Essential Products For Treating Reef Pests

Unfortunately, during your first few years of starting a saltwater aquarium you will face a plethora of pests whether it be aglae outbreaks, fish illness, or coral pests. They can all be treatable or even better, preventable, but when you need to wage war on a pest here are the products I personally used to beat them:

Fauna Pests:

By far the best ‘All-Round’ aquarium algae destroyer is Vibrant Aquarium Cleaner. Becoming the first pick of the reef keeper here is what its creator has to say it will tackle:

“Vibrant is a true beast and we have not yet come across a algae that Vibrant can not beat out. Below I will list a general timeline of how fast Vibrant works on frequent algae strains that cause issues in reef aquariums”.

Jeff Jacobson
Owner – Underwater Creations, Inc.

InfestationVibrant Dose
Cloudy Water1 Dose
Diatoms1-2 Doses
Cyanobacteria1-5 Doses
Dinoflagellates2-5 Doses
Bubble Algae3-8 Doses
Hair Algae3-5 Doses
Turf Algae8-20 Doses
Bryopsis6-30 Doses

Find Vibrant Aquarium Cleaner Here at Amazon.com

Aiptasia

Aiptasia is an invasive species of coral that is one of the most common pests in a saltwater aquarium. It can spread rapidly, compete against other corals for food, sting its neighbors, and can be very tough to eradicate.

Removal when it first appears is the best chance to prevent infestations.

Aiptasia Aquarium Pest Coral
Aiptasia Aquarium Pest Coral

At some point this translucent coral looking thing will appear and if not dealt with swiftly can soon take over your reef.

The three best products known to help kill this are:

Joes Juice at Amazon.com
Aiptasia-X at Amazon.com
Aiptasia-RX at Amazon.com

You can find more detailed information on how to beat this in my article here:

What Is Aiptasia? Easy Ways To Identify & Eradicate This Pest!

Red Slime / Cyano

Red Slime Algae is not actually an algae, but rather a bacteria called Cyanobacteria that multiply into large numbers when their food source, Nitrate & Phosphate are abundant in the aquarium.

The bacteria forms into a film covering sand & corals & if left untreated can starve them of light and oxygen.

Cyanobacteria

The two best products known to help treat this are:

Red Slime Remover at Amazon.com
Red Cyano Rx at Amazon.com

For more information on treating a Cyano outbreak please see my article here:

What Is Red Slime Algae? Easy Ways To Battle It

Bryopsis

Bryopsis Algae is a very stubborn fern-like alga that can plague a saltwater aquarium.

Common methods of eradication are maintained high Magnesium levels with Kent Tech-M Magnesium, Fluconazole, Hydrogen Peroxide, and Vibrant Aquarium Cleaner.

There are several producst used to try and erradicate this stubborn pest:

Reef Flux at Amazon.com
Flux RX at Amazon.com
Hydrogen Peroxide at Amazon.com
Tech-M at Amazon.com

To find out how I beat this pest using these products please check out my article on Bryopsis here:

Bryopsis Algae – These Methods Will Win The Battle!


Livestock Pests:

When your fish become sick or you purchse a new fish, by far the best way to treat them is in a seperate hospital or ‘Quarantine’ tank. Many of the medications used to treat fish contain Copper which is lethal to coral and invertebrates like shrimp, crabs and snails so isolated treatment is always the best bet.

Below is not only my personal arsenal for livestock medication, but that of many other seasoned reefers:

Velvet & Ich Diseases

Cupramine is one of the best treatments for battling the dreaded Ich & Velvet fish diseases. I use this as a standard treatment during fish quarantine after purchasing.

This is Copper-based so all coral and invertebrates must be removed before treatment. This is definately one I would use in a fish-only tank or quarantine tank.

Cupramine at Amazon.com

Internal Parasites

Prazipro is the other standard ‘Got-To’ for many aquarists both saltwater, freshwater and pond owners for internal parasites like flukes, tapeworm, flatworm and turbellarians.

My second treatment used on all purchases during initial quarantine, this ensure no unseen nasties enter your shoal.

This does suppress fish appetite so be aware to feed less and monitor for uneaten food settling during treatment.

Prazipro at Amazon.com

Fungal Infections

Methalyne Blue is a great treatment for a skin, scale or surface fungal infections you find on your fish.

Removal of the carbon filter will be required and dosing is simple based on tank water volume.

Dosing of 3-5 days should help to erradicate and heal most fungal infections.

Methylene Blue at Amazon.com

If you want to know more about how you can easily and cheaply set up a simple Quarantine Tank please check out my guide here:

What Do You Need To Set up An Aquarium Quarantine Tank?

Nuisance Fish

When you added that ‘Must-Have’ fish without doing any prior research and they have become the bully of the tank it can be a endless battle to try and catch them. Below are two of the best fish traps used by many aquarists who find themselves in this situation:

Sea Side Aquatics Fish Trap:

Available Here at Amazon.com

Tankmatez Fish Trap:

Available Here at Amazon.com

If you would like more information on additional tried and tested methods of catchting a nuisance fish please check out my article here:

How To Catch Fish In An Aquarium? The Best Methods!

Coral Pests:

Adding coral is an exciting time for any reefer, however if corals are not treated before placing into the aquarium hidden pests can soon populate and ravage your entire coral collection. With a few simple products and a 5-10 minute ‘Dipping’ process you can find 99% of the pests that lurk in those hidden frags.

Coral RX

Coral RX was designed to help remove unwanted pests from corals but also act as a medication to help treat and repair tissue on corals. It is a proprietary blend of natural ingredients and it is also Iodine-free. Iodine has been known to stain some corals.

The only downside to Coral RX is that it is not effective in removing Acropora Red Bugs.

Coral RX at Amazon.com

Revive

Revive is mainly designed as a coral cleaner for use in acclimation and coral propagation. It too is a proprietary blend of ingredients that help to remove or kill unwanted pests and is the main competitor to Coral RX.

Two Little Fishes does not list what pests will be eradicated using their solution, but it is highly regarded within the industry. I have used it too and had very good results with it.

Revive at Amazon.com

Bayer Advanced Insecticide

Bayer Complete Insect Killer is also a great pest removal solution. Not as popular as the other two solutions but does work very well according to many, many aquarists.

I have not personally used it yet, but I am recommending it due to its reviews throughout the community. It is easy to purchase within the US, but may be more difficult in other parts of the world.

Bayer Complete Insect Killer at Amazon.com

If you would like more information on on easy and beneficial it is to dip your new coral purchases please have a read of my article:

How To Dip Corals – Easy Steps To Success