FishWife December 10, 2007 Share December 10, 2007 We just got about 300 lbs of live rock from a tank that had been let go when its owner threw his back out. It's covered in aiptasias. We're considering getting a copperband to eat them. Will that work? How delicate are these fish? True life experiences, please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamal December 10, 2007 Share December 10, 2007 cbb's are extremely delicate. they do usually eat aiptasia but it is difficult to get them to feed on prepared foods. they are very skiddish at first and will be bullied by tangs and other aggressive fish. you may want to try peppermint shrimp instead as they are much safer with corals tube worms and feeding on prepared foods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flowerseller December 10, 2007 Share December 10, 2007 Very few will actually do the job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extreme_tooth_decay December 10, 2007 Share December 10, 2007 Very few will actually do the job. Agreed. You can probably nuke 90% of the aiptasia in less than 30 minutes with Joe's juice. It is fast and effective. Then another session in a few days, maybe one more, and it's done (worked for me). tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigJPDC December 10, 2007 Share December 10, 2007 I wouldn't have purchased that rock if it was truely covered in aptasia, but if I did, I'd take the time and scrub it or cook it before using it - why put yourself through that? Very few will actually do the job. probably the #1 answer when somebody posts about aptasia is to get a CBB or peppermint shrimp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extreme_tooth_decay December 10, 2007 Share December 10, 2007 I wouldn't have purchased that rock if it was truely covered in aptasia, but if I did, I'd take the time and scrub it or cook it before using it - why put yourself through that? You could Joe's juice it faster than cooking it, and then you won't lose all the microfauna. probably the #1 answer when somebody posts about aptasia is to get a CBB or peppermint shrimp. No question about it, there's a lot of bad advice in this hobby Of all the threads I've ever read, I've never read a single one where someone said a CBB or PS handled an infestation. At best, they can keep the tiny babies under control. Option 1: buy a sensitive animal that probably won't do the job and wait months and see what happens Option 2: spend $10 and get the job done in a half hour. Your choice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveS December 10, 2007 Share December 10, 2007 Hey guys, I have to disagree. I had a bunch of aptasia in my 210. I'm not saying covered but still, enough that non-tank people noticed it easily. I did the Joe's juice but it's such a pain to find everyone of them, even in the nook/crannies. On top of that the JJ didn't always kill them completely, just set them back some. Sure there is ALWAYS the chance I'm doing it wrong. I bought a CB 1 weeks ago last Wednesday. Yesterday while playing with my tank, I noticed that almost all my aptasia is gone. I can only see a couple of them in hard to reach places. I will agree however that CBs are delicate animals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 December 10, 2007 Share December 10, 2007 Delicate animal, but if it's the right one, it'll do the job. I had (lost it a week ago, I think it ran out of aiptasia and then the mysis was not enough to sustain it) one that I used in conjunction with peppermint shrimp, Joe's Juice, and injecting B-ionic instead of kalk. This combination of different methods rid the school rock of aiptasia (no small feat as there were literally hundreds if not thousands of them). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigJPDC December 10, 2007 Share December 10, 2007 (edited) No question about it, there's a lot of bad advice in this hobby removed a simple search on RC would also back up that CBB's eat aptasia but then I think we'd have to go through the whole who knows what about the hobby thing, so I just say 'whatever'. Edited December 11, 2007 by davelin315 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extreme_tooth_decay December 10, 2007 Share December 10, 2007 (edited) removed a simple search on RC would also back up that CBB's eat aptasia but then I think we'd have to go through the whole who knows what about the hobby thing, so I just say 'whatever'. removed Maybe you missed the "real life experiences" part of her question... No one was jumping on anyone, I was simply pointing out what is an unquestionble fact (that theres a lot of bad advice to be had) and backing it up with my own opinion and my own real life experience (like she asked for, cough) with this problem. No need to start a flame war by jumping on me and calling me names. Relax. removed Edited December 12, 2007 