Help...red Bugs!!!!!!!
- Thread starter TomD
- Start date
chew*
Murphy's Law
My stuff was really nice also or at least i thought it was that and the fact that all my corals sold in 3 days flat.........., I had redbugs at one point in time.......Moral of the story, even those with "Nice" corals can get pests even when they take all the precautions, and transfer them to others.......I suggest you read this thread.
Amazing what you can turn up in this forum with a search for "redbugs"
http://www.bostonreefers.org/forums/showthread.php?t=50886&highlight=redbugs
Greg Hiller
BRS Moderator
Jennifer,
As a reminder, if you already had Acropora in your tank, or acquired some later, you really cannot determine which colony brought the problem INTO your tank. Every species of Acropora seems to have a different level of suseptibility to them. Some (like the green Bali slimer) seem to be nearly, or possible completely immune to them. Some can be 'carriers' (hardly affected themselves).
If you only have a few colonies of Acropora, and they are not encrusted onto your rocks yet, you might be able to remove them, dip them for 6 hours or so and return them to your tank. 2-3 treatments like that, spaced a week or so apart to give the colonies a chance to recover from the dip might get them all. The bugs can, and do crawl around in the tank, so they might jump back onto your colonies each time, but I don't think that at anyone time there are really very many anywhere other than on the target colonies. Removing the colonies by though use of a container that you dip into the tank (so that the colony is never removed from the water) I think would also make it less likely that there will be any left behind in the tank when you take them out for dips.
I'm of the opinion that you can in fact get a 100% kill in a main tank with a single treatment of Interceptor if you are careful and get the dose right.
Regarding a natural predator, there is a species of pipefish that eats them (there was a video of the species doing it a while back on some site), but it's not really a very effective control in a reef tank environment from what I've read. There are quite likely other species of predators as well of course.
While a bit dated, I think my old article on these is still worth a read if you are new to the bugs.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/june2003/feature.htm
As a reminder, if you already had Acropora in your tank, or acquired some later, you really cannot determine which colony brought the problem INTO your tank. Every species of Acropora seems to have a different level of suseptibility to them. Some (like the green Bali slimer) seem to be nearly, or possible completely immune to them. Some can be 'carriers' (hardly affected themselves).
If you only have a few colonies of Acropora, and they are not encrusted onto your rocks yet, you might be able to remove them, dip them for 6 hours or so and return them to your tank. 2-3 treatments like that, spaced a week or so apart to give the colonies a chance to recover from the dip might get them all. The bugs can, and do crawl around in the tank, so they might jump back onto your colonies each time, but I don't think that at anyone time there are really very many anywhere other than on the target colonies. Removing the colonies by though use of a container that you dip into the tank (so that the colony is never removed from the water) I think would also make it less likely that there will be any left behind in the tank when you take them out for dips.
I'm of the opinion that you can in fact get a 100% kill in a main tank with a single treatment of Interceptor if you are careful and get the dose right.
Regarding a natural predator, there is a species of pipefish that eats them (there was a video of the species doing it a while back on some site), but it's not really a very effective control in a reef tank environment from what I've read. There are quite likely other species of predators as well of course.
While a bit dated, I think my old article on these is still worth a read if you are new to the bugs.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/june2003/feature.htm
OP
OP
TomD
Non-member
Greg in that article, "The first indication that a hobbyist has that a colony is infected with the parasites is usually a loss of color," is what puzzles me. Both colonies from you and Dong have awesome color and are infested.
That what makes me "almost" want to experiment by not treating. Of course, no selling of acros to anybody, or notifying them after I treat.
Then again, seeing them die after all this time would really bite too.
EDIT: I am talking STUPID, I have to treat.....Just wondering thats all, could they survive as they are now, and continue to grow? No, I don't want to keep them as a reef pet, more a question of curiosity.
That what makes me "almost" want to experiment by not treating. Of course, no selling of acros to anybody, or notifying them after I treat.
Then again, seeing them die after all this time would really bite too.
EDIT: I am talking STUPID, I have to treat.....Just wondering thats all, could they survive as they are now, and continue to grow? No, I don't want to keep them as a reef pet, more a question of curiosity.
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Greg Hiller
BRS Moderator
>EDIT: I am talking STUPID, I have to treat.....Just wondering thats all, could they survive as they are now, and continue to grow? <
It really depends. As I say, every Acropora is affected differently. If you are feeding your tank a lot, the alk and calcium and Mg are in the right zone, no upsets of any kind, no encroaching algae, no fish pecking, you will probably be okay for many of the Acros for some time. My opinion has always been though, reduce or minimize any stress that is possible. Since this treatment is so simple, just do it when you have an afternoon free. No rush, you could probably go a few weeks without much more risk.
It really depends. As I say, every Acropora is affected differently. If you are feeding your tank a lot, the alk and calcium and Mg are in the right zone, no upsets of any kind, no encroaching algae, no fish pecking, you will probably be okay for many of the Acros for some time. My opinion has always been though, reduce or minimize any stress that is possible. Since this treatment is so simple, just do it when you have an afternoon free. No rush, you could probably go a few weeks without much more risk.
