question about redbugs
- Thread starter ecvernon
- Start date
- Location
- Brooklyn, NY
yeah those are red bugs for sure (Tegastes sp.)
- Location
- Lower East Side
Those are red bugs. I have a mainly sps dominated tank and a few years ago I had those things all over all my sps to the point where they were dying. I grabbed as much inverts out of my tank that was possible and then treated with 23mg interceptor(dogs 51-100 lbs). One treatment killed them all off. The sps colored back up and it did not harm anything else in my tank. I dont even think it hurt my inverts cuz I saw a bunch of them still roaming around. Been bug free since. You dont have many sps, so you can take them out and treat them seperately. I think I have one but I just need to look to make sure. If I find it, you can have it...i checked my main display i did not find any yet. here is a picture i got zoomed and cropped takin with nikon D90
Here's another solution:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1632731
"Have you considered dipping the affected corals in ReVive Coral Cleaner?
For giant aquariums with giant coral colonies it may not be feasible to remove entire colonies of Acropora, but for most home aquariums this is a much simpler solution compared to treating the whole tank with Interceptor. There is a misconception regarding Red Bugs that they are all over the tank. In fact they are isolated on the Acropora colonies, and usually only on certain species, while they may be absent on others. If you make a seawater bath with ReVive according to the directions, and dip colonies of Acropora for between 10 and 15 minutes, the Red Bugs will fall off and die, and the colonies can be returned to the display aquarium. This treatment is also effective against Acropora Eating Flatworms (AEFW) (including their eggs).
Some recommendations: Use water taken from the display aquarium to make the bath, to minimize the stress on the corals. The corals should be completely submerged, so use sufficient water for that purpose. The water in the bath should be circulating- a small powerhead can be used for this purpose (be careful about water and electricity of course). Also be careful not to blast the corals with too strong a flow from the powerhead!
If your Acropora colonies have commensal crabs, they will jump off when the coral is dipped in ReVive. Quickly remove the crabs from the bath and put them in clean seawater. They will recover as long as they are not left in the ReVive bath for more than a couple of minutes. The crabs do not host Red Bugs, though it is a good idea to rinse them carefully to be sure that no Red Bugs are clinging to their legs.
While the instructions on the bottle of ReVive recommend only a few minutes for the dip, it is necessary to use a dip of at least 10 minutes duration to be sure to kill the Red Bugs and AEFW.
I have been able to eliminate these pests from display aquariums by simply dipping the affected coral colonies.
It is not necessary to dip all corals from the tank--- only the affected Acropora spp. need to be dipped.
I developed ReVive Coral Cleaner and it is a product of my company, Two Little Fishies, Inc.
Sincerely,
Julian Sprung"
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1632731
"Have you considered dipping the affected corals in ReVive Coral Cleaner?
For giant aquariums with giant coral colonies it may not be feasible to remove entire colonies of Acropora, but for most home aquariums this is a much simpler solution compared to treating the whole tank with Interceptor. There is a misconception regarding Red Bugs that they are all over the tank. In fact they are isolated on the Acropora colonies, and usually only on certain species, while they may be absent on others. If you make a seawater bath with ReVive according to the directions, and dip colonies of Acropora for between 10 and 15 minutes, the Red Bugs will fall off and die, and the colonies can be returned to the display aquarium. This treatment is also effective against Acropora Eating Flatworms (AEFW) (including their eggs).
Some recommendations: Use water taken from the display aquarium to make the bath, to minimize the stress on the corals. The corals should be completely submerged, so use sufficient water for that purpose. The water in the bath should be circulating- a small powerhead can be used for this purpose (be careful about water and electricity of course). Also be careful not to blast the corals with too strong a flow from the powerhead!
If your Acropora colonies have commensal crabs, they will jump off when the coral is dipped in ReVive. Quickly remove the crabs from the bath and put them in clean seawater. They will recover as long as they are not left in the ReVive bath for more than a couple of minutes. The crabs do not host Red Bugs, though it is a good idea to rinse them carefully to be sure that no Red Bugs are clinging to their legs.
While the instructions on the bottle of ReVive recommend only a few minutes for the dip, it is necessary to use a dip of at least 10 minutes duration to be sure to kill the Red Bugs and AEFW.
I have been able to eliminate these pests from display aquariums by simply dipping the affected coral colonies.
It is not necessary to dip all corals from the tank--- only the affected Acropora spp. need to be dipped.
I developed ReVive Coral Cleaner and it is a product of my company, Two Little Fishies, Inc.
Sincerely,
Julian Sprung"
Same thing goes for Interceptor baths. If you can easily remove the colonies, just give 'em a six-hour dip, put 'em back, and inspect again for red bugs in a week. If you see any or are paranoid, dip 'em again. Red bugs appear to be like lice; they're usually pretty well stuck to a host subject.
I prefer Interceptor over ReVive for this purpose because it appears to be pretty difficult to cause damage to corals with it. Plus, I think that Interceptor may provide some short-term lingering presence in the tissues of the acroporas, dealing with any left-over red bugs in the tank. (This is also why you shouldn't put interceptor-treated frags back into your DT without giving them a good rinse and then at least 30 minutes in an unmedicated SW bath. Dead red-bugs are a delicious temptation for shrimp and hermits, apparently.)
