Aptasia and Algae

[JeffyT]

Hi RC Friends,

My uncle had added two new rocks to my tank that had a beautiful Kenya coral on it. However, I've been informed that there a few Aptasias in the rock as well.. :[ How do i go about taking care of this? Is there a fish that will eat them? A few of them are pretty big in size.

I'm pretty new to the hobby and I've been reading about an injection method of getting rid of them.. I'm not comfortable with this kind of advanced stuff. I would like to add another fish to my tank anyway so if there is one I can add that will be okay with an Onyx Clown Fish and a Cleaner Shrimp then great.

As for my algae problem. I was wondering what methods you guys had for getting rid of some green haired algae. Is there a preferred method of getting rid of the algae without taking the rocks out of the tank?

Thanks for the help in advance guys!

[Reeferz412]

For the aptasia, find a product called Joe's Juice. Target the mouth of the aptasia and it will be good as dead. You could also try Red Sea Aptasia X, I have used this and it works well... but you have to be a little more accurate when applying. Peppermint shrimps do eat aptasia but only small ones.

Hair algae proliferates due to excessive nutrients (phosphates) in the water column. Perhaps find what is causing it to grow and start from there? Simple water changes can slow HA growth and perhaps add some GFO to suck up the phosphates as well. Check the TDS of the RODI water you use and perhaps your Live rock is leaching phosphates. All things you should check out. As for removing the HA you have, manually remove it.

[MondoBongo]

good husbandry, and keeping nutrients low will be your best defense against pest algae. sometimes shortening your photo period can help as well.

occasionally hair algae can be eaten by certain animals. emerald crabs, sea hares, some tangs, and certain blenny's come to mind, however these can be hit or miss in many cases, and it's not always the best idea to add an animal just to try to get rid of nuisance algae, that is usually a temporary condition.

i've found that manual removal, coupled with proactive husbandry, and patience works wonders on most nuisance algae issues.

as for the aiptasia, there are certain animals that are known to eat them. copper banded butterflys, certain file fish, and peppermint shrimp, may all make a snack out of them. but same advice as before. it's not always the best idea to add an animal to try to control a temporary problem. animals live a long time (hopefully), and will require care long after your pest has been eradicated.

to get rid of my aiptasia i used one of the popular products for nuking them. aiptasia-x, joe's juice, etc... etc... pick your poison essentially. i was able to get most of the large ones through a few weeks of diligent hunting. to help control them in the future, i have added several peppermint shrimp over time to my tank. i have had good luck with them eating the smaller aiptasia, and haven't had a large outbreak (knock on wood) since my initial eradication efforts.

for peppermint shrimp, your mileage may vary. i've heard success stories, and horror stories of them ignoring the aiptasia, but tearing up someone's prize zoas (for example). again, so far (knock on some more wood) i've been lucky that mine have all been model citizens and productive members of my cleanup crew.