Little red bugs

[dyereefer]

Well I hate to admit it but I do use a magnifiyng glass to observe my coral .
What I noticed today was Little red bugs running around on only a select few peices of coral. Is this stuff harmful if so Whats the cure?

[Aquattro]

It's a common theme these days with acropora. Do a search in the SPS forum on Reefcentral, you'll find about 2 days worth of reading material. In my (and many othrs) opinion, tey are harmful and will eventually suck the life out of your acros.

You can treat your tank with heartworm medication to remove them, but you'll also lose any crabs or shrimp youcan't remove.
Look on Canreef for a thread called Interceptor or something like that.

Sorry to hear of another case of these stupid bugs. I examine every frag I get now under a microscope, and treat any afflicted pieces.

[dyereefer]

Do you dip any new infected pieces ?
Do you dip with interceptor or something else?

[Aquattro]

I quarantine for 6 hours ina concentrated Interceptor solution. I use a 5g tank set up beforehand, so when I go coral shopping, I have a tank at home to treat them. Realistically, I can't think of any place I've been that doesn't have them. Retailer or hobbyist, they're everywhere.

[dyereefer]

I think I may get lucky due to the fact that most of my pieces are small enough still that I can pull them out of the tank and dip them.
How easy was it to access this medication ?

[Aquattro]

I think I may get lucky due to the fact that most of my pieces are small enough still that I can pull them out of the tank and dip them.
How easy was it to access this medication ?

No, you can't dip them. You need to treat the tank three times. There are instructions on RC in the SPS forum. The medication is prescription only, so you'll need to go to a vet to get it. Tell them why, they like this kinda stuff. It's expensive also, so do it right the first time. I tried to "cheat", I didn't get away with it. Trust me, you won't get them dipping. In the future, take a magnifying glass when coral shopping, save yourself the trouble of this a second time!! :razz:

[Delphinus]

Is a magnifying glass sufficient to see them 100%? Or is it better to find a microscope. And when you're using a magnifying glass, do you take the frag out of the tank to look at it? Or just good enough to look through the glass.

[props]

still got a couple of pills if you need some
=o)

[Aquattro]

Is a magnifying glass sufficient to see them 100%? Or is it better to find a microscope. And when you're using a magnifying glass, do you take the frag out of the tank to look at it? Or just good enough to look through the glass.

tony, you'd need to keep the frag in water. I put pieces in a tupperware container and examine them that way. A magnifying glass should be enough to detect them, but a microscope soes work better. The last pieces I bought looked clean at the store, but once home under the scope, I found the little suckers! Just be careful, and be prepared to quarantine if required.

[Aquattro]

still got a couple of pills if you need some
=o)

Jesse, best to hang on to those for QT dips on new frags.

[dyereefer]

thanks 4 all the info guys.

[dyereefer]

Ok I picked up some Intercepter to kill these bugs.But now I need a trusted source on how to use this stuff properly.
I you read this reef raf pls tell me the proper method.
I have read the stuff on reefcentral but like I said a trusted source who has used this stuff with sucess would make me more comfortable.
The stuff I got is 2.3 mg pills and is flavored.
This stuff was over the counter not perscription it was about $14 for 6 pills.

[Aquattro]

You need to read Dustin's original thread on RC, and follow it precisely. I can't see you getting it that it cost the rest of us about $60 for 6 pills. You need the large breed size, so maybe you got the wrong size.
Basically, you need to get the large breed size, have someone measure it into the three dosage sizes you need for your gallonage. Remove all the crabs and shrimp you can, everything else is fine. You treat once a week for three weeks. Add a dose, leave it for 6 hours or so, do a 25% water change and run tons of carbon. Repeat 2 more week's worth. Don't skip, or try doing less than three. We tried and failed. You must do three treatments. Look for a compounding pharmacy in your area to measure the dosages, once you calculate them. Make sure you have the right size pills, the wrong size won't work. Read all the RC threads on it.

Fun, huh? Remember to thank the place/person you got them from for all your fun. Always check acropora with a magnifying glass before putting them in your tank from now on.

[dyereefer]

WOW I will do all that and get back here in about a month to let you all know how it went.

[Aquattro]

WOW I will do all that and get back here in about a month to let you all know how it went.
Good luck. FYI, I haven't seen bugs return after 2+ months...

[dyereefer]

Ok 1st dose added at 4pm today will start carbon in 6hrs and a water change approx 14 gallons.

[dyereefer]

Its been 2 hrs and I have noticed bugs starting to fall off the branchs just now.

[dyereefer]

Well its 7pm and I can find no sign of the little red bugs.

[Aquattro]

Well its 7pm and I can find no sign of the little red bugs.

Don't let that fool you into not doing the next two doses!!

[dyereefer]

I will stay the course and banish this evil from my perfect little world.
Yes I need a life! :lol:

[dyereefer]

Well 3rd and final dose was done today and all went very well.
No signs of those bugs coming back .
I have noticed that one of my acros has started to regenerate tissue on what used to be a dead spot, this spot was there when I got the piece and never showed any signs of coming back to life

[Aquattro]

Glad the treatments are going well for you! You should notice better polyp extension as well!!

[danny zubot]

OK, I've read through the polls on treatment for these bugs but I couldn't find the thread involving all of the details. Can someone post a link or tell me quickly what the naked eye symptoms are? Do they effect other corals other than acro?

[Aquattro]

symptoms can include loss of color, genral paling, and little to no polyp extension. They do not affect anything other than acros.
You can see them with the naked eye as tiny reddish dots moving quickly across the tissue of the coral. They are really small and much smaller I think than most people imagine. Many people have posted with certainty that they do not have them, when I know they've aquired corals from affected tanks. This leads me to believe that they aren't looking hard enough.
Go to reefcentral and search the SPS forum for red bugs. You'll find tons of info, pics, etc.

[danny zubot]

Thanks Brad, I'll keep looking.

[danny zubot]

One member on Reef Central talks about his power outage during the Hurricane's in Florida. He had no power for 12 days and the temperature in his tank jumped from his normal 81 degrees to between 85 and 90 degrees. He said that this high temp period killed all of his RED BUGS, without any noticable effects on the rest of his corals.

Realizing that this high temp period would effect other levels of microbes in a tank, it would still prove to be a more cost effective way to quarentine corals than medicating. What do you guys think?

[Aquattro]

my tank hit 89 daily for the longest time, never bothered the bugs at all.

[danny zubot]

If these bugs are photosynthetic, maybe it was his lack of lighting that killed them. Thoughts?

[Aquattro]

I don't recall them being photosynthetic...