Aiptasia issue...

[mjohnson86]

I just put my 175 Bowfront back together last week and picked up a tank full of corals and rock off Craigslist.

The biggest thing I currently see is a bunch of his rock had aiptasia on it. Most of his rock was covered in corals which makes it hard to take out and dip.

I have read about Aiptasia X for removal but hate adding any kinds of chemicals that could hurt other things...

I know the copperband butterfly fish is supposed to be a good eater...

Is there anything else I could do?

[reefer999]

You could try peppermint shrimp, but the best option would probably berghia nudibranch.

[VegasMike]

Tassled File Fish and a few Peppermint shrimp eliminated every single one of mine.

[zoafarm]

I had a problem myself, and actually still have a few. I tried boiling water, kalk paste, lemon juice, peppermint shrimp, and berghia nudibranch. Here has been my findings:

1. Boiling water - almost ineffective -- may kill a couple...most will hide and come back.

2. Kalk paste - fairly effective -- if you can get a good dab on the oral disk, they die. But if the they pull into hiding, they will probably be back. Don't treat too many at one time...can cause swings in PH.

3. Lemon Juice - effective -- if used with syringe and needle and you can stick they before they hide. "Joe Juice" will work the same way. Again don't treat too many at a time.

4. Peppermint Shrimp - very effective -- has worked very good in a confined area; however, has been less effective in larger areas. In my case, they spread faster then the shrimp could find and eat them. Make sure they are peppermint shrimp and not camel shrimp.

5. Berghia Nudibranch - Very Effective -- Since adding one almost a three weeks ago, my aiptasia population has continually decreased. I never see them eat, but my aiptasia are disappearing little by little.


Note: About option 1 and 2...someone told me if I stress the aiptasia and do not kill it. It will reproduce faster. Based on what I saw, this appeared to be true.

Again, this is only my observation, but I hope it will help you.

Happy Reefing

[glweek]

http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/showthread.php?t=36190

Read that link. I used the rooto stuff in the same manner as this link, and the link-in-the-link. Worked great took three days in a row to get the big ones that where hard to get at, but now am 100% aptasia free for the past month. let me know if you have any specific questions.

Its CHEAP and effective!

[Paolo Piccinell]

Lysmata wurdemanni (peppermint shrimp) or the cousin Lysmata boggesi.
They will find even the smallest aiptasia.

In my 400 gals tank I have 4 of them... and not a single aiptasia left.

[accordsirh22]

peppermint shrimp are the way to go. i work at a lfs and when i started there was a huge amount of aiptasia in the tanks. i have been getting peppermint shrimp every week and they are noticeably taking care of the problem

[Wera832]

I had a horrible run with these blasted things in my 28g Nano - I added 3 peppermints and while they put a dent in them , they were still there. I then tried a Kleins Butterfly as a short term enhabitant. Let me tell ya , that fish destroyed them in 2 days ! Whata champ ! I read that they shouldnt be kept in a coral tank so once he ate them , he got moved to another tank .

[G4546]

I would stick with peppermint shrimp. Not too many and fairly larger ones. I would avoid the nudi's stated in some of the above posts, as when their food source is gone (aptasia) they die. Where as you can continue to have peppermint shrimp long after your problem is gone. It's the cheapest solution to a problem that the industry has made a killing off of with all kinds of chemicals to do the same thing. Like the majano wand :D
Stick to the peps ;)

[Lavoisier]

Finally, though a bit more expensive is a lazer which I have used to great effect in eliminating aiptasia...also kind of fun!