This is my documentation of my experience with Bayer Advanced Insect Killer as a dip for corals with red bugs. I discovered this yesterday, and read about it VERY extensively and decided to try it out. I have been trying to get some interceptor from the local vet, no luck. Tried to get it online, no luck. Whitney is going to try and get me some this Friday, but I am so impatient, I decided to give this a go. And that acro was looking pretty bad, and I don't want to lose it. Here is a pic before treatment, as you can see, the acro is completely infested and has lost most of it's color. You cannot tell from the image, but there is also slime coming from most of the coralites as it tries to fight off the pests. I first noticed these guys right after last month's meeting when Whitney pointed them out to me. There were VERY few then, and as you can see, it has progressed very rapidly. I had several other acros in with this piece, and only one other type of acro had the bugs on them. There have been no ill effects from the bugs on any of the other pieces that the little things were on. For the dipping procedure, you will need Bayer Advanced Insect Killer (BAIK), a measuring cup, eye dropper with .5 mL markers on it, container for dipping, two containers for rinsing, and one for holding before reintroduction into your tank. First step is to get your dip ready. You will need to mix 0.5 ml of BAIK for every 2 cups of tank water. There have been reports of doubling the concentration with no ill effects on the corals. Make sure you have it mixed well. Next, place the coral you wish to dip in the mixture. Some have said don't baste them because it will remove flesh, I did and had no ill effects. Your dip time needs to be at least 5 minutes. Some have gone as long as 30, but I would NOT recommend it. The desired death of the bugs comes in 5, why stress your coral more than you have to. After that pull the coral out and give it a good rinsing. One thing to be VERY careful about is getting this stuff in your tank. It is EXTREMELY toxic to all invertebrates. So make sure you rinse your hands very thoroughly before putting them back in your tank. Here is a pic after treatment. There are still red bugs, but none of them have moved at all. I didn't get a chance to get pics this AM because the lights were off, but I will get some tonight and post back. So far so good though. The corals showed minimal signs of stress, polyps were back out within 15 minutes of being back in the tank. Will post back this evening to let you know the full effectiveness and if there are any left over after the dip. I did also dip some zoanthids and millis as well, with no noticeable ill effects ( just a precaution ). If this turns out to be an effective treatment, it only costs $13 at Lowes and as little as is required for a dip, it will last forever.
That's pretty cool I always like new ways to kill bugs How big is the system. I have 3/4 of a pill left from my treatment u can have. Also I got it from Rodney parham animal clinic. The vets there run saltwater tanks and I think either were or are n RRMAS. If u tell them what ur doing they will sell u some. Like 12$ per pill.
Your CRAZY or very brave or both. You could have used RerVive Coral Cleaner and resolved your problem based on an article by Julian Sprung, a 15 minute dip and they are dead.
Will have to check that place out. I still have to treat my display tank for them, I read they only take a few days to starve out if there aren't any acros in there, but I don't know about that. Thanks for the tip!
One of the main reasons I wanted to try this, is there is a chemical (can't remember the name) that is thought to be absorbed by the skin of the acro and provides systematic protection as well. So if you put the piece back into an infested tank, it is more resistant to them. Crazy is what I prefer , but I can't take credit for this idea, there were several threads on RC and a couple videos on YouTube that I went off of. I'm going home on lunch and will take some pics of all the frags that I dipped with this method. As of last night when the lights went off, they had good PE and were looking ok. Only the one in the pics above was severely infested, and was the only one showing signs of damage, so I think it will be my main focus. I also have to do a write up on Montipora eating nudibranchs. Dipped some superman monti with potassium permanganate and killed all of the eggs, slugs, and algae on the disc, but no damage to the monti. One advantage (disadvantage) of getting things wholesale is you get to deal with lots of pests because they come straight out of the ocean! Fortunately, it does allow me to test different dipping methods and quarantine to see what is the most effective route to take for each pest. And I do still use Coral RX, but at $20 for 1oz, vs $13 for 40oz, if this stuff works as well and has no ill effects, I'll use it.
This stuff is also known to kill aefw. I posted a link for this from reef central a while back. Raffle grabber
Re: Re: Red Bug Treatment with Bayer Advanced Insect Killer Awesome. This stuff has been proven to work on almost everything so far. It's best for new arrivals. But the interceptor is the winner for full tank treatments. Raffle grabber
Re: Re: Red Bug Treatment with Bayer Advanced Insect Killer More like 6 weeks from my understanding. Raffle grabber
well, dang, I read one thread that said they only needed a week or so without hosts to starve...guess I need to check my sources
