i have red bugs
 

damn...

After talking to michika at the reef meet today I went home with a morbid feeling that I lost the one colony of mine to red bugs. I got home and confirmed it. I have red bugs on a few pieces in my tank. It needs treatment.

Thankfully I got some interceptor off a fellow reefer and I begin treatment tonight. I'm pulling all the hermit crabs out i can and putting them in a little 5g temp tank. I think they'll do ok for the duration of the treatment.

Wish me luck!

that blows... good luck... lucky to have the interceptor. I was never able to land any myself when I tried, but have one pill from a fellow reefer which I am hoarding like gold until the time comes that I really need it.

Pssst....you can get if from your veterinarian....for your "dog" of course... :)

btw checked out some articles on it. almost all said the same thing but this one said it in the easiest to understand way:

http://www.melevsreef.com/redbugs.html

Unfortunately all the vets I talked to would have nothing to do with dispensing meds for a fish tank. "We will not give a prescription without an examination, and we will not examine corals." It was a very frustrating experience as I even talked to several vets who had helped other reefers in the past.

yeah michika explained that problem and she even worked for a vet at that time. I managed to get 4 tablets so I have almost a lifetime's supply worth.

I had difficulty figuring out how to divide the tablet into 1/8th pieces for my tank so instead I diced it up with a razor blade and mixed one tablet in 250mL of RO/DI water. I'll do the math from there (1/8th the 250mL) for the doses.

I have no experience with using a razor blade to dice powder into lines but I can say I did pretty good :lol:

So get it for your dog. You can request it at the annual exam. Or ask someone with a dog to do so. Interceptor is just a dewormer. I can see them not wanting to accept the liability of prescribing something off-label but once it's in your hands ....Not that I would recommended most drugs for off label use of course...But it's not like it's a street drug....
It's a pretty decent dewormer ;)
For your dog.
Don't be clumsy tho....those pills are slippery....bouncing right into the fish tank....silly things.

(legally your vet needs to have a client-patient relationship to prescribe this dewormer...for your dog)

pssssst....it's not just a dewormer but also treats for Heartworms...but yeah just get someone to pick some up for you that has a dog....

yes...heart....worms.... :razz: *grin*

Dirofilaria immitis is technically a nematode, a nematode is a worm.

(But if you're meaning it's more "serious" than you're typical worm then you are right! you should always test for heartworm if you live in, or visit a heartworm endemic area BEFORE using a product that kills heartworms)

What are red bugs?

The best answer to your questions is in the attached link.

http://www.melevsreef.com/redbugs.html

Tom R

Here are some macro photos of red bugs.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...redbug_800.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...45700_2943.jpg

Where do they come from?

Sean,
be sure to do all 3 treatments. Interceptor does not work on their eggs and often the 1st dose can leave a few stragglers that survive. Also since it is really a type of antibiotic, just as with humans if not used correctly the bugs can develop an immunity and we don't want a "super strain" of red bugs out there that interceptor won't kill.:wink: Good luck.

You found some awesome photos Catherine. Note how the bugs can get right into the stem ends and choke polyp extension. They also make webbing much like spider mites, notice how they appear to be almost floating above the coral surface. They are nasty little buggers.

Thank you. I'm trying to amass as many photos and details on them as I can. Eventually I want to make it into a huge PDF file so that people may download the print out the collected literature in hopes of making the procurement of Interceptor for reefers easier.

I get Interceptor easily. The vet reccommends it for my dog since heartworm is around this area. The pack has more pills in it than I need to use, so I just keep the extras for my fishies. I've never had to use it though. It's not cheap though...works out to almost $10/pill. Which reminds me...I have to go get this years' package! :)

Awesome!!:multi:


Hey Kwirky, how's treatment going?

its really unfortunate that eric borneman took his website offline. that was one of the best sources on red bugs/treatment that I've ever seen. unfortunately I gave the only copy I had to my vet. I should talk to him about getting a copy back.

I think I have copy somewhere too. I found it about a week before he took the site down. I agree though, I wish it was still online.

first dose is done. 8am tomorrow I do my water change and run carbon. wash rinse and repeat next week.

I didn't have snotting corals n such like michika said some of her's reacted to the medication but then there's not much in there in the first place.

update:

polyp extension is MUCH better already. The staghorn frag has some 1cm long polyps! I've started mixing another 15g water for tomorrow's treatment and subsequent water change. one more treatment after that then I can consider myself disease free lol

Thats great to hear!

My thanks to you and greg for all the info you gave me on how to diagnose it and treat it. Thanks a bunch.

You're welcome