???

 

[melev]

Don't put the coral back in your system with those still on it. (I guess you knew that though)

You want to remove all of the parents as well as the eggs.

Eric Borneman had an article on this topic a few months ago in Reefkeeping, discussing the use of garlic and Potassium Pergamate (sp?).
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-09/eb/index.php

Since you have these pests, do you happen to have any TLF's ReVive that you could try? It would be interesting to know if it works on these.

 

[mpoletti]

Those things are just so creepy. Everytime I see them it gives me the shivers.

I have done the Potassium permagnate dip. It will brown your corals, but it does work.

 

[ct_vol]

Marc~ Thanks for the link... Yes, of course the colony is quarantined... The only thing I can think is happening is that the TMPCC isn't killing the eggs, and I must be missing a couple masses in my scrubbing...

I'll try ordering some Potassium Permanganate and give it a go if this dip doesn't seem to work...

I thought about doing a FWE treatment... Miguel at Fragglereef had success against Zoanthid eating nudibranchs a while back... But it still leaves egg masses in tact...

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1109378

 

[fishdoc11]

That sucks Randy
I don't think anything will kill the eggs of any of these critters. I don't know if anything will even kill the nudis. The only thing I have ever heard of is picking them off. I don't think TMPCC works on the adults either.

 

[hng]

I saw it mentioned before about the "black bugs" but no one seems to have followed up with successful treatments. Is Interceptor the treatment of choice or is there something else I should be using? Are black bugs even a parasite worth treating or should I leave it alone?

 

[melev]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11377879#post11377879 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ct_vol
Marc~ Thanks for the link... Yes, of course the colony is quarantined... The only thing I can think is happening is that the TMPCC isn't killing the eggs, and I must be missing a couple masses in my scrubbing...

I'll try ordering some Potassium Permanganate and give it a go if this dip doesn't seem to work...

I thought about doing a FWE treatment... Miguel at Fragglereef had success against Zoanthid eating nudibranchs a while back... But it still leaves egg masses in tact...

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1109378

The eggs are like teeny-tiny specks of rice. You should be able to see them, as they are white. Since you are dealing with an unmounted frag, it should be possible to isolate those and get them off the coral.

Others in the SPS forum would probably just recommend tossing it out rather than risk infection. So how much time do you have on your hands and what tools do you have to work with... I wonder if we could get one of those lasers like they use for hair removal. :rollface: