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FAQs about Acroporid Eating Red/Black
"Bugs" (Tegastes, Copepods)
Related Articles:
Coral Pests and Disease; pests, predators, diseases and conditions
by Sara Mavinkurve, Acroporids,
SPS Corals, Related FAQs:
Acroporid Disease 1, Acroporid Disease
2, Acroporid Disease 3,
Acroporid Disease 4, Acroporid
Health 5, Acroporid Health 6, &
Acroporids 1, Acroporids 2,
Acroporid Identification, Acroporid
Behavior, Acroporid Selection,
Acroporid Compatibility, Acroporid
Feeding, Acroporid Systems,
Acroporid Reproduction, Stony/True Coral,
Coral System Set-Up, Coral System
Lighting, Stony Coral Identification,
Stony Coral Selection, Coral Placement,
Foods/Feeding/Nutrition,
Disease/Health, Propagation,
Growing Reef Corals, Stony
Coral Behavior, | 
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Red bugs on SPS
hi, Bob, how's going? << Blundell here as well.
>> This is George in SDMAS. << Hey George, hope all is well. >> Got a
question for you
about red bugs. I am sure you probably read some
posts online about it.
Some ppl use a heart worm
medication call "interceptor" to get rid of the red bug. Supposedly the
only side effect known at this point is that the medication kills most
if not all the crustaceans and everything else seems
to do fine. <<
Wow, I wouldn't call that all successful. If it kills all the other
crustaceans then I would stay clear of that method. >> Someone also said
that pipe fish eats the red bugs.
So I decided to do an
experiment. I have Ron got me some dragon pipe fish.
I
put them in my refugium/frag tank. Saturday they feel comfortable
enough, the male start to compete against each other to see who is most
handsome and the female pipe fish just doing whatever they are doing
like nothing is
going on. So I dropped a SPS colony that has red
bugs on it in the refugium/frag tank. So far I only observe 2 pipe fish
swim onto the colony look around for food, but some how they didn't eat
any of the bugs.
SO they either don't realize those bugs are food,
or perhaps not that hungry, or some how they can't see them. Since pipe
fish aren't build for living in rough water, so I am more leaning toward
they don't know what the
red bugs are.
<Me too>
<< Definite
possibility. But with time, and hunger, they may go for it. Or, is
possible that the red bugs aren't food at all for them. >>
I am
planning on feeding the pipe fish some Cyclops eeze tonight by squirt
some into the SPS colony, hopping maybe the pipe fish will eventually
associate the bug and food together. But of course they have to start
eating the Cyclops eeze first.
<< Good idea, and just about
everything will go for Cyclop-eeze. >>
My question is that from all
your dives and observations when you were diving. Do you know if any
fish/shrimp/crab....etc that live in the reef that might eat these red
bugs??
<I don't, but suspect there is definitely some predator/s>
<< I would think a wrasse would be the best choice. Probably trying a
rock mover (dragon wrasse) or six line wrasse. >>
If you do, I would
appreciate if you let me know. I am sure I can spend money and try all
the reef safe fish that I think might eat things like red bug, but don't
have that kind money to throw around.
<< I wouldn't spend any money
on chemical treatments. I would stick with fish (wrasse) or maybe even
a Mithrax crab. >>
Hope to hear from you soon. Have a great day!
Sincerely,
George
<Hey George. Am sending your note/query to our
Crew... as they are much more current on this issue. Be seeing you, Bob
F>
<< Blundell >> Yellow with a red dot Acro bugs 5/3/04
Hi, I have some Acropora corals that are infested with little yellow
oval shaped bug like things on them. I am afraid that they are hurting
or eating the Acropora corals. How can I get rid of them? I have a
yellow Coris wrasse and a mandarin fish but they are not eating the
bugs. If I use SeaChem's coral dip, will it kill these pests? Thanks,
Adam
<Hi Adam. Adam here<g>. There is much debate about these
critters and why they appear, what they feed on, if they are harmful,
how to get rid of them, etc., etc. Some folks have had success with
predators, commensal crabs or clown gobies, but none are 100%
reliable. I never like to send anyone elsewhere for info, but I don't
have any first hand experience and there is A LOT of discussion in the
forums at www.reefcentral.com. Good luck! Adam> Acropora
"mites" AKA 'Red Amphipods"
I have a 10 gallon nano with some
small SPS frags and I have notices small orange mites crawling around on
a
couple of the Acropora frags.
<ahhh, yes... not uncommon at
all. A curious little arthropod. AKA "red Amphipods">
They look like
little fleas. They are very small but viewable to the naked eye. What
can be done?
<some say they are parasitic, but I and most aquarists
do not believe this to be true. No proof yet. At best they flourish
incidentally while SPS corals wane/die from other common denominators
(water quality, lack of QT, etc)>
Is there a safe dip or treatment I
could give?
<some have employed FW dips... I do not believe this is
necessary>
Are these parasitic or commensal?
<the jury is still
out... leaning towards commensal>
I have searched and found no
information on these.
<do a keyword search on reefcentral.com and
other large message boards for perspective (use "Red Acropora Mites",
"Red Amphipods", etc.) to get a consensus. My advice is to simply watch
carefully and do employ a natural predator if possible (Red Sea
pseudochromid, small wrasse, etc)>
Thank you ahead of time for any
help.
