Dealing with Red Bugs

Yep, I noticed these little pests on a couple small colonies the other day, needless to say I wasn't too thrilled, and a little worried too! After researching for hours, and talking to my fellow Geeks I found that it doesn't seem like too big a deal. Sounds like a couple doses of the dog heartworm preventer medicine "Interceptor" does the trick just fine. So now all i have to do is get some of this medicine....I was shot down by two vets yesterday.... one on the phone, and one in person. I read that the only reason its "prescription only" is because if given to a dog that already has a worm infestation it can cause damage to said dogs well-being.... I guess since the vets can't milk my coral for repeat office visits, and unnecessary lab and bloodwork like they do other pets, then they could care less. At least thats my opinion from dealing with them in the past....anyway i'm gonna try another vet today....we'll see. Once i get the interceptor i'll dose and document, but for now here's a video clip of the little nuggets of joy crawling all over my bonsai. Right at the end of the clip you'll see one crawl near a polyp and it closes quick!

There is an alternative to Interceptor that you can get without a perscription. Its called Advantage Multi Advocate (known as Advocate). It is like a generic Interceptor. That is in the dog world, I dont know how effective it will be on the red bugs though.

It seems like what is needed is the main ingredient in Interceptor... "Milbemycin Oxime" only one other medicine that i found contains it..."sentinel" but it has other ingredients for flea prevention, and i don't plan on being a guinea pig for something new. Would be great if a non-prescription one worked though.... thanks for looking out, maybe someone has tried that brand???

That was in the back of my mind as I typed the reply. I wasn't sure what ingredient it takes to combat the red bugs and not sure what ingredients are in the medicines. I really hope you find a cure for them, the bonsai doesn't seem to like them being there.

On a side note, that bonsai is pretty awesome cool looking....minus the red bugs that is. Nice macro video.

John heres a thread that has a bunch of good info in it DFW Marine Aquarium Society • View topic - Quintessential RED bugs treatment & Interceptor info thread

I have some for dogs 11 to 20lbs but i need to convert the dosage and i dont do math on fridays Let me talk to one of our vets and see what they say. We have a pretty good relationship with our vets and lord know we have paid them enough money over the years.

cool video guys! .....that's A LOT of red bugs eh?! at least they're not an urgency though!

anyone else here have a suggestion on treatment for john?

if you have coralRX handy it is worth a try to see if that will pop them off....

I've heard many say "they just fall off" during a coralRX treatment, although, I've used interceptor dozens of times, and I know that works perfect....... And it really takes just a pinch of interceptor in a bath - I leave mine in for about 30 minutes or so, blow off the coral real well, and tada!!!

I would Joanne, but there's a good bit encrusted on one of them, and would probably destroy it taking it off the rock. I'll feel much better treating the whole system for now, then using your technique before quarantine for new additions. No more unprotected reef-luvin for me

And I just got back from DPA my LFS.., they had two dragonface pipefish which i read eat red bugs...... they looked very healthy and Charlie(owner) scooped some pods outta his fuge, and they went after them....but i just can't see these timid little things surviving in a high flow tank, or eating every red bug when there's plenty of pods in my system. I'm getting the intercepter and treating the system. And I definitely will follow the directions from the experienced ones info. Prob go with the 3 treatment route, then have a stricter dip and quarantine process. Some things are learned the hard way.

I tried a pair of the dragon faces and they didn't last very long. One got sucked into a powerhead, and the other eaten by a dendro colony. If you treat your system it's going to kill any crabs, shrimp, pods in your system. if your ok with that then go for it. I suggest multiple doses to get all of them or they will come back. I did one ***** dose and I didn't see any for about 6 months, but I'm starting to see a few here and there now. I really didn't want to lose my acro crabs, so when I used it I only used half as much as I was supposed to, and only did it once. I still lost all but one acro crab, 3 out of 4 shrimp, and I'm guessing 98% of my hermits. The pod population was decimated as well. more than decimated but you know what I mean. So go full dose, get it over with, and deal with the consequences once. I found my vet to be a little hesitant, but as I explained what it was for, and why I wanted to use it he seemed to get pretty interested. Maybe you could try showing them your video?
bill

So I visited another veterinarian's office on friday. The short of it, after taking all the info i had, and macro shots and video to plead my case, was a NO ..... BUT, the Dr. agreed to take a look at the material in length, and then give me a dose once he researched more....and IF he thought it was ok to use. And No, he never had a reef tank, but he did have some knowledge, i could tell because he asked me if i top-off with salt water " cause that will raise your salinity" he said...Yeah Doc, i've got that covered i said
I thought i'd never hear from him, but to my surprise i got an email from him this morning ( on his day off to give him credit)

Hi John:
I looked into the information you gave me and found that the information from some of the sources you referred me to are consistent with the public aquaria industry standard. So, first for us to establish a legal Doctor client relationship I will need a more complete contact information so, will need your mailing address and any other phone numbers you wish to provide for our office use and the compounding pharmacy use only. The address we have on record for you is:
1 Big Doosh Drive, Wilmington De, 19808
Would this still be correct?

