Another option for red bugs

[Whisperer]

I have been calling all vets place in my area and couldn't get interceptor. I coudn't stand the red bugs anymore. I've been pondering about red bugs being arthropods and so are ants, roaches, flies...whose pictures I saw in the label of Bayer advanced completer insect killer
I thought about it for several days. I finally got the nerve to experiment, what have I got to lose? A coral, of course.
So, I got busy. Placed tankwater in a pint container and added around a squirt of the Bayer Advanced (approximately 1.5-2 cc in 300 cc of tankwater). Took a deep breath and dunk the coral in and waited 10-15 minutes and placed it back in the tank.
Here are some pics.
Before treatment,

After treatment, a good hour after. Still red bugs but not moving.

The next morning,

Disclaimer: Do not treat the whole tank! Only dip if you can remove the coral. Any loss of coral due to this method is not my fault!

[James404]

Pretty interesting, So have you concluded that all the red bugs are gone on that piece? I would be interested to see other experiments with this.

[Whisperer]

Took a pic this AM, the red bugs were gone. I also dipped a very small frag of solitariensis, also bug-free this morning. The corals were stressed but survived. Actually, I have modified the concentration as I stated above. The truth is, I used 3 squirts instead of 1 in the same amount of water but the corals were very stressed, I thought I killed them. Thank heavens, they made it.

[smtank]

Interesting thanks for sharing.

Just went through the trying to get interceptor as well. Finally a friend got me some, but no vet would give it to me, pretty darn silly if you ask me.

Anyway I am so glad I treated. The problem I see with only dipping the corals is that you know those little buggers are present somewhere in the tank and will make a come back given enough time.

Even corals that had no visual evidence of RB did better after the treatment. Getting the medication is the hard part, treating is easy and effective.

Following and I hope it works out for you.

Good Luck.

[Whisperer]

Problem with whole tank treatment is that my acro crabs and shrimp not to mention copepods will die. It's like nuking all crustaceans.

[smtank]

You are absolutely right. I nuked my tank and lost my pistol which I had for 3 years and all my acro crabs. My pods died back big time.

In the ideal world I would have removed them, but that would have meant tearing the tank apart.

Would I do it again, in a heart beat. The difference in growth, coloration, PE is really amazing. Honestly my priority was growing the acropora unfortunately my inverts suffered as a result.

I dipped my frags in interceptor for 40 min before the tank treatment and it killed the RB, but I wanted a permanent fix. So from now on all frags get a 40 min drip.

[dahenley]

Interceptor cant be given out, because if given to a dog with heart worms, it will kill the worms, and the animal will bleed out... Killing it.. thats why they wont give it out.

My Family vet (dads cousin) wouldnt even give it to me. then i told them what i was going to do with it, and then it was no problem.

also, i lost 1 of my 2 shrimp. i though i lost them both, but after a week, one popped out and was ok. i will say that for the 1st time in my reefing career, i had hair algae... i didnt realize how much of a clean up crew i had till the following week when i had algae growing.... so after investing in a cleanup crew, im back to normal.

[organism]

Originally Posted by dahenley

My Family vet (dads cousin) wouldnt even give it to me. then i told them what i was going to do with it, and then it was no problem.

+1, you can just call your vet, tell them exactly what you need it for, fax them over the info, and you should be good.

[fishguy597]

My vet didn't want to give it to me either. I explained it to her and gave her an Internet link. She looked it up and even helped me with the directions of the dosage.

[krazysps]

interesting none the less. i would print out any all information you can find on the subject and take it to the vet, it should help in acquiring some.

[Chyendra]

I'm a veterinary student, and dahenley is correct about why intercepter (Milbemycin Oxime) is only available by prescription. It could be fatal if given to a dog that already has heartworms.

While it's not commonly known by most vets that Milbemycin will treat red bugs on acros, there has been some discussion about it on VIN (Veterinary Information Network). If you ask your veterinarian to prescribe you this medication, mention that they can find more information about its off-label use for this purpose on VIN as well as dosages. They may need some sort "proof" that you actually have red bugs because in order to prescribe a drug for off label use, there must be a Veterinarian-Client-Patient (that's your acros) relationship.

