My techniques for growing SPS

swannyson7 · Oct 12, 2011

J Rog said:
Get a pair of Dragonface pipe fish. I read they will eat red bugs. I actually just got a pair last week. They are so cool! They might help you keep the red bugs in check naturally.

Already have a pair. While they will eat red bugs, the number of pipefish that you would need to eradicate a redbug population is unrealistic.

swannyson7 · Oct 12, 2011

skinz78 said:
Ahh I see them now.

Also, if you look at the tricolor you asked baout the other day, they can be seen on the purple tips

J Rog · Oct 12, 2011

swannyson7 said:
Already have a pair. While they will eat red bugs, the number of pipefish that you would need to eradicate a redbug population is unrealistic.

Got ya, they are still super cool. lol

swannyson7 · Oct 12, 2011

J Rog said:
Got ya, they are still super cool. lol

Absolutely! I bought a pair when I got red bugs last year and I was reluctant to dose interceptor. I'd always rather solve a pest problem with a natural predator if possible, but they just couldn't keep up with the RB reproductive cycle. I was heading down to Mexico the day after I noticed the RB, so I wasn't about to dose Interceptor for the first time without being home to keep an eye on the tank. By the time I got home, the tank was plagued with them and a few acros browned out pretty badly. I dosed the interceptor per Marc's directions and Voila! No red bugs in sight. I never saw them again, but I dosed two more times as recommended just to be on the safe side. After using the interceptor treatment a few times, I'd no longer hesitate to do it a day prior to a vacation.

J Rog · Oct 12, 2011

swannyson7 said:
Absolutely! I bought a pair when I got red bugs last year and I was reluctant to dose interceptor. I'd always rather solve a pest problem with a natural predator if possible, but they just couldn't keep up with the RB reproductive cycle. I was heading down to Mexico the day after I noticed the RB, so I wasn't about to dose Interceptor for the first time without being home to keep an eye on the tank. By the time I got home, the tank was plagued with them and a few acros browned out pretty badly. I dosed the interceptor per Marc's directions and Voila! No red bugs in sight. I never saw them again, but I dosed two more times as recommended just to be on the safe side. After using the interceptor treatment a few times, I'd no longer hesitate to do it a day prior to a vacation.

Thats cool you got it under control now. Dose your pipefish eat prepared foods or just pods and such?

swannyson7 · Oct 12, 2011

J Rog said:
Thats cool you got it under control now. Dose your pipefish eat prepared foods or just pods and such?

They have shown some interest in live baby brine shrimp and cyclopeeze, but they don't really seem to eat it. They usually just graze the rockwork & sandbed in search of food.

J Rog · Oct 12, 2011

swannyson7 said:
They have shown some interest in live baby brine shrimp and cyclopeeze, but they don't really seem to eat it. They usually just graze the rockwork & sandbed in search of food.

Cool, i was just wondering because mine don't show any interest in any of the food i put in which i was expecting.

gar732 · Oct 12, 2011

I was a little worried the first time I dosed interceptor too. As far as pests go I'd rather have red bugs than anything else since they are so easy to get rid of.

CJO · Oct 12, 2011

Well, you've convinced me to go with aminos but had a few questions. Did you start off slow or with the recommended dose? Do you turn off the skimmer for a while after dosing?

Thanks,
CJ

swannyson7 · Oct 12, 2011

CJO said:
Well, you've convinced me to go with aminos but had a few questions. Did you start off slow or with the recommended dose? Do you turn off the skimmer for a while after dosing?

Thanks,
CJ

I started off nice and slow at about 1/3 the recommended dosage and ramped it up every couple weeks until I noticed a slight increase in NO3/PO4. Then, I reduced the dosage slightly and used that as my maintenance dose. During boadcast feeding, I use one of the Apex feeding modes that shuts off my return pump for 10 minutes and my skimmer for 20 minutes.

swannyson7 · Oct 13, 2011

gar732 said:
I was a little worried the first time I dosed interceptor too. As far as pests go I'd rather have red bugs than anything else since they are so easy to get rid of.

Yeah, they're definitely the easiest pest I've ever had to deal with. If it were AEFW, then I'd be worried, but I'm not really that concerned about the RB. The worst part of it is telling people that I traded Frags with over the past month to be on the look out. Nothing like a "you should probably get yourself tested" conversation to make you feel uncomfortable... :tongue:

CJO · Oct 13, 2011

swannyson7 said:
I started off nice and slow at about 1/3 the recommended dosage and ramped it up every couple weeks until I noticed a slight increase in NO3/PO4. Then, I reduced the dosage slightly and used that as my maintenance dose. During boadcast feeding, I use one of the Apex feeding modes that shuts off my return pump for 10 minutes and my skimmer for 20 minutes.

Great- thanks!

CJ

swannyson7 · Oct 13, 2011

No problem, good luck with your AA adventure!! You may also want to look into the Zeovit AAs. They're more concentrated, so you might get more bang for your buck. I bought a bottle and I plan to try it after I run out of the Brightwell's.

swannyson7 · Oct 14, 2011

One thing that I forgot to mention when talking about red bugs is the use of Bayer advance complete insect killer concentrate. I had never used this product before, but I bought some a while back. By mixing 0.5ml with 2 cups of tank water (4ml per gallon) it can be used as a dip for AEFW, nudis, and red bugs. I've heard mixed reviews on it's effectiveness with redbugs, but after dipping a few frags in the solution prior to my interceptor treatment, I can say that is worked very well! While it can't be used as an in-tank treatment, I will be using it as a dip for all new additions in the future.

I conducted a 15 minute dip, occaisionally blasting the frags with a turkey baster. The red bugs could still be crawling around about 10 minutes into the dip, but they were moving pretty quickly, probably irritated by the poison. During the last 5 minutes, they all stopped moving and a few more squirts with the baster blew them right off of the acro frags. I did a quick soak in untreated tank water to rinse them off and back into the infested tank they went. Polyps were fully extended within about 20 minutes and there didn't seem to be any loss of coloration. Best of all, I dipped these frags about 16 hour prior to my interceptor treatment and just before dosing the interceptor, the frags were still red bug free. Perhaps there's a bit of the odor from the pesticide left behind on the frags that kept the red bugs from reinfesting the frags? Has anyone else used Bayer and had a similar experience?

GR808 · Oct 14, 2011

Bayer works fo me also.. I've used it for AEFW treatment and dipped my frags with great success. After 1 or 2 dips they were bug free..
great stuff

swannyson7 · Oct 14, 2011

GR808 said:
Bayer works fo me also.. I've used it for AEFW treatment and dipped my frags with great success. After 1 or 2 dips they were bug free..
great stuff

Good to hear! It seems to get good reviews as a dip from pretty much everyone who has tried it, so I think it will be the only thing I use for dips on new aquisitions from here on out.