Red Planet issue

Syntax1235 · Mar 13, 2023

sculpin01 said:
It means you need something that kills mites, not copepods. Did you try the potassium chloride dip?

I don’t have any on hand…. I’ll get some and try dipping this weekend.

Thanks for the Id and help.
I take it the first picture is a copepod? The one with no color?

sculpin01 · Mar 13, 2023

Apparently ivermectin may be an option.

sculpin01 · Mar 13, 2023

Ummmm, no. They are all halacarid mites. I suspect the clear one is just immature.

sculpin01 · Mar 13, 2023

Apparently I have ID'ed these in the past and promptly forgot about it. D'oh!

Strange STN

I wonder if these are the problem, or just some wee beasties that happen to be around. If you don't have a bunch of ornamental crabs and shrimp maybe Interceptor is in your future. Those black specs look like this under a microscope

www.reef2reef.com

Syntax1235 · Mar 14, 2023

I’ve ordered the kcl . I tried the Red Sea dip and purge, still alive and moving around. I’m experimenting with a frag plug that has them crawling all around. I’m trying 100ml of tank water to 1 ml of a diluted solution of melathion that I used to use in the garden. I don’t know what the concentration level is, but I have enough mixed to use for a long time.

-1 ml of melathion did nothing after 15 minutes. Added another 1 ml…. Waitied 15 minutes and they are still alive. Adding 2ml to the solution and waiting another 15 minutes.

Hurricane Aquatics · Mar 14, 2023

Syntax1235 said:
I’ve ordered the kcl . I tried the Red Sea dip and purge, still alive and moving around. I’m experimenting with a frag plug that has them crawling all around. I’m trying 100ml of tank water to 1 ml of a diluted solution of melathion that I used to use in the garden. I don’t know what the concentration level is, but I have enough mixed to use for a long time.

-1 ml of melathion did nothing after 15 minutes. Added another 1 ml…. Waitied 15 minutes and they are still alive. Adding 2ml to the solution and waiting another 15 minutes.

Glad you found it! I sure didn't expect that. KCL I've read good things about, you can also order this from Amazon and make your own super easy, for future reference.

Syntax1235 · Mar 14, 2023

Hurricane Aquatics said:
Glad you found it! I sure didn't expect that. KCL I've read good things about, you can also order this from Amazon and make your own super easy, for future reference.

I ordered something just like that, from Amazon too.

Coinzmans Reef · Mar 14, 2023

Please kill it, I am going to have nightmares.

sculpin01 · Mar 14, 2023

This will likely work if everything else fails but it is very very lethal to all invertebrates, must be used as a dip outside the tank, and frags need 24 hour wash in clean saltwater with lots of carbon before their return to the tank.

Use of Ivermectin to Control Red Bugs (Tegastes acroporanus) - Reef Central Online Community

Use of Ivermectin to Control Red Bugs (Tegastes acroporanus) SPS Keepers

www.reefcentral.com

Syntax1235 · Mar 14, 2023

Coinzmans Reef said:
Please kill it, I am going to have nightmares.

I hear yah.... I have not been stressed like this for some time.

Syntax1235 · Mar 14, 2023

sculpin01 said:
This will likely work if everything else fails but it is very very lethal to all invertebrates, must be used as a dip outside the tank, and frags need 24 hour wash in clean saltwater with lots of carbon before their return to the tank.

Use of Ivermectin to Control Red Bugs (Tegastes acroporanus) - Reef Central Online Community

Use of Ivermectin to Control Red Bugs (Tegastes acroporanus) SPS Keepers

www.reefcentral.com

At least I'm not out of options yet. I think my malathion is diluted too much to work, so I'm going to wait until the weekend when I can use the stuff straight out of the bottle. I also have the kcl, and lastly the ivermectin.

sculpin01 · Mar 14, 2023

Ivermectin is a potential miticide/acaricide but this is way into unknown territory, so who knows.

Syntax1235 · Mar 15, 2023

I’ve been reading about kcl dipping, and it seems that 1tbs per gallon is the dosage commonly used. Can this amount be increased to help with potency? If so, how much can be used and still be safe for the coral?

sculpin01 · Mar 15, 2023

Syntax1235 said:
I’ve been reading about kcl dipping, and it seems that 1tbs per gallon is the dosage commonly used. Can this amount be increased to help with potency? If so, how much can be used and still be safe for the coral?

37.85 g/gallon is the concentration I use. And for only 5-10 minutes. I have found it to be very effective.

Syntax1235 · Mar 15, 2023

sculpin01 said:
37.85 g/gallon is the concentration I use. And for only 5-10 minutes. I have found it to be very effective.

So, I could use about 2.5 grams per cup if I wanted to try it on a couple small frags first?

Hurricane Aquatics · Mar 15, 2023

Take a look here too. Covers Potassium Chloride if you need it.

Syntax1235 · Mar 15, 2023

Hurricane Aquatics said:
Take a look here too. Covers Potassium Chloride if you need it.

I just watched this video this morning. Thanks for sharing.

ScottB · Mar 15, 2023

Thank you for taking those awesome pics and videos. Super instructive. I may have missed a couple of them though -- or couldn't see much on my phone. The best images all show the bugs crawling on dead tissue. Have you visually seen them moving around on live tissue? I guess where I am going is to this question:

Predator or Scavenger?

There are many many scavengers in our systems and typically very few coral predators.

Syntax1235 · Mar 15, 2023

ScottB said:
Thank you for taking those awesome pics and videos. Super instructive. I may have missed a couple of them though -- or couldn't see much on my phone. The best images all show the bugs crawling on dead tissue. Have you visually seen them moving around on live tissue? I guess where I am going is to this question:

Predator or Scavenger?

There are many many scavengers in our systems and typically very few coral predators.

Hi,

Thanks for the comments and the question. I have not seen the mites eating coral; however, they seem to be around the line of dead and live tissue. I can not say for certain that they are indeed eating the coral, but it seems like the only plausible explanation.

When I get rid of these bugs and if the coral heals and grows, I think it would be safe to assume that they were eating the coral.

From what I’ve read, these mites are more active during the nighttime hours. I do see them during the day, but due to their size it is impossible to spot them on a coral without having them very close.

I hope I have good news to report soon.

Dr. Jim · Mar 15, 2023

Syntax1235 said:
I’ve ordered the kcl . I tried the Red Sea dip and purge, still alive and moving around. I’m experimenting with a frag plug that has them crawling all around. I’m trying 100ml of tank water to 1 ml of a diluted solution of melathion that I used to use in the garden. I don’t know what the concentration level is, but I have enough mixed to use for a long time.

-1 ml of melathion did nothing after 15 minutes. Added another 1 ml…. Waitied 15 minutes and they are still alive. Adding 2ml to the solution and waiting another 15 minutes.

May I ask what dosage the melathion label says to use (for garden pests) and have you tried that concentration in aquarium water for the dips? I would think that dosage might be a good starting point to start playing around with.
I know you are trying the KCl and I really hope that works for you since KCl would make life much easier, but I feel more optimistic about the malathion working. I'm saying this because of the success I had with Dyacide that I wrote about recently for a very resistant tegastes species that I called a "brown bug" (and another organophosphate I used for a fish isopod many years ago). I should add that I have no experience with KCl, though.