Observations on red bugs

[rickjames]

I thought I would post my experience with "the bugs".

Before my previous 30G tank cracking episode I was planning on treating my red bug problem before moving everything to the new 150G. Unfortunately I had to make the decision on what to do at 3:00 am, with a bunch of livestock sitting in rubbermaid containers, so i decided to treat all my acros with one round of interceptor. I only treated the acro themselves and the plugs they were on.

The acros got a slightly stronger treatment then recommended by Dustin Dorton, but due to a misunderstanding, were treated for 12 hours instead of 6! I then disposed of all the water, checked each coral out, and placed them in the new tank. I could not find any bugs, and the corals appeared fine.

Well it has been almost 3 weeks now and I have still not been able to find any bugs. My acros are looking better then ever, polyp expansion is better and so is colour. I'm sure there are other contributing factors for the corals improved health, but I am just glad to be rid of these bugs.

So I may have gotten lucky killing the bugs with one treatment. From now on, any acro that goes in my tank gets treated first! Believe me, you don't want these guys in your tank.