I've looked as carefully as I could but it looks like my tank is clear.

Have you noticed any real damage done by the red bugs Brad?

Mason, look harder. Use a magnifying glass :razz: Although if you had them, I'm sure Aam would have pointed them out!
I think there is real damage to the coral, but since I didn't cut it in half with one half going in an identical clean tank, I can't prove it.

Remember, when you're looking for these things, you can probably fit 10 on the head of a pin.

I do remember getting a frag with red bug once. I spotted it pretty much right away and removed the frag. I've never seen the same thing on my corals though. The reason I ask for everyone's take on it is because there are alot of people with nice tanks and bugs, and alot of nice frags to be had if I just accepted the bugs into my system!

Mason, I hear ya!! Not sure I would make that leap if given the choice. I supose that I have near 100 corals and maybe 3 look like they're suffering, so....
I guess you need to make that choice, but I believe within the next year, it will be nearly impossible to find a tank that doesn't have them. It isn't a coastal thing, it's sweeping North America. People in the US on both coasts and everywhere in between have them. Now they are here and I'm sure they are in Alberta also.

There must be some natural predators in the wild. We just need to figure out what those are. I know I've had red flatworms from corals that I got from people with flatworms. But something in my tank is eating them because I have none now. And I'm always taking corals out and rearranging them so I get to look at corals pretty close up. Red bugs must taste good to someone.

Looks to me like one divided stumbled on the predator, the 6 line wrasse. I don't have any, but I also have a 6 line wrasse.

Mike

I don't think the wrasse actually ate any bugs. I think it was just coincedence. The numbers of bugs goes up and down in cycles, and I think the wrasse just happened to reside there during a down.

red bugs
 

To all concerned would it not be possible to dip an infested piece coral in a a soluton of reef dip coral disinfectant.It says it is effective against bacteria fungus and protozoans?have used it before seems quite safe.

Re: red bugs
 

Nope. That's the best available so far, but not 100%. And in my case, I have a large tank full of large acros, I certainly can't dip them. We've tried repeated dips in Iodine (that's what reef dip is) and although it kills most of them, some can hide inte corallites and survive.

Re: red bugs
 

nope I did 4, 20 min iodine dips and still ended up getting them, I haven't seen any sence the move though unless Brad saw a couple when he was fixing my tank for me.

Steve