The return of the red bugs.

geno7

New member
I treated my tank about 7 months ago with interceptor to end a red bug infestation. The bugs completely disappeared and I havenââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t noticed any in a while. 2 nights ago I was inspecting my sps and noticed one of them was covered in red bugs again, the horrorââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦
The interesting part of this is that I have not introduced any new corals in this period. Where did they come from? It must be that the interceptor treatment is not all ways 100%.
 
did you treat multiple times?
are you sure you used enough?

you might try treating in a seperate tank.
 
After you used interceptor, probably some red bugs still survived and you just didn't notice them. Good luck on your next treatment
 
thats gotta suck. I use iodine reef dip on my acros before they go into the tank. red bugs can do some damage :mad2:
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7042254#post7042254 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tdsounds
red bugs can do some damage :mad2:

? I guess I can't see the damage

120-complete-a.jpg


Heres a close up :D Still don't see damge or poor color.

red-bugs.jpg
 
wow! definitely don't see any damage! But I had instances where people had lost some colonies due to the red bugs, but maybe in situations your water quality might be excellent. By the way awesome looking tank!

Here some info I found


The next pest has been getting a lot of attention lately because of a new treatment people are trying....."Red Bugs". Red bugs are a type of parasite (happens to be a species of pod) that infects Acropora sp., and are a yellowish color with a red spot on one end of their bodies. For some reason, however, they have not been found to effect A. yongei or other SPS. There are so many different varieties of Acropora it is hard to say which colonies can handle the infestation and continue to grow, or which colonies would be destroyed by the infestation. It is also unclear as to how these bugs parasitize. Are they eating the flesh of the coral, or are they eating something else that is parasitizing the coral? What hobbyists first notice is a loss of color to their coral, eventually the coral becomes very pale, and some die.

If you happen to have red bugs it is important to not "share the wealth" when frag trading, or if you do trade frags - inform the other hobbyists of your infestation. Inspect all incoming frags for the red bugs.

Some methods of treatment - removal of the infected colony, placement in a separate container, and blowing the coral with a powerhead to dislodge the parasite. Another mode of treatment would be to remove all Acropora sp from the system ----> then any new colonies introduced to the aquarium potentially would have a parasite free environment. There of course are various dips to try, as well. The last mode of treatment I'll mention is getting the attention......the use of Interceptor (heartworm preventative for dogs). The drug has been shown to be effective for killing off the red bugs, however, it will also kill off pods and nematodes in the system, as well (unless all Acropora corals can be removed to quarantine for treatment). The long term/residual effects of this treatment have also not been noted.

For more reading on this topic: An Aquarist's Experiences with a Species of Acropora Parasites by Greg Hiller

An Aquarist's Experiences with a Species of Acropora Parasites
 
Thanks !But I feel there is more to blame than red bigs when corals die ...........I guess it's easier to blame some thing you can see.

On a side note acro eating flatworms do damge to acros that is very visable.
 
I'm in the same boat with clkwrk, I have a few frags with rb's on em and they're doing just fine. Hence the reason why I havent dont anything ;) I also agree with tdsounds, water quality i'm sure plays another factor so good water + rb's = no damage atleast in my instance :D .....and clkwrk's ;)
 
The coral in my thank that has the infestation is showing no ill effects, color is good. I think polyp extension is a little less than what it should be. How do acros in the wild deal with these critters. Has a closed system forced these bugs to become acro parisites?
It would seem that by now someone would have done a study on these animals. They have received alot of feed back on the forums these days.
 
IME, red bugs really don't effect healthy corals but lets say you have a coral that's no so healthy, red bugs could be the deal breaker on rather the coral makes it or not.
 
Im on the dont see the damage bandwagon, I have noticed them for about a month and I have awesome polyp extension... I think that my corals could be more colorful but I am not running carbon, well... I wasnt but I am now come about an hour ago.
 
Everyone boasts that their corals get so much better after they dose their tanks... lets think what they are doing.... Large water changes and Lots of Carbon, of course things are going to look better.
 
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