Grinder0909 February 23, 2013 Share February 23, 2013 Simple, my tank is infested with aptasia. I have had my 55 up for almost 1.5yrs, I have been battling these things for about 1 year to no avail. It started when I bought some live rock from someone on craigslist that was obviously infested. So my battle begins with researching these things and how to kill them. So after trying aptasia x & lemon juice it seemed that they just would multiply after each attempt. My next option was nuking all my live rock, which i was very apprehensive about but I did it anyways because it was getting out of hand. I made a 1:10 solution of hydrogen peroxide and dipped the rocks for 15 minutes, when I started seeing all my critters living in the rock bubbling up and dying I couldn't take it anymore. Maybe that was my mistake I should have killed all my live rock to exterminate these monsters. So long story short, I have aptasia and I can't win. I have many SPS, monti, staghorn, softies like frogspawn and hammers, mushrooms and zoas. Everything is doing fine, especially the aptasia. Here is my plea, I would like to try the berghia nudibranch to begin another slow battle, but hopefully with better results. Does anyone have any b. nudi's that they would be willing to sell. Or an option that doesn't involve killing all my rock. If I can't obtain any nudi's then I will order online, and become one with the nudibranch... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan February 23, 2013 Share February 23, 2013 Just get a bunch of peppermint shrimp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John February 23, 2013 Share February 23, 2013 (edited) There's some zapper contraption out there...think I read something about laser pointers once too...I prefer Joe's Juice of the other methods you tried, but I wouldn't hit them all at once since it will affect your pH. Edited February 23, 2013 by John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grinder0909 February 23, 2013 Author Share February 23, 2013 I'll try the shrimp, I have 1 maybe they can work together, I'm def. going to try the nudi as well. They only eat aptasia, the problem is once they exhaust their food source they die. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy G February 23, 2013 Share February 23, 2013 Just get a bunch of peppermint shrimp.i had them bad and since I got peppermint shrimp I have not seen any. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldReefer February 23, 2013 Share February 23, 2013 Copperband Butterfly. One of my favorite fish. Never seen an aptasia in my display as long as I have had one. I have hundreds of aptasia in my sump, so I know he is controlling them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan February 23, 2013 Share February 23, 2013 (edited) This is why I say get a bunch of peppermint shrimp. They are scavengers and will eat anything in addition to the aptasia. I have them in my sump and my DT. I'm def. going to try the nudi as well. They only eat aptasia, the problem is once they exhaust their food source they die. Edited February 23, 2013 by Jans Natural Reef Foods Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grinder0909 February 23, 2013 Author Share February 23, 2013 Yeah I was a little surprised at how bad it is, but I don't really have any clean up crews, just a few hermits and that 1 peppermint. Sad thing is I bought a copperband about 4 weeks ago and I couldn't get it to eat, went away for a weekend and was dead when I got back. 1st attempt on the copperband...fail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surf&turf February 23, 2013 Share February 23, 2013 Matted filefish will eat them to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surf&turf February 23, 2013 Share February 23, 2013 Also Kleins Butterfly fish will eat them and alot hardier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k February 23, 2013 Share February 23, 2013 Aiptasia eliminating critters and their associated difficulty: 1) Copperband. Eats any small anemones/tube worms/feather dusters in the wild. Better than a 50% chance it will die in captivity. Not recommended for noobs. 2) Raccoon Butterfly/Auriga Butterfly. Both eat Aiptasia and fare better than the Copperband. 3) Berghia Nudis. Eats Aiptasia well. Delicate. Avoid powerheads. You need lots of them- 24 or more in a 4' tank. 4) Peppermint Shrimp. Atlantic types eat Aiptasia, Pacific types do not. You need lots of them- 24 or more in a 4' tank. 5) Tassled filefish. Aiptasia Destroyer. 1 or 2 per 4' tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grinder0909 February 23, 2013 Author Share February 23, 2013 Aiptasia eliminating critters and their associated difficulty: 1) Copperband. Eats any small anemones/tube worms/feather dusters in the wild. Better than a 50% chance it will die in captivity. Not recommended for noobs. 2) Raccoon Butterfly/Auriga Butterfly. Both eat Aiptasia and fare better than the Copperband. 3) Berghia Nudis. Eats Aiptasia well. Delicate. Avoid powerheads. You need lots of them- 24 or more in a 4' tank. 4) Peppermint Shrimp. Atlantic types eat Aiptasia, Pacific types do not. You need lots of them- 24 or more in a 4' tank. 5) Tassled filefish. Aiptasia Destroyer. 