Then you have a decision to make. Do you want me to dispense an Interceptor tablet for you to use in the way that is described in your references (one tablet per 380 gallons) or would you like me to call the prescription into a local compounder who would do the work for you and dispense the medication in doses specific for you tank x 3 in a form that would allow it to dissolve more easily.

Since each tablet has 23 mg of the active ingredient Milbamycin oxime (those that have experimented with it feel is the compound that treats this parasite) and that 23 mg treats 380 gallons this would mean each gallon in the tank would require 0.06 mg of the active compound. So, based on your water volume 130 gallons x 0.06 mg = 7.8 or 8 mg. It seems that there is quite a large safety range (up to 400x the aforementioned dose) for the corrals at least but I can't be sure about the other fish species you have in the tank. This compound as you are aware will kill off any crustation or crab species. None of my research shows any fish species specifically effected in an adverse way to this compound but I do not have a list of fish species that have been in systems successfully treated so there can be unknown sensitivities in some fish species that we are unaware of. So far none have been reported.

So, I can tell you that a single 23 mg Interceptor tablet purchased through our office is about $15.00 but I don't know how much it would be for the compounder to make up the required doses. If it is OK with you I will have them figure out how much it would be and call you to let you know the cost and get your approval before filling the prescription. That way you can tell them to fill it or not. Either way I would appreciate updates on how well it works for you. Hourly web videos via youtube would be cool! but not necessary. If you will just want the tablet through our office just call the office to let them know you will be coming in to pick it up.



Nice guy i thought, and he WAS, really interested. So i picked one up today, and i'm gonna treat the tank tonight.
I also spoke with the compounding pharmacy, and he says he can get a hold of the pure Milbemycin Oxime for future use, he's not sure of the price, but he's gonna check into it.

Wow awesome. Sounds like he REALLY went through and did his research! Good to know there is a vet out there that actually uses his brain!

What is the name of the vet? It's always good to have a good vet in your back pocket just in case. PM me if he doesn't want his information public...

P.S. is your address 1 Big Doosh Drive? LMAO

hahaha ur gonna be a red-bug solution dealer soon!! " pure Milbemycin Oxime for future use" psh

who thought reef keeping would have the potential to turn into a drug dealing venture

That is awesome that the vet took the time to research this. Good luck with your treatment.

I would love to get a little of that interceptor myself for dipping corals prior to placement in my tank. I have been using Revive Coral Cleaner and have never seen a redbug, but it would be nice insurance to use the interceptor.

that's awesome he took the time. Most wouldn't.

Originally Posted by IanH

Wow awesome. Sounds like he REALLY went through and did his research! Good to know there is a vet out there that actually uses his brain!

What is the name of the vet? It's always good to have a good vet in your back pocket just in case. PM me if he doesn't want his information public...

P.S. is your address 1 Big Doosh Drive? LMAO

I'll give you the info Ian, i never asked him if he wanted it known??
And i was wondering if someone would catch the address, knew i could count on you!

Originally Posted by estanoche

hahaha ur gonna be a red-bug solution dealer soon!! " pure Milbemycin Oxime for future use" psh

Originally Posted by ccollins618

who thought reef keeping would have the potential to turn into a drug dealing venture

I'll be a regular Tony Montana

Originally Posted by ento_reefer

That is awesome that the vet took the time to research this. Good luck with your treatment.

I would love to get a little of that interceptor myself for dipping corals prior to placement in my tank. I have been using Revive Coral Cleaner and have never seen a redbug, but it would be nice insurance to use the interceptor.

I'll be adding the 6hr intercepter dip the links mentioned to my arsenal for new additions from now on!

Originally Posted by rgrking

that's awesome he took the time. Most wouldn't.

I agree, a couple i tried before him could give a **** less!

Well, i did the first treatment last night, or should i say today. I dissolved 33mg of the large intercepter tablet ( whole is just about 1g) so roughly a 1/3 of the pill to treat an estimated 120 g of water volume . ( thats a 125, + a 30g sump - rock/sand)
To prepare i removed the gfo reactor, took the collection cup off the skimmer, removed filter sock, and overflow sponge, and skimmer discharge sponge...and caught all the hermits and threw them in the frag tank. I crushed up the dose, weighed it out on a digital scale, then dissolved it in a cup of tank water, and dumped it in around 2am. Around noon today we did a 28g w/c, and i added carbon to the reactor, and put back sock/sponges. so about a 10 hr soak.
I don't have the extension tubes to get a macro shot right now, but THERE ARE NO VISIBLE BUGS! and i still have some good pods on the glass (dont know if they're alive though, i'll try to watch them).. alright, i gotta go do some post w/c param testing now before the kids get home!

Sweet, look forward to the report when you get home.

make sure you do your follow up treatments. if those pods made it through, then the red bugs will too.
bill