Red bug sharing question

[Delphinus]

What do you mean Brad? What do I think about your cyanobacteria experiment or what do I think about trading frags that are possible carriers of a potential pest? I have no idea about the former, sounds interesting though, and good luck; and on the latter, well I guess I would have to say "caveat emptor". How much damage are the bugs actually doing? Do they destroy the corals or are they more of just a visual nuisance?

If you're asking me if I would be willing to "chance it" on a trade for a coral that I knew was affected, the answer is "I don't know." It would depend, I suppose, on how badly I wanted the coral in question and if I felt I could or could not get it elsewhere. I like to keep an open mind; if I felt I could try to deal with the problem with iodine dips and a QT regimen or whatever then I might indeed chance it. If I felt it was a carrier of something that could potentially wipe out all my SPS, well then I would probably choose prudence and say "sorry" because there's just far too much invested in the setup as it stands, and since, as it is, there are so many things that can come along and devastate things (ie. heat spikes, catastropic equipment failure, etc.), I would probably ask myself why I would be keen to embrace yet another risk variable of that nature.

As it is with the bugs in question, well, I don't know how bad they are (I'm not disputing that they're bad, I'm merely admitting ignorance on the issue). So I would have to say, I would probably make a lot of observations and see what effect they're having, and maybe then read up the other threads, and then make a judgment call.

But like I said, I try to keep an open mind. I'm willing to live with things if they are not disrupting the peace.

But, OTOH, there are things wrong in the tank that make me miserable, and they're my own fault because I was too promiscuous about what I was taking in. For example I have caulerpa everywhere in my main display. If I don't actively prune it out every week, it profilerates and chokes out corals. I have some growing on a lavender M.cap, and the caulerpa does physical damage to the coral every once in a while. I try to remove it off the coral but it seems I can't get 100% of it, the root tendrils or whatever stay behind and grow again to do yet more damage. It's at the point where I have decided to admit defeat, and frag the coral. There's no longer any hope for the main colony, there is simply too much tissue recession. The frags might make it, however. In the end, I have nobody to blame for this but myself. I put that caulerpa into my tank, thinking, "oh heck I can keep it pruned back and it won't bother anyone." (Wrong!!!) So I guess my lesson learned here is that, indeed, if you're not willing to tear down a tank to deal with a problem that is causing you misery, then indeed you need to be rather picky and choosy about what you put into said tank.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I'd never trade with you (if that is what you're asking me). Every time I see pictures of your setup, I think, "Dang, I wish my tank looked half as nice as that." Red bugs or no, your setup is still nicer than my own.

Anyways enough rambing I need to get back to work before someone discovers I'm just pretending to be working....