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ID - WTH is this thing?


mpitzer

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IME the best way is to remove the rock.  Especially if you think this is the only aiptasia in your tank.  In your case, it looks like that rock is part of the foundation and doesn't come out easily.

 

You might try putting a small, spare piece of rock over the aiptasia in the hopes that it moves onto the small rock.  Then you could remove the rock and throw it away.

 

There are lots of other control methods.  Kalk paste, Joe's Juice, majano wand, peppermint shrimp, copperband butterfly, and filefish are all common approaches.  But IME none of them are permanent.  They just keep the aiptasia to tiny frags that are unnoticeable.  Once the control method stops, the aiptasia regrow.

 

Good luck!

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IME aiptasia is like xenia.  If you leave a teenie bit of tissue behind, it seems to grows back.

 

Doesn't matter whether you boil 'em, mash 'em, or cook 'em in a stew.  IME it grows back.

 

You asked for the best way to get rid of your aiptasia.  My point is the best way is to move the whole aiptasia in one piece before it has a chance to spread.

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I had a couple of random ones before. I covered the spot with epoxy. The thing showed up later in a hole next to the one it was originally in. So then I epoxied over any hole it could possibly use to get through the rock. Never saw the thing again.

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have you every injected aiptasia with boiling RO water? I have read where that has worked before.

Yes I did this to a few I had once and it worked. Just make sure and stick the needle in as far as you can into the hole it retracts. I used almost a whole syringe​ on each. I also super glued over one on an acan frag I bought never to be seen again.
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Peppermint Shrimp and/or Green Filefish work well to eat them.

One of the best options IMO.

 

 

Other option is covering them in kawlk paste for 10 min.  Don't do this if the tank is smaller than 40 gallons.  The alkalinity of the paste can raise the PH and DKH of the tank if you are not careful to limit the amount used.

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The downside of going after Aiptasia that you can see (with boiling water, vinegar, lemon juice, acid, peroxide, kalk, sodium hydroxide, etc.) is that you're only targeting those that you can see (and, in some cases, reach). Biological controls (like Peppermint Shrimp, filefish, Berghia, etc.) can often go where you can't and can do a better job of keeping your tank clear. However, keep in mind that Aiptasia are both autotrophic and heterotrophic. That is, they can photosynthesize and grow in high-light environments (autotrophic mode) and can consume food particles that they snag from the water (heterotrophic mode). That means that they can still live in places where these critters can't go - like in your overflows, and in your plumbing, 

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