Finally - The Solution to Aiptasia

[starmanres]

My RC Friends...

After years of fighting Aiptasia, the solution was finally found.

I have tried it all:

Joe's Juice in the chops - Good for 2 weeks and they always came back.

Give 'em a mouth full of Kalkwasser - Same result as Joe's Juice only cheaper.

$100's of dollars in Peppermint Shrimp - The shrimp quickly hide in the rocks ingore even the smallest Aiptasia and are missing after a few weeks.

Needle nose Pliers at the base - Remove only small sections of them and then spread the demon kind in other sections of the tank.

Take rock out and dip in vinegar - Kills everything else on/in the rock but the Aiptasia still pop up a few weeks later.

Baking the Rock at 200 degrees for 3 hours - Now there's a smell and still marginally successful.

So what's the final solution?

An insulin shot of lemon juice!

Yeap, just go to your local pharmacy and buy some insulin syringes ($2.68 for 10 at Walgreens). They will ask you what you're planning to do with them and when you tell them the look is priceless. Then buy one of those plastic lemons at the grocery store with lemon juice (.89 at Super Wal-Mart). I used the stuff made from concentrate.

Squeeze some lemon juice into a small cup and then fill the syringe with lemon juice. My syringe held about 5 ml. When the Aiptasia is fully extended, just stick the needle into the stalk - not the mouth. The Aiptasia will shrink up at the entry which actually helps the process. Try not to go all the way through and out the other side. Mine took several doses as I couldn't always see if I got the bugger in the stalk or the needle just went through it or I missed completely. If you don't get it correct, they pop back out in a hour or so.

Inject 1/2 ml -2 ml (depending on size) of lemon juice into the parasite. You're done when a small puff of white "smoke" will come out of its mouth. Remove the syringe and it will shrink completely back into the rocks to be seen no more - ever!

The lemon juice can lower your PH if you use too much in a nano so be careful if you have a ton to kill. I saw zero effect in my 120 gallon and I had 20-25 Aipstasias but I suggest taking it in stages – bigger one’s first and then get the little guys. I have been watching mine for 4 months - just waiting for them to pop back out... Nothing. Nada. Zip. Gone.

This is an inexpensive solution that seems to actually work. Nothing else in my tank was affected or damaged - even other softies that were on the same rock as long as I didn't poke them with the syringe. :)

Fair warning - sticking yourself with a syringe filled with lemon juice hurts like... Well, lemon juice in a cut so be careful! :worried:

I've been looking for the silver bullet for years to rid my tank of this scourge - it seems the secret was a little lemonade for the Aiptasia.

HTH

[Eric45]

I've tried it and sure didn't work for me. How long has it been. Unless its been a month or two and they are still gone, you haven't won yet.

[ScubaPrawn]

My multicolor dwarf angel ate mine....I got lucky. Haven't been back for over 6 months. I hope the lemon juice works.

[nanshaw2001]

Worked partially for me killed one and one came back! How long ago?

[strike2867]

I have a better solution. I trade Aiptasia rocks for Orange Montipora Digitata and Xenia frags.

[Gary Majchrzak]

lemon juice and vinegar (acids) have been used to combat Aiptasia for many years.

More suggestions
here (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=803632)

[danyalexa]

I am making this over a year, and is working 100%.It is the Best solution.

[dublo8]

If you have tried this and have been unsuccessfull. it could be because your using the pure lemon juice and not the concentrate. Sounds stupid but yes there are two of the different little lemon bottles at the store.

[christpuncher]

Peppermints have always done the trick for me.

[zigzag1]

I can appreciate the good description of the implements and process, in case one ever shows itself again. Though, mine were eliminated previously by Berghia and peppermint shrimp, additions both also long since departed it seems. I think the critters could get them out of the areas below and behind rocks I couldn't with kalk paste inj. etc.

One never knows what may pop back up, it seems. I've just got a tiny reoccurance of white pompom Xenia showing itself after being seemingly eliminated more than 2 years ago. Of course, my wife wants to 'let just a little grow'.. and if it brings her a smile, I will no doubt. I figured out how to control xenia long ago, np; now if I can figure out to tame her mushroom collection just a little.. =)

[robs.mark]

Place a small shell over the top of it, wait till the anemone moves into it, then remove the shell, easy!

[Tank14]

I have used this method in both my current and previous tanks. It works great. The hardest part is trying to stick the needle in and inject the lemon juice before the aiptaisa shrinks up. It definitely takes a couple tries

[Gary Majchrzak]

for large aquariums lemon juice injections are impractical

[bravanc]

vinegar works better for me

[davocean]

Yeah, this has been used for a long time as stated, but it is not the silver bullet.
I would expect that where the one apt was, that appeared to vanish, will soon be replaced by about 5 lil baby apts.
But then things that eat apt, peps, CBB's will have a better chance to eat those and THEN irradicate apt.
Boiling water is another option.

