bugs ?

[ricksconnected]

ok this is for a friend at work. he was telling me that he has some sort of bug in his tank. its yellowish with a red spot on its back. he says they are attacking his corals. said that he was told a needle fish would eat these "bugs" but doesnt want to by a needle fish just for that purpose.
anybody have a clue as to what hes talking about, if so, how does he rid his tank of it? he bought a coral from a LFS and thats how they got into his tank.

 

[ricksconnected]

he did say that it kinda looks like a flea, if that helps at all.

 

[ricksconnected]

im guessing the corals are doing bad. he said that these things are keeping his corals from opening.

 

[ricksconnected]

i think he mentioned "red bugs". if this is them, red bugs, how do you kill them off?

 

[jennm]

If they look like fleas they are probably amphipods - and those are fine.

A pic is definitely in order. Too many possibilities.

 

[snowmansnow]

ive seen flatworms like that too.

 

[skriz]

Red planaria has a yellowish body with a red dot. Without a pic, this would be my best guess. I can't think of anything else that fits that description. Red planaria is a flatworm, however, & in no way resembles a flea.

 

[ricksconnected]

ok i got some more info from him today at work. he says they are called red bugs. to small for pics.
yellowish with small red dots on back. size of a flea.
they are on his acropora in the tank.
somebody told him front line heartworm meds would work.
tried it but killed the coral.
he has a 6line wrasse in the tank, but the fish shows no interest.
says he was told the dragon face pipe fish too would work.
he doesnt want to buy the fish just for this only, as his tank is already at peak. im to new to this to even have an idea on this. i just figured i would bring it to the pros and see what you folks think.

 

[sailfish]

Well red bugs look yellow in a macro shot but not to the naked
eye. It's not front line you are supposed to use.

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.melevsreef.com/pics/06/08/redbugs_0826.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.melevsreef.com/redbugs.html&h=480&w=640&sz=69&tbnid=Lv_CGgzcJX3ERM:&tbnh=103&tbnw=137&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dred%2Bbugs%2Bpictures&usg=__6YDo5Ptrak-dIW7JwOt46UA_xBw=&ei=jleoSvSXKKnEtgejy_GZCA&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=1&ct=image">http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.melevsreef.com/pics/06/08/redbugs_0826.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.melevsreef.com/redbugs.html&h=480&w=640&sz=69&tbnid=Lv_CGgzcJX3ERM:&tbnh=103&tbnw=137&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dred%2Bbugs%2Bpictures&usg=__6YDo5Ptrak-dIW7JwOt46UA_xBw=&ei=jleoSvSXKKnEtgejy_GZCA&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=1&ct=image</a>

Joe

 

[ricksconnected]

thank you everybody. once again you folks pull through for me.
i really like this site and its people. you folks are quick with answers and good advise. im picking up the RX in the morning for my friend.

 

[acroholic]

ricksconnected;391806 wrote: ok i got some more info from him today at work. he says they are called red bugs. to small for pics.
yellowish with small red dots on back. size of a flea.
they are on his acropora in the tank.
somebody told him front line heartworm meds would work.
tried it but killed the coral.

So if the Frontline killed his acropora (that is questionable), then he doesn't need to worry about treating the tank. Tell him to lay off acros for a while and the redbugs will go away.

Frontline is a flea and tick killer anyways, not a heartworm medicine.

Your friend might do well to start asking his own questions on this forum. If he is getting advice like you describe, then "somebody" is not doing him any favors.
Dave

 

[ricksconnected]

your correct it is a flea and tick. i got ahead of myself on that.
all should be good. the affected corals are in quarentine and will get their RX this morning.

 

[tromblydavid]

A note that is not listed on that link I think.

You can treat all acros in a separate tank but you cannot put back in main display for 10 days. The red bugs will starve in the display tank w/o any acros to feed on. I kept mine out for longer just to be sure.

Most people just treat the whole tank and lose a few crabs, pods and such.

 

[ricksconnected]

thats a good point to be noted dave, thank you.
i ment to get up with you on sunday but thats when i had my tank mishap and lost 4 fish. still dont know if im in the clear.