Plan B for Redbugs, and other pests

[Maxx]

Plan B for Red Bugs

One of the LFS nearby uses the following treatment for red bugs in their frag systems:

Bayer Advanced Complete Insect Killer bug spray…


Use 2cc in a gallon of saltwater

Soak for 10 minutes

Rinse in saltwater for 15 minutes (use a 5 gallon bucket)
Use a small powerhead to blow away bodies

Dip in fresh saltwater for 30 seconds

Yup….Bug spray.

They’ve been doing it for about a year now with good results. To my knowledge, they’ve had no losses attributable to the treatment, but to be fair, they are a store and have significant turnover in livestock.

For further reading check here:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1965880&highlight=red+bug+treatment

Bayer Advanced Complete insect Killer - Frogspawn - The Reef Tank


One other option for those who cant obtain Interceptor through a vet….

Keep in mind, this will not kill red bugs in the tank, only the ones on the corals. Red bugs do in fact swim. I have seen them swim off of coral frags I’ve removed from the tank to treat. This treatment would work best for corals going INTO the tank. Red bugs are however obligate acro eaters and do not touch any other type of coral….if its not an acro, (monti, birds nest, stylo, poccillipora etc) its safe from the bugs. Removing the acros, treating with the Bayer Advanced, and leaving the main display free of acros for two weeks will wipe out any redbug population, without killing anything else in the tank.

 

[Maxx]

Please note, I have not tried this myself. This is me passing on information I recently stumbled over.

Nick

 

[TJL]

Thanks Nick, great info and always good to see other options available to us out there.


Cheers, Todd

 

[Maxx]

From what I've read, it also works on other pests as well as red bugs.....


Nick

 

[Boomer]

This is nothing new, if you look at the active incidents in Two Little Fishes *ReVive, it is a blend of " natural insect repellents". Oleum abietis = Oil of Siberian Fir, which is the distilled oil from the leaves of Siberian Fir/Pine tree Abies sibirica (think Pinsol) and Citrus limon is lemon peel extract.

 

[estanoche]

very very interesting - and good point/reminder - only good as a dip, not an entire tank treatment I've scratched my head a bit about using natural flea repellents (ie tea tree oil) too in dips... just never brave enough to try it - hahaha

 

[Maxx]

What's interesting to me is that some of the Bayer Advantage users have stated they lost corals to ReVive. I havent seen the same stated about the bug spray......

Nick

 

[Boomer]

And some have stated that Bayer Advantage melted their corals on that RC thread and some have stated it did nothing. It is a shot gun approach, gamble, on how much to use an the time of the dip.

 

[Maxx]

I didnt see the post(s) where people stated it melted their corals. But I probably wouldnt be using it on a soft coral either.

Nick

 

[Boomer]

So I completely wasn't following the thread as closely as I should of and tried 10 mL of the Bayer Complete Insect Killer concentrate in half a cup of water and dipped my coral for 10 minutes and completely melted the skin off the acro. However, there is still polyp extension soo I didn't completely kill of everything which is interesting to say the least.

 

[estanoche]

So I completely wasn't following the thread as closely as I should of and tried 10 mL of the Bayer Complete Insect Killer concentrate in half a cup of water and dipped my coral for 10 minutes and completely melted the skin off the acro. However, there is still polyp extension soo I didn't completely kill of everything which is interesting to say the least.

So, avoid the concentrate, eh?? Do you know how much you'd need to delete the concentrate to make it the same strength as the ready to use?

 

[Maxx]

So I completely wasn't following the thread as closely as I should of and tried 10 mL of the Bayer Complete Insect Killer concentrate in half a cup of water and dipped my coral for 10 minutes and completely melted the skin off the acro. However, there is still polyp extension soo I didn't completely kill of everything which is interesting to say the least.

So the person in question didnt follow instructions as per what others were doing successfully and used too much of the bug spray and killed most of a coral?
What happens if I dont follow instructions and use too much Kalk?



Nick

 

[Boomer]

You are not even on the same planet Nick with that analogy

 

[Maxx]

Point I was making was not following directions can cause problems.

Yes, this is something that hasnt been studied extensively and results cannot be predicted with to an exact degree, but there is compelling annecdotal evidence indicating that this is an effective treatment for red bugs.

Nick

 

[fazgood]

Mostly Objective tests

We have been testing this for several months using controlled methods. Mainly we have used measured amounts and kept track of the results. There have not been any documented deaths due to the treatment. It really does a number on red bugs, nudi's and bristle worms. We have seen it cause acro crabs to fall apart at the joints (

We did have one instance where the treated corals were not sufficiently rinsed and this caused the copepods to appear drunk for a short while. We were able to perform a 90% water chance and we did not have any issues. Fish were stressed but none died.

There seems to be a residual effect. Treated SPS appear to resist reinfection. Some corals really slime after treatment as well.

It is critical to do a double soak in saltwater from what we have tried. The active ingredient seems to saturate the tissue and act as a deterrent for re infestation.

Our formula has been:

> Use 2cc in a gallon of saltwater
>
> Soak for 10 minutes
>
> Rinse in clean saltwater for 15 minutes (use a 5 gallon bucket)
> Use a small powerhead to blow away dead bug bodies
>
> Dip in fresh saltwater for 30 seconds

Faz

 

[Tigé21v]

Is the stated measurement (2cc/1 gallon) correct? Most measurements I've seen recommended are much, much stronger than this, all the way up to 10ml to a 1/2 cup of water.
I made the suggested 2cc/1 gallon and dropped a small piece of LR in it. Even after more than an hour in the water, nothing had died (asterina, copepods, etc).

 

[jrgilles]

Are there different strengths? Maybe one is concentrated one isn't?

 

[Maxx]

That's the dosage Fahzgood has been using, and he's the one I got the info from originally. I wouls say yes, its correct.

Nick