[DashHills]

I have heard most of these before. Why can't you take the live rock out of the tank and place the end with the Aiptasia in freshwater for a couple of hours? Or why can't you stick the end of the rock in either hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, or go the other extreme of the pH scale and use sodium hydroxide? The lemon juice is an acid, but these others are much stronger.

[iamwrasseman]

Cbb

[DashHills]

I am sorry, but I don't understand "Cbb."

[jason2459]

I am sorry, but I don't understand "Cbb."

Copper Banded Butterfly fish



BTW, I believe if you are looking for the ultimate solution to aiptasia guaranteed then you should look at this thread.


http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1808040

[Tnconcept]

Well I will definitely try the lemond method its worth a try. Good find.

[starmanres]

I'm at four months without them returning. In my experience, if something's missing for four months in my tank - it's gone. :)

Thanks.

[iamwrasseman]

CBB= copperband butterfly fish
although there are many ways to find your tank i have used most remedies and have found that a natural approach is best . first a fish or shrimp can get in places that you simply cant see so they are much more thorough in their job . also they work 24/7/365 as we work for fifteen minutes and give up . i have used many many pre made remedies and also lemon juice ,kalk ,bionic alk ,along with some that i have already forgotten about . the proof is in the pudding ,where my CBB is there is no aptasia . where he isn't there is aptasia . i have also purchased a file fish that has ridden another of my tanks of aptasia . in saying this ,IMO natural is the only way to go if you want them gone . it is a problem that once you get you will usually have for quite a while and my CBB makes my tanks look as though there is none . there is no argument against success unless it releases toxic waste and my CBB or my file fish along with peppermint shrimp don't .

[Metal Man 1221]

Iv been using lemon juice from the start about 50cc in the base and its gone for good

[iamwrasseman]

Joe's juice and aptasia-x have some pretty specific directions and must be used that way or you will actually spread the aptasia . if you simply inject the "base" i would imagine that you find many offspring a couple of weeks later generally in the direction or the water flow . i have seen this with the remedies if not used correctly as they release many babies in an attempt to survive when there life is threatened . when you inject it into the base or electrocute the aptasia your only going to spread it .
even a CBB spreads it but they are there daily to get the babies and eat them up faster than the can reproduce much unlike just killing the mother and then coming back a month later to do it all over again as i believe if you honest you will admitt your have to do so .

[Jakef150]

TODAY, I just killed 2 aiptasias!

I used lemon juice and killed it.. it works... I saw white smoking :)

I just used one of sailtant MG kit syinge :)

I ll keep eyes on it few days.

Jake

[starmanres]

IME... You should not see them again. :)

[MedRed]

Aiptasia x worked for me. For a huge infestation... you probably can't be berghai

[Jakef150]

any one notice if ammonia appear on test after do aiptasia kit ??

My API test shows .25 on ammnionia...and phos .5 too..

Last week it were all zero...Guess i ll do water change tomorrow..

Thanks!
Jake

[Baltimore Bryan]

Lemon juice seems to be working for me. Some of them expelled a puff of white smoke stuff, then shrank down and never came back. However, I think on the ones that came back I didn't get the syringe in the stalk properly. I feel that natural predators would be the best option because they work harder than us and get into hard to see/reach places, but I don't think they would work in my tank. (cbb too big- it's a 30 gallon, and I tried peppermint shrimp, but they hid without eating any and disappeared within a week- cardinals ate them maybe?) So I just use a little lemon juice when I see some really big, juicy ones, and I don't really care about the little ones.
Bryan

[noahm]

Iv been using lemon juice from the start about 50cc in the base and its gone for good

50cc??:eek1:

lol. just messin with you. Obviously a typo.

[starmanres]

any one notice if ammonia appear on test after do aiptasia kit ??

My API test shows .25 on ammnionia...and phos .5 too..

Last week it were all zero...Guess i ll do water change tomorrow..

Thanks!
Jake

If you had a ton that you killed, you might see a spike but usually I don't see any change.

[Gdevine]

Injecting in impossible places to reach is a problem. Pep's do eat Aiptasia and it's a fact. If your Peps aren't eating your Aiptasia there's a few reasons for that:

1) They are not true Peppermint Shrimp (there are imposter's!)
2) Over feeding the tank...Peps will eat other stuff before Aiptasia
3) The Aiptasia are too large
4) Not enough Peps...usually takes a small army to clean up an infested tank

[sys578]

I think I have tried it all (except electrocution!), and most are hit or miss. Aiptasia-X worked pretty well if you over coated them and left off all pumps for an hour. Lemon juice injections seem to work equally as well. But loads of fun! Hmmm... didn't know there was "pure" and concentrate kinds of lemon juice.