by davelin315 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigJPDC December 11, 2007 Share December 11, 2007 (edited) removed Edited December 11, 2007 by davelin315 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extreme_tooth_decay December 11, 2007 Share December 11, 2007 (edited) removed removed It was completely factual and not aimed at you in any way. In my opinion, one of the most important things any reefer can come to realize is that there is tons of terrible advice in this hobby. removed Bye. Edited December 11, 2007 by YBeNormal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanman December 11, 2007 Share December 11, 2007 Geeeez.... chill out. You said: The #1 response to how to get rid of aiptasia is to get a CBB He said: Yeah - there's a lot of bad advice out there. He didn't say you were wrong. That IS the #1 answer - even though it's often bad advice. As others mentioned - the CBB is a sensitive fish - not for everyone. Someone with a tank full of aiptasia might very well not have the skill, dedication and water conditions to care for a CBB. And if he does - they may or may not eat aiptasia. Like my 6-lines and flatworms. One ate them, the other didn't even think of them as food. I wonder how many of those beautiful fish have died because some dweeb purchased it to eat aiptasia, with no other thoughts as to its care. Either way - don't make arguments out of agreements. Try to assume the best of people. If there's a CHANCE that they weren't cutting you down - they probably weren't. We're not all communications majors, and very very few of us are just plain mean. bob removed It was completely factual and not aimed at you in any way. In my opinion, one of the most important things any reefer can come to realize is that there is tons of terrible advice in this hobby. removed Bye. bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WallyBackm December 11, 2007 Share December 11, 2007 (edited) The flame wars continue on. Ugh- As far as apistasia, 5 peppermints took out a flotilla of apistasia for me in literally 2 days. You can use joe's juice (which I had to recently for mojanos) but why not try a $5 shrimp? Edited December 11, 2007 by WallyBackm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bk_market December 11, 2007 Share December 11, 2007 my vote is for the shrimps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesbuf December 11, 2007 Share December 11, 2007 The flame wars continue on. Ugh- As far as apistasia, 5 peppermints took out a flotilla of apistasia for me in literally 2 days. You can use joe's juice (which I had to recently for mojanos) but why not try a $5 shrimp? my vote is for the shrimps. I have to agree with the last two posts. I had quite a few aptasia in my old 180gal and I luckily came across a really good deal at a LFS on peppermint shrimps. I got 6 peppermints for $24 and they ate every last aptasia in less than a week. Kept them gone for good too. When I sold all that rock from that tank, I never caught the slightest glimpse of any aptasia. Yes, I'm sure there are peppermints that wont eat aptasia, and there are some that will. If you only get one or two, you might not get any that will eat the bad stuff. If you get 5-6 of them, you're bound to get a few that will eat aptasia. Even if you spend $40 on shrimp, its a quick and safe way to get rid of the aptasia. Just my opinion based on my experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flowerseller December 11, 2007 Share December 11, 2007 Oh, so you think I'm giving out bad advise do you? BTW, I think you both are funny looking, so there, you probably have kooties too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 December 11, 2007 Share December 11, 2007 Thank you for taking a perfectly good post and showing why we need moderation on these boards. I have removed parts of each of your posts that were not productive. Everyone has a right to post their opinion, please do not attack other people's opinions as we all have our own experiences and our own areas of expertise. This thread has gone back to being productive, so let's leave it at that and continue on with the original intent of this thread, to figure out how to decimate a population of aiptasia on 300 lbs of rock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesbuf December 11, 2007 Share December 11, 2007 Man, I gotta get me some of those moderator powers. Anybody want to nominate me? On a side note, why not get in with the bluezooaquatics groupbuy and get peppermints for $4 a piece: http://www.bluezooaquatics.com/productDeta...1220&cid=84 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bprinehart December 11, 2007 Share December 11, 2007 I have to agree with the last two posts. I had quite a few aptasia in my old 180gal and I luckily came across a really good deal at a LFS on peppermint shrimps. I got 6 