coral frag that broke had a little bug under it

[zaquanh_09]

i picked up a acropora frag last night , as i was gluing it , the coral fell off of the frag plug , i guess the glue wasnt that good ...

thats ok with me i didnt want the plug anyway so i glued it to a rock from the base


my question is :



when the coral came off of the plug there was 2 super small red bugs that was i guess swimming around , i kiilled them , but are they bad what are they ..

no pics sorry to small and too dead

the coral seems healthy , nice bright colors went into the tank last night , saw it this morning under vho's still just as bright

[allan]

Start looking for interceptor.

While you're doing that, and I know it's too late, before you put that frag into your tank you'll want to dip it in a QT tank treated with interceptor. Not sure what else works on red bugs.

You may have killed the only two of the red bugs you had on that coral frag. The only two in that whole frag of coral that you were able to see.

But I doubt it. Those things are small, and they irritate the coral. I blame it on a large loss of coral about two years ago. When I realized what was going on I went ahead and secured some interceptor and treated the entire system. I believe I also lost my shrimp and crabs from treatment... but I don't remember.

I sincerely hope that you managed to kill all of the oh-so-small-one-can-hardly-see red bugs on that frag.

[Big_Pun]

16189

i dont think red bugs are big enough to see swimming around

[zaquanh_09]

if i take it out now and put it in another container with water till i get home to check it out , can it or my tank ,

what are they called , will they get to other items in the tank , i put it on a small piece of rock by itself in the sand

[Scutterborn]

16189

i dont think red bugs are big enough to see swimming around

I sure hope they were just some pods that chowing down on some salsa! Those dudes are bad news.


- Ben -

[zaquanh_09]

it didnt have any yellow on them , they was about the size of a mm or 2 . "millimeter " all red , one wasnt moving and the other looked like it was moving around , this was underneath the coral in a small drop of water on the frag plug ..

is this the same thing ? should i call home and tell the wife to take the rock out?

[350gt]

I'm thinking just some pods....

Mine are always under frags..

[zaquanh_09]

called home had my wife take it out and put it in a bucket , do these things get off the coral and find other stuff? i have a fairy dust paly , bunch of snails and crabs , and 4 fish and 2 anemones

[350gt]

I wouldn't put it in a bucket if the coral looks fine....

Might actually do more harm then good if left to long in there...

[Scutterborn]

Did you google "red bugs" for pics to compare them to?


- Ben -

[Cammed_02]

I wouldn't put it in a bucket if the coral looks fine....

Might actually do more harm then good if left to long in there...

This

plus whatever bug/pod that hitchiked has probably already hopped off and started exploring.

[zaquanh_09]

Did you google "red bugs" for pics to compare them to?


- Ben -


yes thats why i said they dont have any yellow in them? but i want to be sure this is the first time ive seen it

[350gt]

Just a part of the game IMO...


I now dip all my frags and barely started putting them on my own plugs...

[Flyride95]

I strongly feel it is red bugs or flatworms. Being they were under an acro frag.

[allan]

I've never seen a red pod before, but I have seen red bugs in my system years ago. They don't even look red until you get your oho right up on it. And if it was in a drop of water I have a feeling the image was enlarged due to the surface tension of the water.

I wouldn't worry about that one frag, as it looks as if that's the only sps you have in there. I didn't have any problem with my softies, leathers, lps, and managed to save a large portion of my sps. I think what happens is they irritate the coral until it won't send out its polyps and eventually dies. I definitely wouldn't pull it out of the water, as by now as tony stated, they're already out and about searching.

Tony is on the mark there, be sure you treat each new specimen as if it's carrying something you don't want. Dip, examine, dip, acclimate and insert it into the tank. Best bet is to monitor them in a QT for a minute to evaluate what's truly going on.

I'm sorry, in hindsight it seems as if I came off as an alarmist, and it wasn't my intent to vex you while at work. Have your wife put that frag back in before you lose it altogether. If it does indeed have red bug you can treat it. It's not the end of the world, just a, as tony stated, a fact of the hobby.

[Big_Pun]

they will be on the acro as thats the only thing they eat.... flatworms may be another possibilty as they are big enought to see with naked eye,the pic i put up is a good size reference as they need some magnification to get a good look at red bugs.

