Do I have red bugs?

GeoHawk · Sep 8, 2011

Do I have red bugs? Yes, Now treating

I have a purple nana that has no polyp extension and only grows at the base. it is very colorless. Last night I saw a buch of tiny bugs crawling on it. I also noticed a couple on my red planet, which has lost all PE. My other corals including some acros don't show any signs of this. How do you know its red bugs, and if it is how do you get rid of it without causing adverse effects on tank inhabitants?

MitchReef · Sep 8, 2011

Many varieties are too small to see with the naked eye, but not all. Are they orange with a red spot? If so they are redbugs. The description of the corals sounds like it to me.

Here is a picture of an infestation:

Good luck, and remember....Quarantine and Dip EVERYTHING!!!! (Start now :wink: )

mobatic · Sep 8, 2011

Definitely red bugs, it's actually much easier to remedy than flatworms.
Try picking up some interceptor from your local vet, bring a friend's dog if you don't have one and ask for the prescription.
You may just need to use half a pill, or 1/4 of the pill, then repeat again the following day until it's completely gone.
This will affect your inverts, so make sure to remove them prior to the dosing regime.

soccerbag · Sep 8, 2011

Geo, it does sound like Redbugs and it's one of the easiest parasites to get rid of. As the above poster mentioned, you can use Interceptor on your entire reef. Please have a look at this article from Melev (sponsor here). He does a phenomenal job at explaining how to treat. I would read it a few times, then read it again, and then you can start treatment. Some local reefers may have some Interceptor (may be able to buy a pill from them). If you go to a Vet's office and explain exactly what you are using it for (I would go with articles in hand), they may sell you a pill or two. The doc's office makes $ on each pill so they may / may not sell it to you without a pet. We don't have a dog but last time I took our cat to the vet, I had a good conversation about the drug (with the doc) and he was really interested in how it works on reef pests. I left with a few pills in hand. Docs love to learn about off-label remedies with Rx drugs. It's worth a shot at least. Hopefully this helps a bit. Here is the link:

Melevsreef.com - Interceptor | Red Bug treatment

GeoHawk · Sep 8, 2011

What do I do with my trapezius crab that lives in my green acro? Any good suggestions on catching a porceline crab and an emerald crab?

soccerbag · Sep 8, 2011

Either catch him or hope for the best. I've had crabs / shrimp survive before. More shrimp than crabs though. Do what you can to catch them (not good at it personally). But at some point, you may have to make a choice....your acros or your crabs. Hopefully you can catch them before treatment though.

gar732 · Sep 8, 2011

Some people like to over dose and I think that is when you start having problems losing crabs an shrimp but there is always a chance of losing them. I just treated my tank and went with the recommended dose and it took out the red bugs and my shrimp was fine hard to say if I lost any hermits though. Like soccerbag said, bring print outs and explain what you need it for. My vet that I bring all my animals to said no, I called another vet and she took the time to research it herself and agreed to do it. My reef is listed as the patient at there office lol.

Landon · Sep 8, 2011

Yeah, every vet is different. I went into mine and explained what I was doing and they handed a pill right over to me. no issues.

zemuss · Sep 8, 2011

Can't you purchase Interceptor on the internet now without a prescription?

soccerbag · Sep 8, 2011

Not that I'm aware of zemuss. Are you aware of a site that allows purchase without a Rx?

swannyson7 · Sep 8, 2011

There's a few places out of Canada that will sell it over the net without a prescription, but it's significantly more expensive, and I'm not sure on the legality...

GeoHawk · Sep 8, 2011

Will Trapezius crabs live outside of there acro?, and how long to I need to take the inverts out for?

mobatic · Sep 8, 2011

Acrocrabs will dissolve the manifestation, but they're poor shippers.
Try a local petstore to see if they have any colonies and if they're willing to sell the crabs off of them.
That's the slow, natural way. Otherwise interceptor is the best solution.

swannyson7 · Sep 8, 2011

Not sure on the Trapezius crab, but you'll only need to keep the inverts out for a little over 24 hours. After dosing the interceptor, you wait 24 hours before doing a water change & running fresh carbon. What I did when I nuked my tank is started mixing fresh saltwater and put all the inverts in the mixing station while I dosed. Then I saved about a gallon of the new SW for all the inverts and did my water change. I ran fresh carbon for a few hours and then added them to the tank with that last gallon of freshly mixed SW.

GeoHawk · Sep 8, 2011

I have a trapezius crab which is why I think my green acro colony is my only acro doing so well, what I want to know is if it will be ok outside of the acro if I take him out for dosing. Also, did u guysdose only once, ot didu dose 3 times over 3 weeks?

swannyson7 · Sep 8, 2011

You'll have to dose multiple times. The interceptor won't kill any eggs

mobatic · Sep 8, 2011

You have to span out the doses, as mentioned above it won't kill eggs.
So you have to do it a few times to eradicate the manifestation.
Red bugs is not difficult to cleanse, it's AEFW you'd worrry about.

GeoHawk · Sep 8, 2011

I called my vet they said no, so I called another vet she is going to do some research and call me back. The only thing that I am concerned about is my acro, porcelin, and emarald crab. I am sure I can catch the emerald and the acro crab, but I worry about the acro crab dieing with no acro to live in. I have no clue on how to catch my porcelain crab.

mobatic · Sep 8, 2011

Tell them you want to use it for your dog, they'll prescribe it to you.
If you tell them you want to use it on your fish... I'm sure they'll be ok with that too but it'll make them a bit awry.