Red Bugs Question

ibanez

Member
Has anyone had red bugs survive in their system without acro? Are there any red colored bugs that are ok, or only acro eating red bugs. After a new coral shipment, I noticed more than a dozen red colored bugs hanging out on the glass, but I have no acro in my tank right now other than a small pink birdsnest frag that I can see that there is nothing on. Are they acro eating red bugs? or just a different colored cope-pod. Will they survive without acro?
 

luvmyreef

Active Member
Never had them, nor do I ever!! But I have read that normally birdsnests are not bothered by red bugs. I have read that red bugs will die without acros, but I dunno. If they dont many people treat their tanks with interceptor. It will kill all crabs and pods but supposedly not harm anything else. Here is some more info:
Acropora Red Bugs
Identification
One of the most recent "pests" that has now become prevalent is a very small crustacean that looks like a mite and appears to prefer most species of Acropora corals. This crustacean is yellow in color with a red dot, approximately 1/2 mm in length, and is very difficult to see without a magnifying glass. It has been theorized that red bugs are either a parasitic form of copepod or micro-amphipod, though very little research has been done and their true identification is not complete at this time.
Symptoms & Signs
It has been speculated that the crustacean feeds off of the slime and waste products produced by the Acroporas. If you have an established colony of Acropora sp. that begins losing coloration and stops showing normal polyp extension, take a closer look at the tissue of the coral for any small yellowish/red specks. It is oftentimes easiest to distinguish these pests on the shadowed underside of a branch. An infected colony of Acropora will typically show poor or no polyp extension, and will slowly lose coloration over time. As a result of this infestation, it has been found that the growth rate of the colony is seriously affected, and may even result in death to the coral itself.
It is not clear why these bugs prefer certain species of Acropora over others, nor is it clear why they are not found on other SPS corals such as Montipora, Pocillopora, or Seriatopora
 
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