What is this alien creature?

[stevesavan]

278730 it is attached to the underside of my coal frag

[fishpureluck]

Aiptasia, get it out ASAP! Worse than herpes!

[A. Grandis]

Remove rock from the system and carefully scrape the anemone off the rock with a sharp knife.
Grandis.

[enchelycore808]

Do what grandis said... Plus burn that area of rock or if u have Kalk paste or epoxy, cover it... I have nothing but utter hatred for them..

[A. Grandis]

LOL!!! We're all traumatized already with the Aiptasia!!

Grandis.

[Nanook]

God help you son.



















































:D

[madadi]

Do what grandis said... Plus burn that area of rock or if u have Kalk paste or epoxy, cover it... I have nothing but utter hatred for them..

I agree with this statement and I'll add you place it behind a truck tire and back over the rock a few time and after soaking it in bleach for two days you can lay it out to dry for two weeks and place back in your tank.

[VanHeze]

Does the rock have coral on it? If not, drop it into freshwater--the aptasia will burst. Kalk paste works pretty well, as does a vigorous scraping.


I know boiling the rock is a common trick, but DON'T DO IT. Even if there aren't zoanthids/palys on the rock, other stuff is there--it's live rock after all. Boiling it will transfer everything into the steam, making it extremely dangerous to inhale.

[stevesavan]

yes its a frag i just bought. is this thing harmful or just ugly? the person at the LFS said its just ugly and won't do anything but hang out. you guys seem very upset about it which leads me to believe its harmful. if so, what does it do?

[Diamond Dave]

Do more research. And boycott that LFS.

[stevesavan]

thanks for the "help" dave… I'm asking the forum because research leads to conflicting results. you folks have experience with them. i do not

[enchelycore808]

Dont believe the LFS told you that haha! They probably just wanted you to buy the frag. If you research Aiptasia youll see why you should get rid of it. Reproduces EXTREMELY quickly, can out-sting lots of coral and is very hard to kill or get rid of. I had a couple in a 75g tank and i couldnt get them out. Before I knew it there weere literally thousands all over the rock. I would use Aiptasia X to kill about a hundred every night but I couldnt keep up. I ended up just saying screw it and turned the entire tank freshwater for a couple weeks... Not gonna lie, it kinda sucked..

[Da Maui life]

Dont believe the LFS told you that haha! They probably just wanted you to buy the frag.

^^^:thumbsup: Yeah, lol they will just hang out and multiply like rabbits.
http://www.fishchannel.com/images/fish-news/aiptasia1.jpg

[Nanook]

I know you're new here, but take my 14 years of experience and look at my post count....they are bad, period.

[KafudaFish]

thanks for the "help" dave… I'm asking the forum because research leads to conflicting results. you folks have experience with them. i do not

No conflicting results.

Your LFS is wrong.

What you have can out compete other corals.

We aren't here to make money off you rather the advice given is given freely with the hope of you being successful.

[jmil08]

Get some peppermint shrimp and they will get rid of them for you.

[Mael]

While peppermint shrimps worked well for me on the very few I had in my tank I have read many many testimonials about people adding peppermint shrimp and they ignore the aptasia. I say it is well worth it to try at least 1-2 peppermint before any chemical methods.

And please dont burn or boil the rock, as mentioned even though the health risks are kind of remote, it isnt worth it when your talking about poisons.

[Afenstem26]

aptasia is horrible. i think the chemical killers you can get don't really work. Joes juice and aptasia x seem to make them recede for a day or 2 but then they come back with a vengance

[NavyBlueSea]

Pepermint shrimp should help and they will be nice to have just in case any others pop up. They are also a cool addition to the tank.

[cody6766]

I've had good luck super gluing the space they're hiding in. It works well if you use super glue gel and if the critter is in a crevice that can be completely filled. Take it out of the water and just fill 'er up until the anemone is completely covered.

Also, not only can/do they reproduce quickly, they're hard to kill and can sting coral as they settle in your tank. It's not uncommon to have to kill one or 3 every now and again, just stay on top of it. Killing a few here and there is easy, a whole tank full is far from it.

[650-IS350]

turn off pumps and water flow for 15-20mins, as you kalkpaste the aiptasia. after it desintegrates, siphon it out. Turn back pumps,

[footballdude2k3]

if you notice you have more than one, berghia nudibranchs are the way to go

[Alchemic]

Yeah if you have more then go with a natural solution, imo.

[WBrian]

But if it's a new frag he just bought, nuke it. If you have access to a syringe and a needle, inject if with microwaved vinegar. They melt away and are gone for good. You can pull the frag and do it in a bowl of tank water, but I just did it in my tank. The vinegar dilutes quickly, and it's only like a teaspoon you'd use anyway.

Later,
B.

[rbla51]

File fish worked for me. I have to put up with him annoying and possibly eating a small ZOA now and then but he mows down the aptasia

[rickzter]

ugh, aiptasia. i hate them!

[Lauracooks]

kill it! Aiptasia x works and comes with a nice bent syringe

[crcarver89]

KILL IT WITH FIRE!!!!!

Actually Aiptasia X does work well if the aiptasia isn't already all over your tank...

[hotrodcruzer]

Hate those suckers, kill it, kill it quick. Was looking at some corals attached to a live rock at my lfs and the young man there told me not to buy the piece because aiptasia was on it which I didn't see. At least there are some who do care about what goes in your tank.

[pakirri]

Remove the rock and boil it. I have tried all methods and have failed. I even bought a copperband and it did eat them but died in 3 days. They did come back strong so my only option now is to get so e nudis