[allan]

Yeah, red bugs look like moving dots with just your eye balls.

Flatworms are huge by comparison.

[zaquanh_09]

Haha thanks guys,

will take a close look at it later too , and these you could see were red no doubt about that , but bigger than just a red specle thats for sure . i squashed it , just didnt know if it was something that could eat everything or was bad untill i did research.

[Sherita]

Folks, my bet is red planaria. AKA flatworms. I've NEVER seen a redbug big enough that you could see it swimming around in open water, or even in a spot of water.

Red planaria fit the description perfectly 1-2mm long, red, capable of swimming. Not a big deal, at all. If you are worried about it, treat with Flatworm xit now, and they will be gone. That being said, they are VERY common, and normally not a problem at all unless they reach plague proportions.

This is NOT a redbug emergency, nothing about the description fits.

[Sherita]

Go here

http://www.melevsreef.com/id/flatworm.html

take a look at the first image on the left side of the upper photo bar. That's what I am betting you saw.

[Flyride95]

Flatworm is what I was thinking. If it is you can treat it and maybe get a blackspotted wrasse they eat them.

[zaquanh_09]

cool , yea i never said it was an emergency was just posting it up because i wasn't sure if there ok or not , and im going to look at everything later and get some items

so i can start dipping when i pick up items , . i know about the hitch hikers and stuff just thought the LFS take care of that stuff for you , as far as diping and making sure they dont sell stuff like that

[Big_Pun]

cool , yea i never said it was an emergency was just posting it up because i wasn't sure if there ok or not , and im going to look at everything later and get some items

so i can start dipping when i pick up items , . i know about the hitch hikers and stuff just thought the LFS take care of that stuff for you , as far as diping and making sure they dont sell stuff like that

your perfectly fine that is an emergency. good luck treating it, there are some great products out that treat it. one the newest is by zeovit

[Sherita]

Flatworm is what I was thinking. If it is you can treat it and maybe get a blackspotted wrasse they eat them.

Sixline and yellow coris will wipe them out right quick. Of course, the sixline might wipe out the rest of the tankmates too (mine was MEAN).


To the op, I know it wasn't an emergency. I just didn't want you to start Interceptor treatment without being sure. That stuff is hard on a tank, kills all your pods, crabs, shrimp. If it is truly red planaria, treatment is pretty safe, and very effective. I had them show up last year, I only had a few. Hit it with Flatworm xit, all gone, no negative effects. That being said, if there are a boatload of planaria, treatment is a little more intense. Run a search and you will get lots of good ideas.

Redbugs are much worse, imho. But, Paul Whitby says we overreact to them. And the more I see, the more I am inclined to agree.

Very few lfs are going to treat for things such as redbugs, flatworms, aefw, etc. I use Bayer Advanced as one of my "incoming" dips, along with a very close inspection under a magnifier to look for any things such as aefw eggs. Or zoa nudis, I can't see those for squat.

[Big_Pun]

tamarin wrasse is the best wrasse I've owned(blue spot tamarin) he picks all day and doesn't bother a single coral or fish. I paid $27 for him at aqua dome.

[Sherita]

Tamarin huh? I'll have to keep that one in mind. Is it pretty?

[Big_Pun]

http://img.tapatalk.com/6330e6e5-252b-3e12.jpg

[tebstan]

i know about the hitch hikers and stuff just thought the LFS take care of that stuff for you , as far as diping and making sure they dont sell stuff like that

Stores aren't likely to do any dips, they have too much stock moving in and out quickly. Most stores won't sell something if they know it has a problem, but some won't even be aware there is a problem. Always inspect your stuff closely and know that its always a risk, but it's also just part of the hobby and learning process.

I agree that it sounds like flatworms. It's not much to worry about in a well maintained tank, especially if it's a new tank. I had flatworms when my tank was new, it came from my LFS before I knew better. I didn't treat with anything, I just kept the tank clean, and they went away on their own. I went about two years without a wrasse, so nothing was eating them, either.

[lt1z28]

I've had some red pods in my previous tank. They are larger than red bugs. You wont find these pods on the coral itself but rather on the frag plugs.