1 or 2 per 4' tank. The filefish eats invertebrates, or else I would have one. Thats a crazy amount of peppermint shrimp lol, what happens when food source is exhausted? I could start selling peppermint shrimp, no but I can def. get some more shrimp but there $8 at the LFS so maybe will get 3 lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F&Fmgr February 23, 2013 Share February 23, 2013 Aiptasia eliminating critters and their associated difficulty: 1) Copperband. Eats any small anemones/tube worms/feather dusters in the wild. Better than a 50% chance it will die in captivity. Not recommended for noobs. 2) Raccoon Butterfly/Auriga Butterfly. Both eat Aiptasia and fare better than the Copperband. 3) Berghia Nudis. Eats Aiptasia well. Delicate. Avoid powerheads. You need lots of them- 24 or more in a 4' tank. 4) Peppermint Shrimp. Atlantic types eat Aiptasia, Pacific types do not. You need lots of them- 24 or more in a 4' tank. 5) Tassled filefish. Aiptasia Destroyer. 1 or 2 per 4' tank. Wow never thought I'd say this, but I agree with Rob... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basser9 February 23, 2013 Share February 23, 2013 Copperbands are easy to keep as long as you feed live blackworms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piper February 23, 2013 Share February 23, 2013 Watch out for filefish, I had trouble with them munching on my acans. Heniochus butterflies worked well for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcjm February 24, 2013 Share February 24, 2013 Do Heniochus butterflies easy to keep? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimlin February 24, 2013 Share February 24, 2013 how can you tell the diffeence between atlantic and pacific peppermint shrimps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan February 24, 2013 Share February 24, 2013 (edited) Cramers carribean critters peppermint shrimp are the ones I have and they came from the Florida keys. I only have 5. They ate all the aptasia in my sump. The only place I have aptasia are in the overflows, where the shrimp can't get to them. I have none in the DT. Dana has great prices. how can you tell the diffeence between atlantic and pacific peppermint shrimps? Edited February 24, 2013 by Jans Natural Reef Foods Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angel not fish February 24, 2013 Share February 24, 2013 I got my peppermints from reeftopia (5 for a 72 gallons) and in a week they did a great job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k February 24, 2013 Share February 24, 2013 Copperbands are easy to keep as long as you feed live blackworms. 100% not true and statements like this will lead noobs to seek these fish out and let them die unnecessarily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k February 24, 2013 Share February 24, 2013 Watch out for filefish, I had trouble with them munching on my acans. Heniochus butterflies worked well for me. Filefish are known eaters of Aiptasia and other reddish/brownish things that resemble Aiptasia. Heniochus work as long as you get the right species, but if you get the wrong one that looks like the right one, there goes all of your zoas... They also have the same issue as most Butterflies with not readily eating artificial foods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k February 24, 2013 Share February 24, 2013 how can you tell the diffeence between atlantic and pacific peppermint shrimps? Generally if you buy Peppermint shrimp from California you are getting the Pacific type. If you buy from the East Coast, you're more likely to get the Atlantic type. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k February 24, 2013 Share February 24, 2013 My recipe for a heavily infested tank of Aiptasia is to place 24 Peppermint Shrimp and 1 pair of filefish. This recipe works well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juan Perez February 24, 2013 Share February 24, 2013 I can't see how placing 24 peppermint shrimp won't overload a 55 gallon tank. And then having to feed that many animals after they clean up the aiptasia. And then I've had the filefish nip at some corals. Any butterfly placed into a 55 is also asking for trouble with corals. Start with a few peppermints, 2-3 and then add another 2 or 3 in a few weeks if you don't feel they're doing the job. I would do 1 per 10 gallons MAX. They're great aiptasia eaters but they need some time to work their magic. Please be patient, you want to have a beautiful and responsible reef. You don't want to unnecessarily risk the lives of reef animals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k February 24, 2013 Share February 24, 2013 Having multitudes of small invertebrates won't overload a 55. They eat so very little and produce even less waste. They constantly are foraging for every bit of uneaten, errant food to be found. In my current tank- 120+/- I have 10 or so Peppermints, 25 astreas, 100 ceriths and about 500 tiny reef hermits. At any given time, I've cycled through 50 Peppermints, 300 astreas, 300 ceriths, and up to 1000 hermits. You can wipe out 50 Aiptasia in one day with 50 shrimps. Do the math and figure 1 aiptasia per day per shrimp is how many days you want to have an Aiptasia problem. 3 of them in a 55 with many Aiptasia just isn't going to cut it. You have to cover the tank in shrimp in order for this method to be effective. Peppermint shrimp also do not tolerate wrasses, triggers, aggressive dottybacks. This is why I recommend starting a tank with a multitude of these shrimps and a filefish. The Aiptasia never establish a foothold anywhere in the tank. When the Aiptasia are all gone, they go into shrimp mode and scavenge but they're always searching for Aiptasia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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