killing aiptasia via lethal injection

[Reefer37]

About 10 years ago during my first go around at reef keeping I had an aiptasia issue. My local LFS advised me to just take a large syringe and inject a small drop of vinegar into the aiptasia to kill them and just do a few a day. I did and it seemed to work great.

 

Since I have gotten back into the hobby I have done a lot of research and reading on the internet. I have never once heard this suggested as a way of killing aiptasia. I have recently noticed a couple aiptasia in my tank and would like to kill them. So I am wondering if this is a bad idea? What effect will the small amount of vinegar have on my water quality? Thanks,

[El Camaron]

definitely not a bad idea but dont over do it as vinegar lowers ph i think so just do a few a day. you could also inject lime juice, get peppermint shrimps, copperbanded butterfly fish and could also do teh aiptasia burner i posted but let that be your last resource.

[F&Fmgr]

Injected Kalkwasser also works. There's a product called aptasia control that has the syringe & the kalkwasser. Just shake thoroughly and get it right in their mouths

[davjbeas]

I use Aptasia-X. I think by "Red Sea" products

 

http://www.marinedepot.com/Red_Sea_Aiptasia_X_2oz_(60mL)_Liquid_Pest_Control_Eliminators-Red_Sea-RS7911-FIADAFLC-vi.html

 

David B.

[Incredible Corals]

I have a big bottle of kent marine stop aptsia if you want to use it. It's pretty expensive and I will never use it all.

[Jon Lazar]

You can mix a thin slurry of kalk and water and drizzle it into the mouth of the aiptasia with an oral syringe.

[Reefer37]

Thanks everybody for the options but, my primary interest was the effect vinager had on water quality and why nobody uses this method to kill them?

[El Camaron]

Few people swear by it, I will be tryingviy soon just to see what the results are.

[Origami]

I've only had to deal with aiptasia two times. In those cases, I just injected them with a little lemon juice. In the first case, it took two doses, a couple of days apart. In the second case, one dose was sufficient. Vinegar will work equally well.

[George]

White vinegar should have no perceptible effect on your aquarium. Some people use vinegar in Kalk reactors to increase the saturation of the kalkwasser. It's just acetic acid at a pH of about 2.5 or so. Assuming you don't use a ton and your water quality is good, the tank will have absolutely no problem buffering the vinegar.

 

Pretty much anything that provides a pH shock to the aptasia will kill it, but kalk (pH of 12 or so) and vinegar have no other chemical effects. Kalk is just more popular because it's more readily used in the hobby and adds something your organisms use (albeit a very small amount).

Edited March 5, 2010 by George