peppermints for $24 and they ate every last aptasia in less than a week. Kept them gone for good too. When I sold all that rock from that tank, I never caught the slightest glimpse of any aptasia. Yes, I'm sure there are peppermints that wont eat aptasia, and there are some that will. If you only get one or two, you might not get any that will eat the bad stuff. If you get 5-6 of them, you're bound to get a few that will eat aptasia. Even if you spend $40 on shrimp, its a quick and safe way to get rid of the aptasia. Just my opinion based on my experience. James, I'm with you on this one, with one small exception, make sure the shrimp are big enough to eat the aptaisa! There were two aptaisa that I had to juice because they were too big for the shrimp to mess with, but my pair of peppermints singlehandedly wiped them all out on my rocks very early on in my tank. I've added a few pieces of rock here and there since I started and usually try to check for and scrub any aptaisa off that may sneak its way in. But once in a while I'll miss one, and as soon as the rock is in place the peppermints go on a search and destroy mission are all over it and it will literally be tag teamed into oblivion in a matter of seconds. Besides that, they're cool! Mine spawn all the time and are quite fun to watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Ric December 11, 2007 Share December 11, 2007 unkh.? Did someone recommend flame to combat aiptasia??? ~O Geeze - there's a lot of bad advice out there. ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zotzer December 11, 2007 Share December 11, 2007 Peppermint shrimp are also funny. They hide under the rocks, often upside down, and then come out to grab scraps and run when you feed the tank. I got two to handle some teeny tiny aiptasia I spotted early on when I set up my tank. Haven't seen any aiptasia since. One of them vanished some time ago, and I saw the other being chased around by the female clownfish the other night. (yep! the clownfish, not the hogfish). But, with the exception of psycho clownfish predators, they are probably much easier to keep alive than a CBB. If that were my rock, I'd implement a two-pronged attack with Joe's Juice and peppermints, but I am probably the least experienced of this whole crowd, so take it FWIW. Tracy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOT December 12, 2007 Share December 12, 2007 when i used to work in a pet store i used to experiment with aiptasia and peppermints. I would put any rock that had aiptasia on it in the peppermint tank. The aiptasia disappeared. Grant it, the peppermints were in a 6 inch cube so they might have been a little more motivated. Besides peppermints are pretty cool, and isn't that the aquarist's dream; to have a natural solution like that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite December 12, 2007 Share December 12, 2007 I was considering getting some peppermints, but then I thought there was something about them not being reef safe, BUT then, so many people have then in reef tanks. SHOULD I or should I NOT put peppermint shrimp in my tank? If they are safe, I will go ahead and add some to my gb purchase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeltwayBandit December 12, 2007 Share December 12, 2007 In my experience, peppermints are absolutely reef safe. You just have to make sure you don't have anything that might make a meal out of them! As far as CBB vs. Peppermint. I have used both. The key is to not let the aiptasia get to the giant stage. When they are small the CBB and peppermint both seem to munch away. It is my preference to use the shrimp before the fish. Here is my logic, with both the fish and the shrimp you are hit and miss weather an individual specimen will actually eat the aiptasia. It is far cheaper to get 5-6 shrimp as opposed to 5-6 CBBs. Also a word of warning about CBBs they are clam nippers. If you have clams I would highly recommend against going the cbb route. If you want another opinion on CBBs and clams just ask John at BRK. [moderator] Ok folks remember it takes two to tango. If someone posts something that you find offensive or annoying please use the report this post button and myself or one of the other officers/moderators will look into it ASAP. Please let us handle it, so that we don't get flame wars between members. Honestly, I think it speaks volumes to the quality and character of our members that these incidents are few and far between. So lets keep it friendly and remember if you read something and it irks you, go back and reread it it probably wasn't the intent of the poster to irk, it is just sometimes difficult to convey tone in a text based environment. Ok back to moderator lurking mode. (I still have 2 tests left)[/mod] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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