Black bugs

[ourcoralreef]

i got black bugs on a frag from lfs so far i have lost a couple nice frags i see the bugs all over on my rock and on the bases of some of my sps

about a week or two ago i was scrolling through a thread and saw someone post a reef safe black bug killer i was wondering if anyone can point me in the right direction

If you personally had black bugs and treated your tank please let me know what helped you i would greatly appreciate it

 

[ourcoralreef]

 

[CoralWealth]

I dont think those are the black bugs that everyone says are so hard to kill. Those that you have look a lot smaller and like the ones I saw on my frags last year.

All I did was go to a local vet and show them research on it killing red bugs/black bugs and they gave me enough interceptor to treat it. Tank has been doing amazing since and have seen no sign of them.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/my-sps-dominant-180g.309712/page-6

Post 118, I go over it in some detail in my thread. You can look at the after pictures in the pages following to see how much better my corals looked and the PE I now have

 

[ourcoralreef]

I dont think those are the black bugs that everyone says are so hard to kill. Those that you have look a lot smaller and like the ones I saw on my frags last year.

All I did was go to a local vet and show them research on it killing red bugs/black bugs and they gave me enough interceptor to treat it. Tank has been doing amazing since and have seen no sign of them.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/my-sps-dominant-180g.309712/page-6

Post 118, I go over it in some detail in my thread. You can look at the after pictures in the pages following to see how much better my corals looked and the PE I now have

They move

And i always dip everything i put into my tank

That piece you see in the picture was being dipped after i noticed them the dip did not work at all i took a toothpick and removed them manually

I noticed them on the base of some of my corals (bases were dead) i pulled them out and picked them off but they are still infested in my tank all over the rock etc
i see them actually walking around they tend to congregate around the bases of my sps

Seems like interceptor is my only option
i have seen on a previous thread that there was a (new) alternative but i can’t seem to find it

I really don’t want to kill all my pods have a massive die off besides my mandarin would probably die

How long after you dose interceptor did you return your inverts

 

[ourcoralreef]

I see you dosed two doses of interceptor 4x the strength a week apart

Did any pods survive
How soon after the dose did you return your inverts

Did you loose anything

 

[CoralWealth]

They move

And i always dip everything i put into my tank

That piece you see in the picture was being dipped after i noticed them the dip did not work at all i took a toothpick and removed them manually

I noticed them on the base of some of my corals (bases were dead) i pulled them out and picked them off but they are still infested in my tank all over the rock etc
i see them actually walking around they tend to congregate around the bases of my sps

Seems like interceptor is my only option
i have seen on a previous thread that there was a (new) alternative but i can’t seem to find it

I really don’t want to kill all my pods have a massive die off besides my mandarin would probably die

How long after you dose interceptor did you return your inverts

Mine moved too and only killed the bases really slow but affected the overall coral too with bad PE.

I only took out the shrimp and crabs. The snails were perfectly fine. I forget how long I waited but if you run carbon or want to after the treatment I am sure you could in a couple days. Yeah that is the only thing is it did kill all my pods so that could be a problem for your mandarin unless you can setup a spare tank with a lot of pods for him for a little bit.

 

[CoralWealth]

I see you dosed two doses of interceptor 4x the strength a week apart

Did any pods survive
How soon after the dose did you return your inverts

Did you loose anything

I dont think any pods survived but I was not worried as I didnt have a mandarin and I just put some back in after words and now I have a ton again. Nothing died besides the bugs and pods. The SPS showed almost an immediate response.

 

[ourcoralreef]

I dont think any pods survived but I was not worried as I didnt have a mandarin and I just put some back in after words and now I have a ton again. Nothing died besides the bugs and pods. The SPS showed almost an immediate response.

Thanks for the reply

Im afraid of the mass die off of pods affecting my water quality
Did you get a ammonia spike
I think im going to have to give my mandarin away i don’t think it would survive in a temporary tank

I think interceptor is my only option
now i need to find my local vet and try to convince them

 

[CoralWealth]

Thanks for the reply

Im afraid of the mass die off of pods affecting my water quality
Did you get a ammonia spike
I think im going to have to give my mandarin away i don’t think it would survive in a temporary tank

I think interceptor is my only option
now i need to find my local vet and try to convince them

I had a mass die off of pods and nothing happened. I havent checked ammonia since the original cycle so I have no idea about that.

Can always give him away for someone to hold and get him back in a couple weeks if youve had him for awhile or just get another.

 

[305Reefer]

If these are the real deal black bugs, interceptor even at 4x does probably wont cut it. From what I understand (Im currently dealing with them as well) you need to frag bases off corals and dip for 8 weeks. Then the tank has to remain fallow of Acros for 4-6 months. Only then can the SPS return to the display. From talking to a bunch of people today who have dealt with it, this probably one of the few ways you can conquer them and I'd barely call it conquering them since you basically ruin you tank by doing it. I'm cutting all my high end acros tomorrow and moving them to QT for an intensive dip regiment for 8 weeks. Using 2-4x Revive for 3 minutes to stun them and move them out into the water and then 10 minutes of double dosed Bayer insect killer.