I prefer Interceptor over ReVive for this purpose because it appears to be pretty difficult to cause damage to corals with it. Plus, I think that Interceptor may provide some short-term lingering presence in the tissues of the acroporas, dealing with any left-over red bugs in the tank. (This is also why you shouldn't put interceptor-treated frags back into your DT without giving them a good rinse and then at least 30 minutes in an unmedicated SW bath. Dead red-bugs are a delicious temptation for shrimp and hermits, apparently.)
- Location
- Brooklyn, NY
yes they do Awi. They seem to prefer certain species like A. nana, but can and will host on any Acro species.
Oh boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:frown: Tobin was by today, and said that he saw red bugs on my stag, and 2 other acros. Now I need to treat my tank. How in the world am I going to get my harlequin, and hermits, snails out?:irked:
What will happen if I don't treat?
What will happen if I don't treat?
- Location
- Brooklyn, NY
First there is no reason to panic. Nothing is going to happen quickly because of the red bugs. Second, your snails are not at risk. Your Harlequins and hermits are, though I've had hermits and cleaner shrimp survive treatment more often than not.
Remove the hermits that you can over the next week or so as you see them and think about a possible strategy to catch the Harlequins.
Remove the hermits that you can over the next week or so as you see them and think about a possible strategy to catch the Harlequins.
- Location
- north jersey
the harley is pretty easy to catch. cut up a ray (for those who do not own a harley, no comment on cruelty please) of a chocolate chip and put it in a net placing it near a corner of the tank so you can quickly trap the harley against the glass while bringing it up.
Hey Tom, the Harley was the easiest to catch.lol I simply put a chocolate chip starfish in a container in the tank, and out came the Harley.
Unfortunately I thought my fowlr didn't have any copper left in it [since leathers, shroom, palys, starfish, crabs, and snails were living it with no problems.], but apparently I was wrong. The Harley didn't last a 1/2 hour in the fowlr.:sad2:
Anyway, I dosed the tank for the red bugs with the 24 hour dose. Just finished doing a 30% water change, and putting on the activated carbon in a TLF phos reactor.
Now how long before I can add another Harley, and crabs to the tank?
Unfortunately I thought my fowlr didn't have any copper left in it [since leathers, shroom, palys, starfish, crabs, and snails were living it with no problems.], but apparently I was wrong. The Harley didn't last a 1/2 hour in the fowlr.:sad2:Anyway, I dosed the tank for the red bugs with the 24 hour dose. Just finished doing a 30% water change, and putting on the activated carbon in a TLF phos reactor.
Now how long before I can add another Harley, and crabs to the tank?
DrHarryLopez
Advanced Reefer
- Location
- Ozone Park, Queens
Interesting thread on Redbugs
OzoneParkGuy
Advanced Reefer
- Location
- Ozone Park
Agree... ^^^ Tropic Marin Pro Coral Cure works for RedBugs also...and a turkey baster. 20 minute dip, blast away with baster, not with so much force that you peel the skin off but moderately all over the coral. Then rinse off in another container with fresh saltwater with the same parameters as your DT. Then inspect.
`1. Large container to hold all your infected corals. Plus a 2nd bucket with premade SW matching your DT.
2. Small container with 200ML of your tank water, plus 1 squirt of the pro coral cure. Mix untill water appears clear.
3. Dip 1 coral at a time for 20-25 minutes, then after the 20 - 25 minutes use your turkey baster.
4. Get another container and have your premade SW matching your DT and place coral in there and again gently baste. Place coral back. If you have a frag or holding tank, better for you. If not place back into your tank. Color will reappear after 2 weeks.
Repeat if ness... Remember after you dip each coral, dont use the same dip again.
Make a new dip. Repeat steps for each coral.
BTW make plenty of SW as you will be taking out water... so what you take out you must put back in.
`1. Large container to hold all your infected corals. Plus a 2nd bucket with premade SW matching your DT.
2. Small container with 200ML of your tank water, plus 1 squirt of the pro coral cure. Mix untill water appears clear.
3. Dip 1 coral at a time for 20-25 minutes, then after the 20 - 25 minutes use your turkey baster.
4. Get another container and have your premade SW matching your DT and place coral in there and again gently baste. Place coral back. If you have a frag or holding tank, better for you. If not place back into your tank. Color will reappear after 2 weeks.
Repeat if ness... Remember after you dip each coral, dont use the same dip again.
Make a new dip. Repeat steps for each coral.
BTW make plenty of SW as you will be taking out water... so what you take out you must put back in.
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IMO Ive never heard of a dip being effective. Dipping a coral in that matter is very stressful while treating your tank with interceptor is simple easy and very effective. Just remember to remove as many hermit crabs as you can as well as your shrimp.
OzoneParkGuy
Advanced Reefer
- Location
- Ozone Park
Tried it and did it with Pro Coral Cure... and yes i know the bottle says for flatworms...it works for other parasites aswell.
- Location
- Freeport NY
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