Preventative Coral dips

[krisfal]

What you find at the drug store is usually betadine, provodine or some other compound, not just iodine. I looked for some time at drug stores for something that was just iodine and could not find anything, so ended up buying some lugol's from a LFS.

So next question for this thread: Is betadine safe to use and effective for a coral dip?

Like I mentioned before I closely examine the stuff in the bottom of the container after I do the melafix dip. I pour most of the water off of the top and then look closely at what came off of the corals and is left in the bottom of the container. I have a couple different containers (white and black) that I pour the last bit of water into to get a good contrast to try to see possible bugs. A magnifying glass would be a good addition to my tools for a better examination.

 

[returnofsid]

I'm reading that you can get Lugol's from drug store but prescription is required. Wondering if that'd be a cheaper route to go than online. Also read that Drug store iodines are safe for dips, but not for supplements, because of alcohol in them BUT that Lugol's is safer for dips....hmmm. Gotta do more reading...lol. Oh wait, I see in my reading, where Lugol's is available at LFS??? How's that work when you need a prescription for it??

 

[Curtswearing]

I personally dip ALL corals.

Depending on the coral, it might be a freshwater dip, it might be a saltwater dip with Praziquantel, it might be a saltwater dip with Flatworm Exit, yada, yada, yada.

I'm also a big believer in QT systems......for corals as well as fish. This is not always an option but dipping corals prior to introduction to your DT is easy and anyone can do that.

 

[returnofsid]

Thanks Curt, been reading about Lugol's all morning...lol. Learned something I wasn't aware of. Lugol's dip with SW doesn't work. Has to be with FW. That's something else I'll have to learn before doing anything. Which needs to be mixed with SW and which FW? My Lugol's reading has shown me lots of pics of Zoanthid eating nudis. Ugly lil fellows. Since I am getting more interested in Zoanthids lately, I'll definitely be learning more about those!!! Hopefully NOT first hand.

 

[Maxx]

I've been reading about Melafix and Iodine used for red bugs lately with somewhat good results. Wondering if those 2 would be enough and take the place of Flatworm Exit or Interceptor. So, I want to put together a list of stuff I would likely want or need. Here's what I have so far....

Melafix
Iodine (Would the typical iodine found in a drug store work or do I need Lugols?)
Possibly Interceptor
Possibly Flatworm Exit

Anything else??

Couple of things to point out:

1...Flatworm Exit will kill red planaria flatworms, (photsynthetic), but wont bother AEFW's.

Interceptor will kill red bugs, and other crustaceans, but wont hurt AEFW's or the corals.

Lugols/iodine will kill AEFW's, corals, and crustaceans. I have dipped corals in Lugols for 15 minutes, killed all sorts of stuff, (including AEFW's), and had a subsequent outbreak of AEFW's later. It is possible that the iodine doesnt kill all of the AEFW's, (doubtful as AEFW's in a container w/ Lugols will all die...but its possible the slime the coral gives off in response to the iodine could protect some of the AEFW's), but I suspect that the iodine didnt affect the eggs laid by the AEFW's, and that was the source of my re-infection.

I later lost all my acros, so its sort of a moot point.

Allegedly, (I have no experiance with this) fluke tabs will knock out/paralyse AEFW's and they can be blown off of infected corals for disposal. I have read this from several sources on the net. The same people have stated they dip in sequence:

1. Flatworm Exit...follow directions for time
2. Interceptor...24 hours dip.
3. Fluke tabs for 6 hours. Rinse with new saltwater, repeat dip.
4. Cut the base of the coral off the plug/mount. Discard old mount/plug and remount.

Nick

 

[returnofsid]

Maxx, thanks for the great information. However, do you really think a 24 hour dip is needed for Interceptor? You're talking 30 hours of dipping with step 2 and 3, not including the Flatworm exit or the "repeat dip" of number 3. Do you have specific information that say a 6 hour dip of Interceptor isn't enough? Just seems a bit excessive....but I'm still trying to learn about all this.

Anyone else have input? Let's keep this thread current!!

 

[loohunter]

Maxx, thanks for the great information. However, do you really think a 24 hour dip is needed for Interceptor? You're talking 30 hours of dipping with step 2 and 3, not including the Flatworm exit or the "repeat dip" of number 3. Do you have specific information that say a 6 hour dip of Interceptor isn't enough? Just seems a bit excessive....but I'm still trying to learn about all this.