NateHanson
Non-member
The red bugs only affect corals in the genus Acropora, but not all corals in that genus. For example, slimers don't seem to be too tasty to the bugs, and as far as I've seen and heard A. millepora are also less susceptible, even though they are Acropora.
All Montipora species (M. Digitata, M. capricornus, M. Palawanensis, etc) are not in danger of sucumbing to redbugs, although some people still treat them when they're coming into their tank, to make sure they don't carry redbugs as hitchhikers.
OP
OP
TomD
Non-member
Or monti nudis and flatworms!
I do not want to treat my entire tank! This is going to be so sad with the NICE encrustation but I will be removing them and treating, scaraping every bit of flesh left out and treating them too, maybe free frags for people, or selling them after treatment. I am frustrated and do not feel combfortable at this point with losing all pods, and my 2 fav fish because of it.
I have one hairy green acro that came from Dave and Gina that has grown big and encrusted all over the glass. I can't see rb's on it, but probably has to be treated
How long could acros live in a QT with no light? I don't have an extra halide around if I go this route.
Been a bad tank week. We have not seen old grumpy algae blenny for a week....has to be dead.
I do not want to treat my entire tank! This is going to be so sad with the NICE encrustation but I will be removing them and treating, scaraping every bit of flesh left out and treating them too, maybe free frags for people, or selling them after treatment. I am frustrated and do not feel combfortable at this point with losing all pods, and my 2 fav fish because of it.
I have one hairy green acro that came from Dave and Gina that has grown big and encrusted all over the glass. I can't see rb's on it, but probably has to be treated
How long could acros live in a QT with no light? I don't have an extra halide around if I go this route.
Been a bad tank week. We have not seen old grumpy algae blenny for a week....has to be dead.
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MikeG
Non-member
If you have a lot of encrusted acros I would really advise against trying to take them out and dip. To much risk that you may miss some or there could be a piece that fell somewhere that you don't see. You will stress out all of your acros with no light for a few weeks probably lose quite a few while the display is allowed to run without acros for the bugs to run through their life cycle.
I would strongly suggest to either treat the whole tank or not treat at all.
I would strongly suggest to either treat the whole tank or not treat at all.
I completely agree, speaking from personal experience. All of my SPS were thriving until I decided to 'unmount' and relocate only a few colonies as they were growing too close to each other. For the past few months I've been watching ALL of my SPS RTN/STN to their death. Every last one of them.
I really wish I would have left them alone...
OP
OP
TomD
Non-member
smcnally
Tankless
Many people in this club have done full tank treatments and not had any issues after the treatment (I'm one of them). I actually did a double dose on my tank and both my cleaner shrimp and a few of my crabs made it through the treatment. You will lose all your pods though but they are easy to build back up. IMO, you have other issues with your tank (or you didn't do the proper water changes after treatment) if an interceptor treatment pushes it over the edge.
I also completely disagree with Dong. I'm 90% sure I got my redbugs from a respected person in this club but it doesn't mean they are a b ad person. It just means they didn't notice them in their tank when they cut the frag for me...it was MY fault for not treating the coral before putting it in my tank.
NateHanson
Non-member
To answer your question about lights Tom, I think two weeks is too long to keep sps without lights. I've quarantined acros for 2 weeks in a 10g under a PC fixture, and they were fine. If you were to remove them from your tank, I'd figure out a way to put lights over them.
That said, I really think you'd be making things a lot harder on yourself if you went in that direction. A lot of people here are reassuring you that full tank treatment is not a big deal. I think you'll be fine, and your tank will be back to normal after a month. If you're worried about your pod-eating fish, and don't think that store-bought or member-donated pods will be enough, then find them a tank sitter for a month. I'm sure you can.
Good luck, Nate
That said, I really think you'd be making things a lot harder on yourself if you went in that direction. A lot of people here are reassuring you that full tank treatment is not a big deal. I think you'll be fine, and your tank will be back to normal after a month. If you're worried about your pod-eating fish, and don't think that store-bought or member-donated pods will be enough, then find them a tank sitter for a month. I'm sure you can.
Good luck, Nate
Jennifer
Moody and emotional slob
Thanks for all the info guys. I am going to treat just the infected corals for now . Repeated treatments if I have to, I just dont want to kill all of my pods and have my scooter blenny starve.
Thanks Greg I did read your old article, always good to have more information.
It is completely up to the tank owner to keep pests out of their system, and not blame anyone else for the problem. Too much of that kind of thing going on in this world.
Though as a newb it can be difficult to research everything ahead of time.
Thanks Greg I did read your old article, always good to have more information.
It is completely up to the tank owner to keep pests out of their system, and not blame anyone else for the problem. Too much of that kind of thing going on in this world.
Though as a newb it can be difficult to research everything ahead of time.
Greg Hiller
BRS Moderator
>Though as a newb it can be difficult to research everything ahead of time<
No question about that!! We've all made our mistakes (and I still am, no question there). There is a lot to learn. Keep reading and asking questions.
No question about that!! We've all made our mistakes (and I still am, no question there). There is a lot to learn. Keep reading and asking questions.
