do i have red bugs?

rocksteveo · #1 08-06-2012, 05:10 PM

so the last month ive noticed my some of my sps are turing white from the middle. ive been checking my params and everything seems good aside my mag was low 1150ppm, alk 7dkh,cal 400 , pot 400, nitrate and phos undetectable, temp dosent go over 81 and ph goes from 7.9 to 8.2 throughout the day(not sure if thats bad?) i add amino acids every other day and phoyto feast every other day as well. i have have 4 ai sol blu over the tank, 2 mp 40 for flow, swc 180 cone skimmer, 2 tlf reactors, carbon and rowa. and the other day ive noticed tons of little bugs running around on my 2 overflows, the tank is over 2yrs old and ive never seen these guys before, they move pretty quick. so i took out a coral and inspected it with magnifyn glass and didnt see anything on it. are these just pods? they dont really seem red in color to me? not sure whats going on here but i dont wanna lose anycorals here, im i just starving my corals?ulns? of is it bugs? any ideas? thanks very much in advance

Aquattro · #2 08-06-2012, 05:55 PM

Red bugs only live on acros, you won't see them on other areas. They're easy to see with a magnifying glass, orangey gold colored.

Myka · #3 08-06-2012, 06:52 PM

Can you remove one of the affected corals and give it a medicated dip? You can dip and then check for parasites. Red bugs won't come off with the usually medicated dips (you need Interceptor), though you should be able to easily see them with bare eyes when the coral is out of the water right under your nose. Usually if it is a parasite the coral will brown out before it gets to the point of recession though.

As time goes on, you will learn what corals look like when they are infested with parasites and if they look that way and no red bugs are seen it can often be AEFW (Acropora Eating FlatWorms) which can be a nightmare.

I sure hope that if you're not quarantining corals that you're at least giving them a medicated dip (I like Coral Rx), and an Interceptor bath if you have Acros. If not, you're just asking for trouble and it will show up eventually.

rocksteveo · #4 08-06-2012, 07:03 PM

thanks for the reply myka, no i havent done any dips ,

. how would i go about doing them? i dont really have room for a qt tank, im guessing there is directions on the product it self, but wondering if there would be a better method i could use, thanks again

Myka · #5 08-06-2012, 08:28 PM

There are instructions on the bottles. The Coral Rx works out to be 1 drop per 125 mL. So, depending on the size of the coral, pour say 500 mL of saltwater (new, tank water, bag water, doesn't really matter) into a vessel, add 4 drops Coral Rx and let it soak for 5-10 mins. I always do the full 10 mins. I use a turkey baster during the dip to gently squirt the coral and base of it (frag plug or live rock or whatever it is) to remove any loose critters or algae, detritus, etc. After the dip is done I rinse the coral with tank water, then the coral can be put into the display tank if you choose to not quarantine the coral. There is no need to acclimate corals. This dip seems to be quite effective, although as I said red bugs need Interceptor, as no other dip (no matter their claims) will kill/remove the red bugs. Luckily, defeating a red bug infestation in your tank isn't overly difficult. Don't use this dip on clams, shrimp, snails, none of that...just corals.

rocksteveo · #6 08-06-2012, 09:27 PM

awesome thank you very much, so i took out an affected coral and had a good look with magnifying glass and didnt see anything, im gonna still do dip anyhow but lets say it wasnt redbugs, what would cause coral to turn almost white in the middle,? the only thing i can think of is my mag was kinda low 1150ppm, which i guess would through alk and cal off aswell but they tested in range(elos). ill start with the dip and go from there.

Myka · #7 08-06-2012, 10:07 PM

AEFW isn't visible on the coral, they have AMAZING camouflage! Try a medicated dip and see if you can find AEFW. If it is not parasites, then husbandry and parameters would be the next culprit, although harder to pinpoint...

rastaangel · #8 08-07-2012, 01:24 AM

AEFW will destory your tank... trust me....

rocksteveo · #9 08-07-2012, 02:41 AM

well lets hope it isnt AEFW then. do i treat the tank as well or just dip corals sepertley?

Seriak · #10 08-07-2012, 06:26 PM

You should dip the coral separately for a few minutes shaking them while they are in the solution to knock the parasites off, then rinse them in another bucket of tank water to get as much medication off the coral as possible and then back into the tank. At least that is how I do it with Coral R/X