Anyone else have input? Let's keep this thread current!!

i dont see why you couldn't dip for 24 hours just make sure the temp stays constant and there is some flow. the prob with red bugs is they always come back after first treatment, so maybe after 24 hours the med will get to the eggs and all

 

[returnofsid]

Red bugs don't lay eggs so that's not possible. The idea of treating again a week later to get eggs that hadn't hatched during the first treatment is a myth.

 

[loohunter]

Red bugs don't lay eggs so that's not possible. The idea of treating again a week later to get eggs that hadn't hatched during the first treatment is a myth.

if this is true then 6 hours is not long enough. i followed the directions to a tee and thought one treatment was enough. months later they were back full force without the addition of any new acros

 

[returnofsid]

Did you remove and treat your corals or treat your tank? Keep in mind that just removing all acros from your system and treating doesn't guarantee anything. Red bugs could have been on rocks near Acro...could have fallen off acro while removing it and still been in water column. There's no guarantee that removing all acros actually removes all red bugs.

I've read several instances of all acros being removed from system and treated...then put in QT tank. While all acros were still in QT, new Acros known to NOT have red bug were put in display. Soon after, red bugs were seen. I'm thinking if you have redbugs in your tank, the only way to guarantee anything is to treat entire system...which is a bit risky but can be done. If you don't have redbugs in system...treating every acro may not even guarantee anything. Can they come in on live rock? Other corals that were near infected Acro?? I just don't know those answers....

 

[loohunter]

i treated the whole tank, in my new tank i have one acro and it is infested so i am going to take out and dip and dip every future acro prior to going in and we will see what happens

 

[returnofsid]

Hmm good information. Maybe the single tank treatment wasn't enough...obviously it wasn't. Wonder if more research needs to be done with dosage? Possibly needed a stronger dose. How did your other inverts...ie...hermit crabs, shrimp, pods and such handle the treatment. Have read of mixed results there as well.

 

[DonW]

One thing to remember with interceptor is the active ingredient is insoluable in sw so you have to make sure you use plenty of warm rodi water to get it into the solution or your just wasting the meds.

Don

 

[loohunter]

the crabs i couldn't get out died, most pods died but alot lived. my thought is the dose wasn't strong enough. if the med is designed to kill pods then it should kill them all(not that you would want all your pods dead) im just saying that if some pods live why wouldnt some red bugs live. i also think it would be easier to dose stronger in a little bowl or a bucket for dipping purposes instead of nthe whole tank

 

[loohunter]

One thing to remember with interceptor is the active ingredient is insoluable in sw so you have to make sure you use plenty of warm rodi water to get it into the solution or your just wasting the meds.

Don

that is good info don, it was so long ago i dont remember how i dissolved it, but i remember it looked real gritty and most of it probaly settled to the bottom

 

[returnofsid]

Don thanks for that tidbit. Could prove very important for those needing to use Interceptor. I've heard of using a microwave to warm up the RO/DI water in order to make it dissolve easier. Also, from what I've researched, it needs to be crushed up to a very fine powder.

 

[Maxx]

Maxx, thanks for the great information. However, do you really think a 24 hour dip is needed for Interceptor? You're talking 30 hours of dipping with step 2 and 3, not including the Flatworm exit or the "repeat dip" of number 3. Do you have specific information that say a 6 hour dip of Interceptor isn't enough? Just seems a bit excessive....but I'm still trying to learn about all this.

Anyone else have input? Let's keep this thread current!!

Don W gave you some good info...

I should clarify however...

My post was for a preventative dip. I did three separate dips for red bugs in my tank. I then waited for several weeks to see if I found any redbug survivors. When I didnt, I also figured my pods were toast. A surprising amount survived. When I saw that, I realized that interceptor does require some time to be effective. I was also unable to remove a blood shrimp from my tank at the start of the treatment. It played hide and seek for about 5 hours, then started acting groggy. I was able to remove it then, and it made a full recovery. More proof that Interceptor is not an instant crustacean killer.
With all that in mind, I now do a long term dip like I mention previously.

The acro gets acclimated to my tank's water. Then the dipping begins. The coral is placed in a container and floated in the sump (for temp contol) with an airstone. This allows the coral to get water movement, and to circulate the meds...
One thing to remember, if you have a significant number of red planaria, you will need to do a water change. When red planaria die, they release toxins that can kill or stress corals.

With this sort of dip, I've kept corals over night with no losses.

Nick

 

[returnofsid]

I like the way you do this, by floating in sump for temp control.

 

[Maxx]

Makes it easier for me.

Nick

 

[returnofsid]

Bump to get this circulating again. We have some great information here. Anything to add to it?