Help with red bugs and Interceptor

[Blazer88]

So I talked to my vet and he is more than happy to sell me some interceptor to kill my red bugs. I've been reading about the stuff and it seems that many treat the whole tank at once. I have a few cleaner, peppermint, and a pistol shrimp that I would rather not kill if possible. The two small acro's that have the bugs are on a small rock that could easily be pulled from the tank. Is it possible to just dip this rock, maybe a few times, to kill the bugs but not affect the whole tank? Or maybe a weak dose to the tank that would kill the bugs and hopefully nothing else? Any help is appreciated, thanks.

(in case you wanted to see what I'm dealing with):

 

[DonW]

If these are the only acros you have then it definatly worth a shot. I use a little less than a 1/4 of a big dog pill in a gallon of tank water to treat new corals it has always worked fine.
Not going to hurt anything to try.

Don

 

[Blazer88]

Thanks for the reply Don. My other pieces of SPS seem unaffected and I'm not able to spot any red bugs on them. I'm hoping I can dip the pieces maybe once a week for a 2-3 weeks and hopefully be done with them. I'll guess I'll make the trip to the vet today and give it a shot.

 

[DonW]

Dipping them in that concentrated mix will clean a sps frag in about 10 minutes. If that doesnt do it the first time around I'd do the whole tank.

Don

 

[kevinpo]

I'm almost certain they will come back if you don't treat the whole tank. I haven't had any trouble with pistol shrimp even at 1.5 times the recommended dose. The Peppermint shrimp usually won't take it. The Cleaner shrimp usually make it but I have lost a few. I would remove them to a container and float it in your tank to keep it warm. If you do a 20% water change after 24 hours you can put the shrimp back in.
The only fish that I've had trouble with are one species of Anthias (Bartlett's) one out of six died. I've never had any other fish show any signs that the tank was being treated.

HTH,
Kevin

 

[kevinpo]

If you just dip the corals and it works please post back in a couple of months whether they return or not.

Regards,
Kevin
PS: Did you take that picture? Fantastic shot!

 

[spongebob lover]

good luck dood .

 

[Herefishyfishy]

On a side note, would be considerate if anybody selling from a Red bug infested tank, to fully disclose in advance. Sucks to see what one has to go through to clear it up.

Rick, you should hire out as a reef photographer in all your "spare time"

 

[tamarindthai]

i used to have ton of redbugs,,,now don't know what happened ,,could not find any of them,,i am scratching my head because i added the cleanner wreasse?,wreasse ate them all?????,never treat my tank with interceptor either.?
i am the strong beliver about pest control with the balance of the nature.,,

 

[Blazer88]

Hey Dang, turns out we know the same vet. I was talking to him in Redmond and he mentioned he knew who owns Tamarind Thai in Redmond, sure enough he knows you. And I actually got these SPS frags from about a year ago, so you had red bugs at one point in time. I can always try the dip and see how things go. If it doesn't work I can always try the full tank. What is the recommended dose for a dip or the full tank? I can pick up the stuff tonight and maybe give it a shot. Oh yeah, that is a pic that I took BTW. Thanks for everyone's responses.

 

[SueT]

The tabs come in 2.3mg for 38g, 5.75mg for 90g, 11.5mg for 180g and 23mg for 380g. I usually keep a 11.5mg tab on hand for new arrivals. They suggest a 3 tank treatment or if you dip then I'd use the suggested doseage Don gave.

 

[DonW]

On a side note, would be considerate if anybody selling from a Red bug infested tank, to fully disclose in advance. Sucks to see what one has to go through to clear it up.

Rick, you should hire out as a reef photographer in all your "spare time"

Dip everything alot of folks never know they have them.

Don

 

[kevinpo]

On a side note, would be considerate if anybody selling from a Red bug infested tank, to fully disclose in advance.

You should assume all corals/plants/ even rock from an SPS tank you purchase have them because the majority of hobbyists are unaware they exist and we don't know how long they can survive without a host. It's obviously long enogh to travel from coral to coral and I would suspect they crawl accross the rocks to get to the next host.

Regards,
Kevin

 

[Herefishyfishy]

WOW, wish I would have known that a month ago. Tank is now all stocked up and mostly undipped and I even own a large tablet. Well, if the buggers show up, will be ready for them. Thanks for the heads up Don and Kevin.

 

[SueT]

Mike is that majestic angel in your tank?? What an absolutely awesome fish...

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Yes thanks Sue. It is leaving all the corals etc alone and eating like a pig along with the tangs. My scooter Benny on the other hand is now harassing my two baby clams no matter where or what they are in. I am mid attempting trapping him. If no go, will use my mini spear-gun technique and send him to that great algae bed in the sky.

 

[class clown]

tagging along Rick -good luck and let me know how it turns out.. I've got a similar problem (seem the buggers on only 2 of my SPS, the rest are clear).

If it all works out and you have extra interceptor pills, let me know. I may purchase them from ya.

 

[Slickdonkey]

i am the strong beliver about pest control with the balance of the nature.,,

Good philosophy where practical... quick hijack: know anything that will eat red flatworms? I've treated three times and there are always some stragglers.

 

[Blazer88]

I got some interceptor pills from my vet. I am probably going to wait until I treat my tank though. I plan on a tank upgrade in the next few months and would prefer to get my snails/shrimp out when I do the transfer. That way I don't loose all of my inverts when I treat the main tank. After that all new SPS frags will get dipped. Ben, if I have any pills left over I will let you know. My vet in Bellevue will sell me all that I need though, they are easy to get if you need them.

 

[volivier]

red bugs

I called one of my LFS and asked about something to kill redbugs on Acropora. She said she didn't know what I was talking about. Very scary, I can't believe a LFS would not know about these pest. I ordered off ebay, and I don't have a quaranteen tank. I was floating the frags in a coolwhip cointainer in the sump when I noticed something crawling on one of them. I don't think any water got into my sump, but I'm thinking about treating my tank just to be safe. I don't have many crabs, snails are safe right?

I've put the frags into a 2 gal exclipse tank i had. I bought the interceptor from my vet too, got the 23 mg tablet for large dogs. I couldn't get a photo, and the website said they dip before shipment and quaranteen, maybe they are dying? How long till they die after treatment?