Dez' Tank Journal

[Dez]

Well,

Somewhat sad news. I have RED BUGS.

I sort of knew about a month and a half ago. I bought some frags off of a fellow canreefer and upon inspecting a frag, I saw the red bugs. I proceeded to do an Interceptor dip to a few of the smooth skinned acros even though I didn't see any bugs on them.

I thought I had caught it early enough. The one frag that I dipped and the bugs disappeared has changed tremendously without the red bugs bugging it. It used to be whitish baby blue, now it's a rich teal colour and there are no signs of bugs anymore. The polyp extension has increased substantially also.

However, I was enjoying my tank tonight and looked really closely at my large acro colony and saw a bug run accross it. Then I saw another
I saw 3 of them in total on that large colony. So I think they're just starting. Upon inspecting my other corals, it doesn't look like they are affected, but I'm going to do a full tank treatment anyway to be safe, once the lights are out. Then I'll do another in a week, and the final one another week later.

I know that many people dip their corals before it goes into the display. What do you guys dip them in. I'm more scared of acropora eating flatworms then red bugs.

I know that if you buy from some reputable suppliers like CORAL MASTER, it voids the warranty if you dip the corals.

What are your thoughts?

I've never dipped any corals in the years I've been in the hobby. I guess it's never too late to start. Any suggestions?