So what are the negative effects of red bugs? Are red bugs kind of like LED lighting where it's something we blame when we see our Acros aren't doing good?
I don't really know what they do. I think It's an Acro irritant though. Some corals will still grow and look fine but others will have slower growth and poor color. You can have a successful sps tank with red bugs IMO. I just prefer to have few pests as possible, one less problem out of the equation.
For my corals with Red Bugs, they displayed better color, growth and polyp extension after treatment with Interceptor. An analogy is fleas to a dog, fleas are not likely to kill the dog but are still undesirable.