SPS Red Bug

[GraffitiSpotCorals]

I don't know but I bet his corals would look 10 times better if he got rid of them. They aren't a big deal in the sense that they won't outright kill acros but they certainly make an impact when they infest a tank. When I had them they certainly like certain acros. If you have them for long enough, they will irritate your corals to the point where they start receding.

[Origami]

Doesn't Sanjay Joshi leave redbugs in his tank on purpose to show that they aren't a big deal? What does he have that eats them or keeps them from taking over all his SPS?

I read that recently. As to the second question, I don't know.

 

(Here's something that popped up when searching on Sanjay's name and the term red bugs:)

 

http://reefcentral.com/forums//showpost.php?p=20808624&postcount=29

[Coral Hind]

I'm sure the large wrasse population he has in his tank is feeding pretty good on them.

[SaltLife]

Wow seems to begin a debate about whether or not these bugs are bad for your system. I will say though that another acropora that i have about a 4" piece that has no red bugs on it yet, has a nice polyp extension were as the piece I have that has the red bug has very very little polyp extension.

[SaltLife]

Ok After doing more research I came across this page on thereeftank.com . These people were saying that the red bug only feeds on Acropora. If this is true then if I was to remove the two acropora frags from my tank QT them for about a week or so that the bug will no longer have a host and fie off in the tank, treat them, then reintroduce them into my tank it should be gone. Only I don't know how credible these people are.

 

But going to other links like the "Cure" for Red Bugs (2004) it says to treat the whole tank. Conflicting info.

 

The only reason I bring this up is that I have no Carbon filtering. I have a skimmer and some Macro. It seems the only way i could get the treatment out would be through several water changes but it would still be hard to polish the water with no carbon filtering. I wouldn't want to add all my crabs and shrimp back into the system just to have them die because the treatment was still there.

Edited May 7, 2013 by SaltLife

[Decadence]

I have had red bugs for around half a year. They came in from frags I bought from a local member. If you aren't looking for them, you will never notice:

 

The only down side to having red bugs is that it makes it that much harder to give people frags.... which isn't such a bad thing because I'm a hoarder.

[GraffitiSpotCorals]

Do you have any pictures where you can see them? The corals in your pics look great, though in my experience red bugs never took to thoes corals. Staghorns (i do see one in the pic but its blurry) and smooth skinned corals are what they liked.

 

Saltlife maybe you can try dipping the two acros you have in bayer every 5 or 6 days for a month or so. That might take care of them, and much easier/ safer than an in tank treatment.

[ridetheducati]

Ok After doing more research I came across this page on thereeftank.com . These people were saying that the red bug only feeds on Acropora. If this is true then if I was to remove the two acropora frags from my tank QT them for about a week or so that the bug will no longer have a host and fie off in the tank, treat them, then reintroduce them into my tank it should be gone. Only I don't know how credible these people are.

 

But going to other links like the "Cure" for Red Bugs (2004) it says to treat the whole tank. Conflicting info.

 

The only reason I bring this up is that I have no Carbon filtering. I have a skimmer and some Macro. It seems the only way i could get the treatment out would be through several water changes but it would still be hard to polish the water with no carbon filtering. I wouldn't want to add all my crabs and shrimp back into the system just to have them die because the treatment was still there.

 

WAMAS is not an authoritative body either, just a few hobbyist trying to maintain a bowl of saltwater.

 

The way I see it, two doses is the only way. Anything short of that, reinfection may occur. Destiny is in your hands.

 

Run a few poly filters or add a bag of GAC to the sump.

 

Good luck.

Edited May 7, 2013 by ridetheducati

[Decadence]

Unfortunately, I don't have a macro lens; however, just about every coral in the pictures has red bugs besides for the green slimer and the two bird nests. They don't look like they have smooth skin because of all of the polyp extension. Colors in the photos aren't even a fractional what they are in person and that type of polyp extension lasts all day. At night, my polyps extension is borderline comical.

[wade]

There's nothing to say that there is only one species of red bug either. Some may be more infective. Its impossible to know without a great deal of lab work and no one has found the money to do that.

 

Best of luck!

[GraffitiSpotCorals]

Unfortunately, I don't have a macro lens; however, just about every coral in the pictures has red bugs besides for the green slimer and the two bird nests. They don't look like they have smooth skin because of all of the polyp extension. Colors in the photos aren't even a fractional what they are in person and that type of polyp extension lasts all day. At night, my polyps extension is borderline comical.

 

Birdsnest are not acropora so they won't get red bugs. Your corals look beautiful, I can't see any redbugs from my phone. You shouldn't need a macro lense to see them. If you do have them it's definatly not infesting the corals you pictured from what I can see

 

There is so much we dont know about redbugs just like wade said. But from my experience a tank infested with them is easy to spot. And just because a few people have them and live with them doesnt mean everyone can. And the above photos may show how easily they are hidden, therefor easy to miss. The the good thing is they are easy to get rid of too! As long as you can get some interceptor which seems may be tough now.

[Decadence]

Yah, like I said, they cover everything in the pictures but the ones listed. They are definitely there and can be easily spotted with the naked eye. Unfortunately, most of the corals are too far away from the glass to zoom in on them. Some of the corals pictured literally have thousands of red bugs on them.

[sachabballi reef]

Yah, like I said, they cover everything in the pictures but the ones listed. They are definitely there and can be easily spotted with the naked eye. Unfortunately, most of the corals are too far away from the glass to zoom in on them. Some of the corals pictured literally have thousands of red bugs on them.

have you ever treated your tank?

 

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[Decadence]

I have never treated the tank for red bugs. My reason for this is that I have a large clean up crew with plenty of hermits, three emerald crabs, a mandarin (needs the pods even though he eats black worms three times a day), a bunch of acro crabs and four shrimp (two cleaner, two fire). It would be a big procedure to rid my tank of red bugs without killing a lot of animals. I think that I am going to tackle this when we move everything over to the 150 in a couple months. We will probably move over colonies one at a time and treat them with bayer.