aiptasia anemones

[ironwalrus69]

I am noticing several small aiptasia anemones growing in my relatively new tank....from the live rock. Although I do not have any invertebrates yet...I do plan to put some in in about a year down the road.....once I get my tank established and know more of what I am doing with fish. Should I try to get rid of these now? How can I do that best? Someone said injuecting with lemon juice?? Using what kind of syringe? Are they harmful to any fish? Thanks!

[dileggi]

Check out this thread. It should help. You can use lemon juice, but I don't know what type of syringe to use.

You can also buy Joe's Juice. I believe that comes with it's own syringe.

They are a nuisance and I would suggest getting rid of them now while the tank is empty. It would be much easier.

I'm not sure how harmful to fish they are. But, I know they're harmful to other corals and also to pipefish and sea horses as well.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=803632

[Deb91]

Joes juice does come with a syringe.

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_searchItem.aspx?IdCategory=&SearchText=joes%20juice&parsed=1

[freedominco]

I had 3 small ones in my tank, I added 5 peppermint shrimp to the tank and they ate them in a couple of hours.

[atrain5851]

i heard peppermint schrimp do the trick as well and are scavengers so you they will eat leftovers when the aiptasia is gone.

[ironwalrus69]

thank you!! I will look into joes juice...but also maybe I'll try some peppermint shrimp first to see if they do the trick! I definately think I should get rid of them now while they are small.....

[chris4869]

The only thing that worked for me were a couple of peppermint shrimps. I had to use Joe's Juice to kill the big ones because the shrimps won't touch them.

Using Joe's Juice alone doesn't work for me because they spread faster than I can kill them.

By the way, you can make the equivalent of Joe's Juice. I forget the recipe but it's pretty much kalk and water and a little of heating.

[Larah]

i had several on a couple of different rocks, 1 peppermint shrimp did the job in about 2 days! Now I need to figure out what else to feed him, LOL!

[chris4869]

They're scavengers, so you don't have to feed them directly. They'll eat leftover fish food pellets. :)

[Savas]

Shrimp are a much easier and cleaner solution than any chemical process. Even if you just give them back to a LFS, they are worth the $7-$10 you spent on them.

[Reefmore]

I asked a buddy in the Fire Dept for a syringe and shot the sucker with a little "real Lem" and "Poof" gone and never returned...AMAZING :)

I also used at one time a smaller meat injector...has to be a small one if not the juice just pours out :(

[koyoteturtle]

I tried joes juice. Its like it knocks em down in size, but they come right back. I actually had a large aiptaisa kill a peppermint shrimp I had. Crazy. Tagging along

[Mare100]

Joe's Juice didn't work for me either. Seems like they came back 10 for every 1 we zapped. Then again...I've heard not to use the injector that comes with it....that to be effective, you should use an actual syringe/needle and inject it with that.

I'm about at wit's end with Aiptasia's. Peppermint shrimp won't eat them. I even tried Berghia....which I haven't seen any sign of them since putting them in the tank.

M

[Reefmore]

syringe (real one) is the answer..it will penetrate deep into the base..real lem truly disinergrates it..

[Zoophile]

You can also kill them with kalk paste. Use 1.5 tsp kalk powder mixed in 1 tsp water. Microwave it until hot and mix it up with a plastic spoon. Put this in a syringe (it will be thick) and get the aiptasia with it. You don't have to inject it like it's an animal...just get a good amount blobbed right onto it. The kalk won't hurt your tank.

If anyone is at a loss as to where to get syringes, you can get them from veterinary supply stores online (in fact Foster's & Smith might sell them in their livestock section). I use the same type to kill aiptasia that I use to give my goats vaccinations.

[thebest3]

have you try copper band butterfly,it reef safe just watch out for your feather duster....

[Melody]

I used a LARGE group of peppermints for a heavy infestation of aips. They did a great job, cleaned up every last one of them. :cool: BUT, whan all the anemones were gone they started munching on a ricordia and trumpets. :mad2: Anyway, I trapped several and put them in the qt tank and the last remaining 3 are manageable, just keep them well fed.

[rbrusletto]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11731439#post11731439 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by koyoteturtle
I tried joes juice. Its like it knocks em down in size, but they come right back. I actually had a large aiptaisa kill a peppermint shrimp I had. Crazy. Tagging along


I had an aiptasia eat a peppermint shrimp about 1" long head first.. by the time I got home to see it, only it's head was gone.

[K' Family Reef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11731522#post11731522 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Mare100
Joe's Juice didn't work for me either. Seems like they came back 10 for every 1 we zapped. Then again...I've heard not to use the injector that comes with it....that to be effective, you should use an actual syringe/needle and inject it with that.

I'm about at wit's end with Aiptasia's. Peppermint shrimp won't eat them. I even tried Berghia....which I haven't seen any sign of them since putting them in the tank.

