dang bashing, and other 4 letter words :)

jnarowe · Jul 13, 2008

I have several corals that came with red bugs. I got them knowing they had them, and I have had no problem getting rid of them. First of all, I QT all corals. Second, I have a dip procedure that includes dipping on multiple days over the course of a couple weeks.

I generally dip all corals in TMPCC at normal dose for 20 minutes and then carefully inspect them. I find that FW Exit does not work well on RB BTW, but if I have a problem coral, it gets the whole shebang. FW Exit, TMPCC, and Interceptor. I cannot say enough god things about how well Interceptor works.

So my routine consists of repetative dipping, observation, and inspection. Only when a coral has passed inspection throughout the course of a week, will I place it into my display. The entire QT/dipping/inspection process usually lasts about 4 weeks.

This in no way "gaurantees" a bug free display, but since this is an ongoing issue with so much trading going on, we all have to do our part to be diligent in this matter. Because the aquarium community is somewhat a "closed system" we could pass around bugs and disease, and even create new diseases like the flu in grade school.

My advice: Treat all animals and corals like they have hitch-hikers, QT and treat accordingly. "Trusting" any source because of reputation or past experience is foolish IMO.

Fragman · Jul 13, 2008

Long time No Bashing! And it feels Good!

I have enjoyed being free of these pests for about six months now and I too have a quarantine procedure in place. It is not as elaborate as yours but it has worked. KNOCK ON WOOD! My wish is that all reefers were #1 knowledgeable about these pests and how to treat for them, but more importantly: #2 Willing to take action not to knowingly spread them around with the frags that they sell and trade.

To me this is as bad as a parent sending his/her kids to school with head lice and saying, well you should just keep your kids away form mine if you don't want head lice. Or just treat them every week and you just won't get them. I know that it is not the same thing, but that's the way I feel about it.

Boy we haven't had a heated Red Bug debate in quite a while!

Jan · Jul 14, 2008

Jonathan, how long do you dip your new corals in Interceptor? I started doing it in a 5 gallon bucket overnight and, so far so good.

jnarowe · Jul 14, 2008

Jan, it's not set in stone. SOme corals react negatively to interceptor. I used to dip for just a half hour, but have now gon to 2 - 4 hours, depending n how the coral does. Some don't seem to mind the Interceptor at all. I have never done it overnight, mostly because I am a pansy and I wouldn't want a coral to ceck out while I was sleeping at my own hand.