GOSKN5 March 11, 2018 Share March 11, 2018 So I have always taken pride in keeping my tank free of pests and nuisance algae etc... I have had aptasia in the past and has luck smothering them with superglue.. I noticed the other day there was a large one at the back of my rock work and a couple small ones near it... I cannot reach this location.. they are not near any corals, but I know they can/Will spread.. What are my options? Again I cannot reach them for glue, kalk, lemon juice etc... Pep shrimp- will they also eat my acans, zoas, euphyllias? Copperband- same question.. also only a 120 gallon... Anything else that works? Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
menglish March 11, 2018 Share March 11, 2018 Get this https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/julian-s-thing-multi-use-tool-two-little-fishies.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Lazar March 11, 2018 Share March 11, 2018 I'm a big fan of peppermint shrimp for aiptasia control. They've worked great for me in multiple tanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FirstContact March 11, 2018 Share March 11, 2018 I think once you have aiptasia you can never really get rid of it without removing the rock work. If it's not on the corals and you can separate the corals from the rock work, I would do exactly that. The problem is for me at least, it's really difficult to see and reach all areas of the rock. For me, fighting it with whatever was always a temporary fix. It always came back and spread. I bleached my rock and started over. Many people just recommend drying the rock out for a few days. I'd personally keep the rock out of the tank for 30 days to make sure nothing else is trying to grow in the tank. I didn't have a problem with aiptasia in the plumbing or my refugium. I caught one or two trying to grow in the sand bed/on the glass, before I put my rock back in, but I've never had a problem since. If your keeping the corals and have a QT tank, I'd QT them after taking out the rock. Good Luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyInVa March 11, 2018 Share March 11, 2018 I'm a big fan of peppermint shrimp for aiptasia control. They've worked great for me in multiple tanks. I also have had good luck with peppermint shrimp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowsingle March 11, 2018 Share March 11, 2018 Get bergia nudibranchs, people sell them all the time because they eat all of their aiptasia. Also, use a toothbrush to scrub them off....it works great. Darren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmerek2 March 12, 2018 Share March 12, 2018 Pep shrimp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt LeBaron March 12, 2018 Share March 12, 2018 3rd/4thing the Peppermint shrimp, plus Peppermint shrimp are a lot of fun to watch IMO. I never had a huge issue with Aptasia but I haven't seen any since getting two peppermint shrimp like 18 months ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neto March 12, 2018 Share March 12, 2018 (edited) +1 for bergia if you can find one. The peppermint shrimps are a hit or miss, there are different kind of peps and some of them dont eat aiptasia, i believe the ones from the caribbean do. Edited March 12, 2018 by Neto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmerek2 March 12, 2018 Share March 12, 2018 (edited) I’ll tell everyone about my CBB. I have one. I have to feed FROZEN 3 times per day to keep weight on it. Won’t touch or look at flake or any of the pellet brands. 3 x frozen is a minimum. It’s still not as fat as they come in from the wild but it looks good enough and is 2 years old now. They are fragile and don’t ship well. Very finicky eaters. My CBB didn’t ever touch aiptasia until around 6 months. Very timid my tangs kept bullying mine to the corner stressing it out for the first few months (which doesn’t help it learn the captive diet). They pick at food slowly the tangs have all food inhaled by the time it gets two half bites in. The advantage of the pep shrimp is one can live in the overflow and clean that up. A couple in the sump. The downside I have seen is that they don’t live much more than 3 months. I have not seen pep shrimp eat my coral but have heard a few isolated cases. I wonder if they were just cleaning up dying or very sick coral Edited March 12, 2018 by gmerek2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k March 12, 2018 Share March 12, 2018 This is a common issue in my line of work- 1) pairs of filefish work great. Downside is that they eat things that look like Aiptasia. Zoas and Xenia fall into this category. In my opinion if your FF ate your zoas, they were ugly. Sometimes it takes a few weeks before they are interested in eating Aiptasia. 2) peppermint shrimps in large quantities. If you have a standard 120g tank with many Aiptasia, it can take months before they get around to eating them all. I usually put 25 in and they take care of them quickly. 3) berghias suck. They are delicate and you need more of them than peppermints to do the same job. 4) Majano wand works great if you can reach it. 5) Copperbands die in captivity. We don’t sell them, don’t order them, and pretty much don’t talk about them. If you threw $100 at this problem, you could get; 4-5 FF 25 peppermints 10 berghias Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami March 12, 2018 Share March 12, 2018 Don't forget that Aiptasia can live in overflows and in plumbing and in all sorts of remote spaces where you cant and won't see them. They have both autotrophic and heterotrophic feeding modes. That means that they can, but don't have to rely on photosynthesis for feeding. They can, instead, rely on particulate food and prey that come within reach. (This is how they can live in your plumbing.) As a result, they can be really hard to eradicate once you have them - especially if they've proliferated into an area that is unreachable to you and to any Aiptasia predators that you introduce. In my opinion, in this situation, you can, at best, keep them from being visible in your display but they can reappear once your controls disappear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOSKN5 March 14, 2018 Author Share March 14, 2018 Thanks for the comments, there are literally like 10 aptasia. I could have each of you over and you likely wouldn't see them... I just prefer to stay on top of potential problems.. going to give the pepermints a try and see how it goes. I suspect my harlequin basslet might eat them, but we will see... Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime March 14, 2018 Share March 14, 2018 If you were closer, I'd go on a group buy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOSKN5 March 14, 2018 Author Share March 14, 2018 This is a common issue in my line of work- 1) pairs of filefish work great. Downside is that they eat things that look like Aiptasia. Zoas and Xenia fall into this category. In my opinion if your FF ate your zoas, they were ugly. Sometimes it takes a few weeks before they are interested in eating Aiptasia. 2) peppermint shrimps in large quantities. If you have a standard 120g tank with many Aiptasia, it can take months before they get around to eating them all. I usually put 25 in and they take care of them quickly. 3) berghias suck. They are delicate and you need more of them than peppermints to do the same job. 4) Majano wand works great if you can reach it. 5) Copperbands die in captivity. We don’t sell them, don’t order them, and pretty much don’t talk about them. If you threw $100 at this problem, you could get; 4-5 FF 25 peppermints 10 berghias Man, you must get some good prices... 25 peppermints gonna run much more than 100 bucks... Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami March 14, 2018 Share March 14, 2018 Man, you must get some good prices... 25 peppermints gonna run much more than 100 bucks... Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk Reeftopia.com lot prices can be even lower ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOSKN5 March 14, 2018 Author Share March 14, 2018 Whelp, pep shrimp aren't an option. I found one locally (only had one) and he was hanging out the mouth of my harlequin basslet after about 10 mins in tank... Ugh Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami March 15, 2018 Share March 15, 2018 Whelp, pep shrimp aren't an option. I found one locally (only had one) and he was hanging out the mouth of my harlequin basslet after about 10 mins in tank... Ugh Expensive meal, but a predictable one. Good reminder, though. There are a number of species that'll make a snack out of your inverts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOSKN5 March 15, 2018 Author Share March 15, 2018 Is there a product or solution that does not have to be injected? That can just be squirted on the aptasia? Also, is that same product harmful to other corals that are nearby? What about rock flower nems (not very close, but in tank) Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime March 15, 2018 Share March 15, 2018 I think you're options have pretty much been laid out. I suppose you could try covering them with putty, but even injecting them with Aiptasia X or something I've found to be a pia. If you can reach them all, why don't you try the majano wand? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOSKN5 March 15, 2018 Author Share March 15, 2018 Yea I can't reach them, I was hoping one of the products I could get as close as possible and squirt haha.. wishful thinking... Considered a filefish.. just know my zoas and gorgonians and multiple euphyllia may notice.. same with a butterfly... Again it's not an outbreak by any means, and most people wpudlnt notice. I am just borderline obsessive on a clean pest free tank... Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami March 17, 2018 Share March 17, 2018 Where exactly are they located that you can see them but can't get to them? Kalk paste is not really "injected." What you do is mix some up and draw it up into a syringe. With all the pumps off in the tank (to still the water), you will gently "squirt" the anemone so that it's covered in the caustic kalk paste. You leave that on for 5-20 minutes (with the pumps off). This basically burns their tissue and kills them. You can then turn the pumps back on. If not in the direct flow of your pumps, the kalk will generally just sit there for a while, but sometimes it breaks up in pieces until it settles somewhere to dissolve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOSKN5 March 17, 2018 Author Share March 17, 2018 Where exactly are they located that you can see them but can't get to them? Kalk paste is not really "injected." What you do is mix some up and draw it up into a syringe. With all the pumps off in the tank (to still the water), you will gently "squirt" the anemone so that it's covered in the caustic kalk paste. You leave that on for 5-20 minutes (with the pumps off). This basically burns their tissue and kills them. You can then turn the pumps back on. If not in the direct flow of your pumps, the kalk will generally just sit there for a while, but sometimes it breaks up in pieces until it settles somewhere to dissolve.I think this is my best option... I can affix a long piece of rigid airline tubing to the syringe and reach them... How does kalk impact corals? There is one little patch right under a big toadstool... Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k March 17, 2018 Share March 17, 2018 Filefish won’t eat gorgonians or euphylliads Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami March 17, 2018 Share March 17, 2018 I think this is my best option... I can affix a long piece of rigid airline tubing to the syringe and reach them... How does kalk impact corals? There is one little patch right under a big toadstool... Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk Just being nearby isn't a problem. If the kalk sits on their tissue for long, it can burn the area it sits. So you should try to be precise in the application. Keep a turkey baster handy and, if it gets somewhere it ought not be, then just move it along. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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