Hey gang,
I recently acquired a piece of SPS that had a red bug infestation on it and I was curious to try out this method discussed on Reefcentral. I figured might as well try it because my alternative was just to throw the frag away.
Go to Lowe's or Home Depot and pick up a bottle of Bayer Advanced Complete Insect Killer ($13):
You will need to mix 0.5 ml of the insect killer for every 2 cups of tank water. Dip the coral for 5 minutes, some say don't baste, some say to baste. I will probably not baste.
Pull the coral out and give it a good rinsing. This stuff is not friendly to invertebrates so a good rinsing will keep it from contaminating the tank water. Remember to rinse your hands as well (I would suggest using gloves if you have them).
I will do this twice to ensure that every one of those red bugs is eliminated. The people who have tried this method reported great success, even for AEFW and other pests.
The great part is you are only using 0.5 ml each treatment, and the bottle is a 32 oz bottle. For those scrambling to grab a calculator right now, that's 64 1892 (thanks Texasean for the catch) treatments for $13 bucks.
I'll snap some pictures this evening of the SPS infested with red bugs, the treatment, then the follow-up after treatment. Wish me luck.
-Ty