<best regards, Anthony> Red Acro Mites
2/10/06
Hey Crew,
2 of my Acro's have tiny red bugs on
them. the polyps on the coral are in because they are probably stressed
out. i have a fridmani,
but he isn't interested. he
prefers spaghetti and meatballs!! i am concerned. i did a google on wet
web media and didn't find any real solutions. please advise...
best
regards,
Jenna
<Read:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/acrodisfaqs.htm
and the linked files
above. Bob Fenner Red Acro Mites II - 02/11/06
Hey Bob,
thanks for your help......
<<EricR here this morning...>>
Well,
I looked through the link you sent, and found that Interceptor will kill
bugs, but all my crabs as well!!
<<Indeed, as well as other
beneficial life! (amphipods, mysids, etc....maybe even beneficial
protozoa...)>>
No good right?
<<Not in my opinion, no.>>
I
love my critters...
<<And your tank loves them too.>>
I also did
a Google search, but no info really.
<<Agreed>>
I assume it is
not really known what to do right?
<<As I am aware, there aren't any
"scientific" studies on these critters and their impact in
aquariums/captive systems.>>
All my Acro's are infected now, and
they are stressed out. Color is fading, and polyps are closed. They
will probably die, if I don't fix this...
<<Jenna...I have red bugs
(Tegastes) in my reef tank for more than a year now, more likely more
than two. I have not lost any corals due to them, and
color/growth/vigor has not been affected by them...in my opinion. I
have not and will not "nuke" my tank to get rid of them and quite
honestly, don't give them a second thought (an attitude that admittedly,
has drawn scorn and caused me to be shunned by the "fraggers" in my
local reef club...but I digress...). My point is; and I'm not saying
this is the case in your situation, I think many aquarists are quick to
blame their own mistakes in choosing proper tank-mates or inadequacies
in water quality/lighting/flow/feeding on the Tegastes. Just my humble
opinion...no "proof" either way at the moment. But for your own peace
of mind, if the corals in question can be removed from the display tank
you do have a couple options you can try. You could place the affected
corals in a bucket of tank water with a powerhead and heater and treat
per instructions with the Interceptor...or...you could simply give the
corals a 15 second bath in temperature and pH adjusted RO water...though
the second option is harder on the coral. And do be aware, neither of
these options guarantees the corals won't become "reinfected" once
reintroduced to the display. I don't know that all this helps you much
but as you've discovered for yourself, aside from anecdotal evidence or
knee-jerk reaction, there's not much to go with. Regards, EricR>>
White bugs eating my Acro. - 03/22/06
WWM Crew,
<DG>
Thanks for your help with all our fishy needs. This morning I had a
possible revelation on a very big mystery, Why my Acros were dying
(RTN). I moved a rock in the tank and some sand fell on some of my
corals, so once I placed the rock back I tried to clean my coral of any
debris that might of fallen on them. When I came to the Acro in
question ( a beautiful specimen that once had blue tips) I inverted the
coral to allow gravity to clean off any
debris, and I noticed that
some "grains of sand" remained, being the persistent perfectionist I
pretend to be, I placed the specimen in front of the return to allow the
flow to take the sand off. Well upon, looking closer I realized that
the "sand" wasn't sand at all, they are little white bugs all over the
specimen. Now, I've read on WWM about red bugs that eat Acros, and of
white nudis that eat Montis, but not white bugs that eat Acros?!
<Come in all colors...>
Can somebody lend advice? Is there any
solution other than laying the coral in bleach and turning it into a
very sadistic paperweight?
<There are possible predators to try>
I know for a fact that they will move on to other pieces. The specimen
that has them now was fine and I'm suspecting they came on another
specimen that already had bits of RTN. Your suggestions and advice are
both greatly needed and appreciated.
Sincerely yours,
David
Guzman Jr.
<Do consider stocking some small wrasses... see WWM re
other groups of fishes... Do quarantine future purchases... Bob Fenner>
Coral Disease 01/06/09
Dear Crew:
Happy New Year!
<To you and yours tambien!>
I hope all is well on your end.
Attached, please find two photographs of diseased corals. One is a
Montipora Digitata and the other a Montipora Capricornis. Both have
been doing well, for three years without incident.
<Wow, well
done.>
This disease is spreading and from the photographs, you
can possibly see some black specs forming in the area of dead coral.
Do you have any ideas on what this is and how to combat it?
<Can
you look closer at these black specs and see if they are moving? Are
they mobile things? To me, they look a bit like algae growing on
dead coral right now... but I can't tell from the photos. I have
heard "rumors" of something like "black red bugs"- parasitic
copepods that are black, rather than red. But I don't know what they
are or even if that's what's going on here.>
No new specimens
have been added to this tank for several years now.
<Very
strange. Have you changed anything at all with the system? New
lights? New supplements? Anything?>
Thank you for taking the time
to look.
Best regards,
Brad in Basalt
<Best,
Sara M.> |   |
ID help
01/06/09
These are pictures I
took, I’m being told they are not redbugs. But from what I can find they
appear to be to me. So I’m turning to a pro. I apologize for picture
quality but it’s the clearest I could get.
Thx. Paul
<... could be
Tegastes... can't tell from these images. Bob Fenner>
<<Bob... should
have referred the querior to more... at least the newly placed pitch for
some of my pet-fish presentations... the next one coming up this
month... re Hitchhiker Pros/Cons... will do so here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/LR,LS/HH%20PPT%20Pitch%20Cells/HHProsConsart.htm>> | |
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