Flatworms or red bugs on corals

[Voyager2]

I've got a red bug infestation on many of my corals, and it's come out of nowhere - literally, I had no idea this was coming. Doesn't really matter how it happened, though.

I also found some black bugs on my montipora.

Thinking of going with a Sentinel treatment.

Had a similar issue with red bugs about a year ago, treated it with Bayer dip. Since then, I've moved the tank twice - most recently 10 days ago, when I switched to a bare bottom setup. Haven't added any new coral in a couple of months, so I'm curious - can eggs just sit dormant in the sand? Did I stir up this problem when I was messing with the substrate?

[Torvix8]

You treated the entire tank with Bayer dip, or just the individual corals that were affected?

As for the sand, I highly doubt the red bugs would be able to burrow in it, given their need for a host, typically SPS corals. Having recently gone through three rounds of Sentinel treatment myself, I feel compelled to warn you that you may experience some collateral damage - specifically, the loss of your shrimp and crabs, as well as a potential die-off of other tank inhabitants. It wasn't until the third round that I noticed a significant algae bloom, but with aggressive use of GFO and heavy skimming, my tank is slowly recovering.

I know this is slightly off topic, but I wanted to share my recent experience with Sentinel treatment. While it's unfortunate that you'll likely lose some of your tank's inhabitants, rest assured that the treatment itself is relatively safe. What's truly remarkable is the rapid improvement in my SPS corals' health after the first treatment - it was almost overnight.

[Voyager2]

I used Bayer dips in separate containers for each coral.

I don't have shrimp, and only a few snails and crabs, so I'm hoping the die-off won't be too bad without the sand to protect the microfauna.

I'm planning to start the Sentinel treatment on Monday.

What was your treatment protocol like? I'm curious to know.

I've been trying to figure out what caused this outbreak. Someone mentioned a temperature shift could be the culprit - I did switch out my thermostat and went back to halides recently.

[Torvix8]

I've got a red bug infestation on many of my corals, and it's come out of nowhere - literally, I had no idea this was coming. Doesn't really matter how it happened, though.

I also found some black bugs on my montipora.

Thinking of going with a Sentinel treatment.

Had a similar issue with red bugs about a year ago, treated it with Bayer dip. Since then, I've moved the tank twice - most recently 10 days ago, when I switched to a bare bottom setup. Haven't added any new coral in a couple of months, so I'm curious - can eggs just sit dormant in the sand? Did I stir up this problem when I was messing with the substrate?

I stuck pretty closely to the standard protocol. Large dog tabs were my choice, and for my 150G tank, I used half a tab each time. 10PM dosing, followed by a 10% water change the next morning at 10AM. I repeated this process for two more weeks, and after a full three weeks of treatment, the red bugs were completely gone.

After the flintix9t treatment, I grabbed a nice clump of chaeto with pods and re-seeded my fuge that evening. My Mandarin's loving the new addition - no pods for three weeks, but it's still fat, happy, and hunting non-stop.

[Voyager2]

Just started treatment. Dropped in 1/14th of a pill at 10 am. Waiting 6 hours, then doing a 25% water change.

[Voyager2]

I'm not sure if 6 hours is long enough - will it be enough time for the treatment to take effect?

[Aurora1]

The standard treatment calls for a 12-hour treatment window. I personally just went through this process on Saturday and didn't notice any adverse effects on my tank beyond the target pests. I followed up with a 10% water change and plan to run carbon for the next week to help mitigate any lingering issues.

[Voyager2]

The standard treatment calls for a 12-hour treatment window. I personally just went through this process on Saturday and didn't notice any adverse effects on my tank beyond the target pests. I followed up with a 10% water change and plan to run carbon for the next week to help mitigate any lingering issues.

Mine's running a bit longer, about 20 hours. I didn't get a chance to do a water change yesterday, but I'll do a 10% change today and run carbon for the week.

[Torvix8]

I've got a red bug infestation on many of my corals, and it's come out of nowhere - literally, I had no idea this was coming. Doesn't really matter how it happened, though.

I also found some black bugs on my montipora.

Thinking of going with a Sentinel treatment.

Had a similar issue with red bugs about a year ago, treated it with Bayer dip. Since then, I've moved the tank twice - most recently 10 days ago, when I switched to a bare bottom setup. Haven't added any new coral in a couple of months, so I'm curious - can eggs just sit dormant in the sand? Did I stir up this problem when I was messing with the substrate?

Doing a whole tank treatment with that amount seems way off, if you ask me.

[Voyager2]

You treated the entire tank with Bayer dip, or just the individual corals that were affected?

As for the sand, I highly doubt the red bugs would be able to burrow in it, given their need for a host, typically SPS corals. Having recently gone through three rounds of Sentinel treatment myself, I feel compelled to warn you that you may experience some collateral damage - specifically, the loss of your shrimp and crabs, as well as a potential die-off of other tank inhabitants. It wasn't until the third round that I noticed a significant algae bloom, but with aggressive use of GFO and heavy skimming, my tank is slowly recovering.

I know this is slightly off topic, but I wanted to share my recent experience with Sentinel treatment. While it's unfortunate that you'll likely lose some of your tank's inhabitants, rest assured that the treatment itself is relatively safe. What's truly remarkable is the rapid improvement in my SPS corals' health after the first treatment - it was almost overnight.

My tank's 20 gallons plus the 7 gallons in the sump, so the concentration is spot on. The recommended dosage is 25 mg per 10 gallons, which puts me at about 75 mg. With each pill being 1000 mg, I figured 1/14th of a pill would be roughly equivalent.

As for the timing, I don't think it's a huge deal. Whether I do a water change within 6 hours or 20 hours, it's not like it completely removes the chemical. A 10% water change just dilutes it by 7.5 milligrams, so the concentration remains pretty much the same.

I'll just continue with the treatment as planned, reintroducing the product to the tank every week for the next three weeks. No point in stressing over it until then.