 

[ourcoralreef]

If these are the real deal black bugs, interceptor even at 4x does probably wont cut it. From what I understand (Im currently dealing with them as well) you need to frag bases off corals and dip for 8 weeks. Then the tank has to remain fallow of Acros for 4-6 months. Only then can the SPS return to the display. From talking to a bunch of people today who have dealt with it, this probably one of the few ways you can conquer them and I'd barely call it conquering them since you basically ruin you tank by doing it. I'm cutting all my high end acros tomorrow and moving them to QT for an intensive dip regiment for 8 weeks. Using 2-4x Revive for 3 minutes to stun them and move them out into the water and then 10 minutes of double dosed Bayer insect killer.

Can you show me a photo or video of your bugs
I have been trying to get interceptor so i have not been taking care of my bugs i noticed they only go after certain acros and it’s possible that they are not to blame for all the 4 corals that died
I’ve done like what you said on a milli and it bleached by the next day
I have seen if i mess with the coral too much they die so i don’t touch them i keep on top of my water i test every 2-4 days and make sure my water is top notch i have seen major improvements and the one coral (Acro don’t really know what it is looks like a bottle brush but its a really small frag) seems like its putting up a great fight

Im still looking for a vet to give me interceptor for the bugs and ill dose it once i have it i might as well give it a try

 

[ourcoralreef]

. I'm cutting all my high end acros tomorrow and moving them to QT for an intensive dip regiment for 8 weeks. Using 2-4x Revive for 3 minutes to stun them and move them out into the water and then 10 minutes of double dosed Bayer insect killer.

You are probably going to end up killing everything

What else have you tried

How do you know what you are dealing with

What are your tank parameters

 

[CoralWealth]

Can you show me a photo or video of your bugs
I have been trying to get interceptor so i have not been taking care of my bugs i noticed they only go after certain acros and it’s possible that they are not to blame for all the 4 corals that died
I’ve done like what you said on a milli and it bleached by the next day
I have seen if i mess with the coral too much they die so i don’t touch them i keep on top of my water i test every 2-4 days and make sure my water is top notch i have seen major improvements and the one coral (Acro don’t really know what it is looks like a bottle brush but its a really small frag) seems like its putting up a great fight

Im still looking for a vet to give me interceptor for the bugs and ill dose it once i have it i might as well give it a try

yours look way too small to be the dreadful blakc bugs that other people are talking about. yours look exactly like what mine looked like and they were just some kind of pods thing that really affected the acros

 

[Jmareef1022]

I had them on a setosa and they're nasty. I just couldn't deal seeing them anymore so I tossed the frag but no other acros were affected.

 

[305Reefer]

Here are some videos of mine. I have other videos that some other people who have dealt with them have confirmed to be the same black bugs that decimated their tanks.

I know these guys are varied and have different species that eat different types of Acros, but because I dont necessarily know which black bug I have or which species all of my acros are (there are over 70) Im cutting them all out to try and save my investments.

Using this thread as a guide. Im going to get them under the microscope today.

I will be cutting the bases off my corals and doing a heavy weekly dip procedure for 8 weeks consisting of 3x dose Revive for 4 minutes, and then 10 minutes in 2x dose bayer insect killer. The frags will be placed in an inline frag tank (all I have). We'll see how it works out. I may not rebuild the SPS display until I can start a brand new system from scratch. If the corals survive, ill grow them in my frag tank and replace the display tank with a bunch of LPS and Zoas that I know have and can't sell because they are "tainted"..

 

[305Reefer]

Just to clarify on the above video of the Fox Flame Acro, the pest bug is not on the live parts of the tissue, its the two big black balls on the bottom left of the encrusting portion.

 

[Reef Solution]

Any updated?

 

[305Reefer]

Any updated?

The frags I cut out placed in the in-line frag tank are doing phenomenal. The left over bits of encrusting in the display itself have slowly over times been killed by the bugs. Im not sure if ill ever feel safe putting expensive acros in the tank again, but I will test with one in about 6 months. I may go as far as do the really heavy intereceptor dip, but I have a feeling ill be upgrading tanks in the next year so I may just keep growing in the frag tank until then.. That said the display has become a chalice, mille, and monti tank and its been a fun change of pace.

 

[Graffiti Spot]

I think you are looking for Dr. G's coral dip or something along those lines. It is a dip thats basically just interceptor in a bottle and people use it in their tanks as tank treatments. I would research it first but I have seen good reviews.

 

[rlman41299]

same bugs I had before. glad mine was isolated to 2 frags. Tried everything but unsuccessful in killing them. Ended up throwing both frags out before they infect the tank.