M


have had good luck using peppermints!
might want to buy a few at a time - i had 6 in my tank at one time and never saw aiptasia (they were added for that very reason)... Sk8r another member recoms getting juvenile peppermints which he says work better...

regards

[Mare100]

I think we have about 5 in the 120 right now. They are bigger ones though. Actually...now that you mention it...I remember getting them and they were very, very small. We were afraid to put them in the 120 so we put them in our QT. There were a few aiptasia's in there and they ate them all within short time. The aiptasias were small though. Some of the ones in our 120 are humongous! I would be afraid that they would eat the shrimp! In fact...I saw one of the little bast***ds had a slug this morning and was trying to eat him.

M

[koyoteturtle]

I tried the nudi branch too. Same thing, Seller on ebay said they were the next best thing to GOD. Well anyway, 40 dollars later (for 2) not including shipping, POOF, their gone.........What can you do/ Those aiptaisia are annoying. Same with the copperband, got one for 25.00 Totally healthy, for about 5 days. He wouldnt eat ANYTHING. Sux. He died. such a pretty fish

[tmz]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11708561#post11708561 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by chris4869
The only thing that worked for me were a couple of peppermint shrimps. I had to use Joe's Juice to kill the big ones because the shrimps won't touch them.

Using Joe's Juice alone doesn't work for me because they spread faster than I can kill them.

By the way, you can make the equivalent of Joe's Juice. I forget the recipe but it's pretty much kalk and water and a little of heating. This is what I do.

[Mare100]

Wow....you paid more than I did! We got ours from a place in Texas that really does alot of research with them. I think I paid around $156 for 8 of them. They were sooooo tiny! The guy tells me that they might "go dormant" for about a month and not to expect to see them. I don't know.....It's been about 3 weeks now and nothing.

I don't even want to try a CBB. I've heard and read so many things about how impossible they are to keep and should only be attempted by Super Experienced reefers. It sounds like there is a major problem getting them to eat. Sad....poor things should be left in the ocean if they are that delicate.

M

[Bambalam]

I've used kalk paste with marginal success and several PS with no success. I would be willing to try a CBB but I'm worried it will eat all my feather dusters and may nip at my SPS/LPS.

[tspors]

had an 80g that had some Apstasia that started to take over. Not an issue because I was bringing the tank down to install hardwood floor and replace with a 150g. I tried various options to kill the little buggers with not much success. I know everyone deals with these guys and they are quit normal just not wanted. Anyway, my wife found one the other day. I found a post from 2004 and I am copying it here for opinion. I did it, it worked but I am curious as to everyones opinion.

2004 Post:
OK, here is my sure fire way, 100% success rate, never to return again method.

Use a saturated solution of Sodium Hydroxide (Drain Away, Draino, whatever you like to call it) and water. Using a syringe, squirt about 0.5 mL into the mouth of each aiptasia. This will kill even the stubborn foot tissue.

I initially used kalk paste like pies, by found that the success rate wasn't that great. Sodium Hydroxide is much more soluble than Calcium Hydroxide, and is more alkaline, completely nuking the aiptasia.

Again don't dose too much at one time. It is not harmful to your reef, unless you directly squirt it onto corals. Just a warning that Sodium Hydroxide will cause sever chemical burns if handled, you can tell if you have it on your hands 'cause they will feel "soapy" and slippery. If you feel your hands becoming slippery, wash with a LOT of cold water. Preferably wear gloves when handling.

As dangerous as the chemical sounds, it is really quite safe for your reef.

Draino is surprisingly pure sodium hydroxide, and is really no more dangerous to your tank than calcium hydroxide (kalk). Any tank with a reasonable alkalinity (greater than 2.6) should have no problems adding it. The hydroxide ion reacts relativly quickly with dissolved carbon dioxide producing, there are also other mechanisms for the neutralisation of the free hydroxide. Which reaction is most significant is determined by the pH.

2(OH)- + 2CO2 ---> H20 + 2(CO3)2-

The only difference between this and the kalk method is the spectator ion (Ca2+ as opposed to Na+).
Kalk will do the same thing to your hand as sodium hydroxide, at a much much slower rate.

If anything this method is easier on the fish, I had problems with fish eating, or trying to eat the white kalk paste. I for one wouldn't like a mouth full of kalk. The sodium hydroxide method is much safer in that it is completely soluble, such that any solution which doesn't make it into the aiptasia, is quikly netralised by surrounding water by the above reaction, and no solid remains to be eaten by fish.

[tspors]

I have a 150g and used 1/4 ml very small dose. It nuked the little bastard and there is no sight of him.

[tmz]

I suggest you post the question on the Reef Chmistry forum for a technical response regarding any likely unintended ill effects of sodium hydroxide before trying this.

[tspors]

it had been tried and many use. No effects when used in moderation.

[navychief]

I had the same problem. I bought 3 pep shrimp and the stuff was gone overnight. Amazing!!