Bugs!!

Aquattro · #1 05-05-2003, 03:31 AM

Dipped a small acro tonight in an Iodine solution. This pic shows what came off. Each little speck is one of the dreaded acro bugs. Notice the large pile in the center of the container.

AJ_77 · #2 05-05-2003, 03:37 AM

That's a lot of bugs!

Can see the cause for your concern now...

EmilyB · #3 05-05-2003, 03:49 AM

HOLY SHITE MARTHA...

I think my triggers would like those....

Acro · #4 05-05-2003, 03:56 AM

Brad, How's the coral look that had the bugs on it? Both prior and post dip. Also what % water to iodine and what % iodine did you use? Sure looks like a freaken lot of bugs thats for sure.

Aquattro · #5 05-05-2003, 04:11 AM

Jamie, the coral has been declining for a while, so I moved it to a lower light area. It still continued to fade, so I decided to dip it tonight. It's polyps were extended, but only a fraction of what it used to be like. Some branches were almost white. I used about a liter of tank water and added ~2ml of tincture of Iodine (bottle says B.P. 2.5%). I dipped the coral in this for about 1 minute while splashing with a turkey baster. It was then returned to the tank.
So far it is a bit slimey, although some polyps are starting to come out again after about 30 minutes. This has been typical of the previous dips I've performed.
All this will do is buy the coral a bit more time, as it will become re-infested with the bugs. Lesson to be learned is dip BEFORE putting it in the tank, not after.
The idea of dosing my whole tank has crossed my mind, although that would kill all microfauna, not just the bugs. I hate these bugs!!

Canadian Man · #6 05-05-2003, 05:00 AM

Brad,
Any idea if this type of dip would kill flatworm infested corals? Or at least be a preventative thing to do to all sps before introducing to ones tank?

Aquattro · #7 05-05-2003, 05:04 AM

Jon, I think Wendell's idea of epsom salt baths might be better for flatworms. When you get a frag of acro, you'll be able to see the bugs with a magnifying glass...if they're present, then Iodine is the only thing that kills them (so far). I would recommend putting any new frag in some tank water in a separate contaier for a visual inspection before transferring it to the tank.
Also, when you get a frag with flatworms, they are on the base/rock/plug, not the coral. I break all new frags off the base as soon as I get them. Remount to your own plug, and you should be safe. I'd also prefer to have flatworms over these bugs!!

Canadian Man · #8 05-05-2003, 05:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reef_raf

Jon, I think Wendell's idea of epsom salt baths might be better for flatworms. When you get a frag of acro, you'll be able to see the bugs with a magnifying glass...if they're present, then Iodine is the only thing that kills them (so far). I would recommend putting any new frag in some tank water in a separate contaier for a visual inspection before transferring it to the tank.
Also, when you get a frag with flatworms, they are on the base/rock/plug, not the coral. I break all new frags off the base as soon as I get them. Remount to your own plug, and you should be safe. I'd also prefer to have flatworms over these bugs!!

Really?
I suppose I understand the reason, If these little red bugs are killing/bothering your corals. So flatworms don't venture onto corals just rock? Any idea why? That helps a bunch!

Aquattro · #9 05-05-2003, 05:31 AM

Jon, I figured that the corals will sting the flatworms or they just can't adhere to a slimey surface. Anytime I've brought home a frag with flatworms, they have only been on the base, never on the coral. Perhaps others can tell us I'm wrong, but I think I'm right. However, it is still a good idea to dip and/or quarantine any new livestock.

bongy · #10 05-05-2003, 07:04 AM

Hi Brad,

Do you know whether epsom salt dip completely kills the bug? If not, that mean that whenever I take an acro frag home, I need to dip it in epsom AND iodine.

Bongy