Jestersix

Red bugs - the saga begins

cwolfus

cwolfus

Past President
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I'm posting this to help out the newbies, but comments by all are welcome.

I've been growing SPS for about 2 years now with mixed results... over that time I have gotten better at maintaining ALk, CA, and SG at levels that keep most animals happy. While I don't have a Qt I always use TP on frags before the enter my tank.

And so it begins... a few weeks ago I brought some frags for a friend. After watching them in QT for a few days, the friend casually mentioned..."you might want to look for RB". While I never did actually see RB I trust this friend and it explains why some SPS have shown much less PE (polyp extension) than others. So I did some research and have just begun treating for RED BUGS.

Here are the instructions I acquired:

1 pill treats 380g total water vol (include water in sump, subtract watter displaced by sand and rock)
Turn off air to skimmer; remove carbon; remove crabs, shrimp, and hermits; and add 1 dose to tank and let sit for 4-6 hours
After 6-8 hrs do a 25% water change and run carbon
Repeat in 7 and 14 days
Once complete, reseed tank with tiger pods (thanks for giving those out at the last meeting, Gresh)


Late this morning i fished out what I could find of hermits and my Harlequin Shrimp.
Today at 1pm I took 1/4 of a crushed pill, mixed with DI and added to my 70g tank. (My sump is offline so this is about 2x recommended dose which should be fine). Tonight between 7-9 I will do a 15g water change and add carbon.

Treatment should be done before the end of the year and frags should be ready for the upcoming swap.

I'll let you know how it goes.

C
 
I thought the lastest info said no need to repeat because red bugs don't lay eggs?

I've seen recommendations for 12 hour treatment, and that longer is better.

1x-10x original dosage levels can work.
 
Cool!

I missed the no repeat needed, but that is definitely preferable! :D

Is there any reason not to leave the interceptor in the tank for longer?

C
 
I dosed once @ 3-4x the dosage about a year ago, still no red bugs =D

I wish the other pests were as easy as red bugs to get rid of. :)
 
According to Frank's presentation on pests and diseases, it's ok to leave the interceptor for longer periods.

Also, he said that it doesn't break down in water like some people thought. But that sounded anecdotal... he said he had a quarantine that didn't get interceptor recently, and that a peppermint shrimp got nuked when he added it to the tank. Who knows... could have been osmotic shock too.

Karson at Aquatic Collection keeps interceptor in his quarantine bin at all times. He adds a tablet, every 3rd water change to maintain the levels. He has to change water on the quarantine because of the pod die-off when his new stuff goes in the interceptor.

I do 2-4x for 12+ hours. I don't sweat it if it goes way longer than 12. I'll have stuff in quarantine with interceptor for days even.

You might want to keep your skimmer running, but kill the air to it. Then your meds can circulate through all the equipment.
 
The deed is done!

This morning at 10am I did my water change. So the system had interceptor for 21 hours. That should do it! After the water change I added carbon and so far everything looks fine.

Any suggestions on how long to wait before I add the pods, hermits, and shrimp?

C
 
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