In the meantime, it's interesting that you chose to use aspirin as your "experimental" treatment. Let us know if you continue to have success with that. There has been reports of people using ivermectin (dewormer) to successfully treat red bugs, but I don't know the dosage that was used. Maybe someone should do some experimenting with this drug, since it is easily obtained at local livestock supply stores.

Just my two-cents... I'm just starting to get into SPS with my reef, so hopefully I'll be fully a licensed vet before I have my first encounter with red bugs

[smtank]

Most treating Red bug know you can only get via a prescription.

The response I got from vets it that " they do not specialize in fish" regardless if I told them it was for corals. No one would even give me an appointment to plead my case.

I am an experienced RN and I know a little about medication adminiistration and such. If there is an alternative to medication that provides the same results and does not affect the overall health of the tank, then I am interested for sure.

Again it is seriously silly for vets to not want to provide the prescription and even worse that they do not care.

Try looking on line and you can get it without a script, I believe Canada does not have the same silly rules.

[James404]

Originally Posted by Chyendra

I'm a veterinary student, and dahenley is correct about why intercepter (Milbemycin Oxime) is only available by prescription. It could be fatal if given to a dog that already has heartworms.

While it's not commonly known by most vets that Milbemycin will treat red bugs on acros, there has been some discussion about it on VIN (Veterinary Information Network). If you ask your veterinarian to prescribe you this medication, mention that they can find more information about its off-label use for this purpose on VIN as well as dosages. They may need some sort "proof" that you actually have red bugs because in order to prescribe a drug for off label use, there must be a Veterinarian-Client-Patient (that's your acros) relationship.

In the meantime, it's interesting that you chose to use aspirin as your "experimental" treatment. Let us know if you continue to have success with that. There has been reports of people using ivermectin (dewormer) to successfully treat red bugs, but I don't know the dosage that was used. Maybe someone should do some experimenting with this drug, since it is easily obtained at local livestock supply stores.

Just my two-cents... I'm just starting to get into SPS with my reef, so hopefully I'll be fully a licensed vet before I have my first encounter with red bugs

I thought it was aspirin at first too lol, I think he is referring to using this:

[Whisperer]

I sure can use Bayer aspirin from dealing with local vets who do not want to sell me interceptor! I wish diarrhea upon them.

[ZR1001]

which internet link are you guys reffering to?

[cobra9]

You can buy interceptor from online places out of Australia with out a script legally.

[Chyendra]

Originally Posted by James404

I thought it was aspirin at first too lol, I think he is referring to using this:

Ha! Well that's more like it.... I'm glad the coral survived

[ZR1001]

Cobra9,

Have you gotten anything from the Australian site? I can't find any ratings for them.

[cobra9]

yup... took 4 days but i got it.

[iap]

[url]http://megapetsupplies.com

[ZR1001]

Thanks!

[Jim Z.]

Bayer Complete Insect Killer can be purchased as a liquid or granular formulation of the neonicotenoid insecticide imidacloprid. Read the label before applying any pesticide as the label says extremely toxic to aquatic organisms including fish. Also, the label provides important items like first aid information, ingredients, and dosage recommendations. Often a pesticide will contain petroleum based oils or surfactants to keep it in solution and these chemicals can also be quite toxic to aquatic life as well. You might consider yourself lucky as you could have nuked your entire tank. This type of insecticide is a systemic treatment when used on plants. In other words, its absorbed by the plant's tissue and lasts or persists in the plant's tissue for an extended period of time. No one really knows whether its absorbed by coral tissue, nor do we know the LD50 for this chemical on coral tissue. I would use lots of activated carbon to help remove any residue that may cause future problems. I hope this helps everybody.....Jim Z.

[Whisperer]

Thanks for that lengthy lecture. It has been 2 days and the corals and fish are just fine. I merely dipped the coral.

[Jim Z.]

"Thanks for that lengthy lecture. " You are welcome--I thought it was short sweet and somewhat surgical. As an entomologist, I am trained to use various pesticides and that label can be a life saver. I'm glad that your tank and its inhabitants are OK.......Jim Z.

[ousnakebyte]

This is interesting. I wonder if you can (or are up for it) test a few more concentrations and perhaps narrow down a treatment protocol...? It very well may come at the expense of some of your corals though.

My compliments.

Cheers
Mike