Aptasia?

[4jlong]

does it turn brown as it gets bigger? do you guys let it grow in your tanks, or do you kill it? i know the stores try to sell you the stuff to kill it then i see it growing in their tanks. i'm new and recently set up my first tank, i bought some LR from someone getting out of the hobby and i got aptasia coming up from all over. trying to figure out what to do if anything. Thanks for your help.

[MrMikeB]

Kill that stuff before it takes over the tank. If your LR is new and not much on it, take it out and scrub that stuff off. Hell, you might want to even cook the rock to be sure its dead. I have seen a system that literally had no rock space available because the aiptasia was that thick. Do not let it get out of control, because it will take over.

[4jlong]

thanks mike, this is the LR i got from you and paul. it has alot of good stuff on it but this aptasia is coming up all over the place. i guess i'll get some of the stuff to kill it. i read the box before, says you can use it once in 24 hours. if it worked when you used it, it would still take a long time to get rid of this stuff. and what about the aptasia dying in the tank, wouldn't it mess the chemistry up? is there nothing that would eat the aptasia?

[MrMikeB]

I thought this was the same stuff. I have noticed a couple that are now popping up in a couple pieces myself. I am not too aware of a tank wide medication that specifically targets aiptasia, but am hesitant in putting in medication like that for a single issue.

How many of these little buggers are you seeing? If it can be spot controlled, I would use a bit of Joe's Juice. As for natural predators, I use peppermint shrimp and I know some folks have used copper banded butterfly fish who simply love the stuff - but will need to be trained to eat other food when the aiptasia is gone.

I would suggest you start out with simple control before you go anything too crazy that could cause more harm than the aiptasia. :)

[4jlong]

by the way, this LR had so much good stuff in it that i moved my tank last weekend when i moved to the bay area last night the ammonia and nitrite were 0 and the nitrates were 20ppm. i was amazed that the tank cycled so fast! :D

[Vincerama2]

Peppermint shrimp MIGHT eat it.
Berghia Nudibranchs will eat it (but are delicate and expensive)
Some fish (Copperband Butterfly??) may eat it.

The only sure-fire predator is the Berghia.

V

[CCR]

Aptasia outbreaks can be associated with high nutrient levels. When I had problems, I started with increased water changes. I have also had success with Joe's Juice on the larger buggers. Others believe Joe's Juice is uselsss, so your mileage may vary.

Peppermint shrimp have worked for some, particularly if you are not feeding the tank. It seems the shrimp perfer other food so if there is any other food in the tank they may avoid your aptasia.

[kttsf]

I tried Joe's Juice before but it grew back so I bought 2 peppermint shrimps and it really took care of the aptasia problem. I wish I can let you borrow mine shrimps but it is impossible to catch them. Mine love to eat aptasia and constantly looking for it to eat. Get peppermint shrimp.. it's cheap, it mostlikely will eat your aptasia and really cute to have in the tank. Good luck buddy.

I have some extra Joe's Juice if you want it. PM me. I don't need it anymore since I got the shrimps.

[otterpop510]

sounds like your tank is just starting up (you just finished cycling your tank?).. so best bet would be to throw some peppermint shrimps in, don't put anything else in or feed the tank for a couple weeks and let the peppermints get hungry and eat all the aptasia. then either leave the peppermints in or take them out (easier when you don't have tank fully setup as you can just take out the rocks and pull the peppermints)..

just make sure you got them in there with no food for about 3-4 weeks to have them eat everything and not have any growback..

[4jlong]

i already have a yellow tail damsel and a gold band clown (that i want to get rid of) and some corals, (green star polyps, zoos, and some other kind that i'm not sure what it is, and some hermit crabs). this was all stuff that i got with another tank that i bought, i wanted some stuff from the other tank....i shouldn't have bought it....too late now. if i don't feed the tank for 3-4 weeks, won't everything else die?

[MayoKetchup]

peppermint shrimp is the way to go...
feed once a day. until your nutrient goes down. overfeeding = high nutrients.
or feed very little several times a day.

[darcitananda]

I've had excellent success with peppermints. now is a great time to get them started on aiptasia, before you start feeding your tank, that way, by the time you add inhabitant, the peps will already have a taste for aiptasia so they won't get lazy and eat your food.

[4jlong]

Thanks everyone for the advice. today I got a peppermint shrimp and someone from RC gave me some Joe's Juice. I will try to use it tomorrow, I think there's enough aptasia in there that the peppermint shrimp could use some help! :D

[andyman]

I have to say I've been through the peppermint/joe juice route. The only real solution is berghias. Peppermint won't touch large aptasias but will control little ones (if your lucky enough to get an aptasia eating peppermint, they are hit or miss). After 4 weeks with the bergia I can officially see a decline in aptasia population. Where there once was a colony I only see a few big ones left. And even the big ones are going away.

[Mr. Ugly]

If you can quarantine your aiptasia rocks in a small tank with peppermints, they can eat even the big ones. I had some peppermints chow down on some 2" tall aiptasias.

Takes them a while to figure out how though. They snip the tentacles first, so that they can eat the rest without getting stung.

[vtrider]

CB butterflys grub down on aiptasia,just hard to keep them alive afterwards

[4jlong]

what is a CB butterfly? I just did a google search but didn't come up with anything.

[delsol650]

copperbanded ? Extremely finicky species... I don't reccomed these fish realy for most folks as they are very hard to keep and diet... Plus most are prone to pick on your corals especially polyps, sponges etc.... from what I have read.

I suggest the Joes' Juice or kalk paste route....

[Eight]

I had fantastic success with my Cobberband. He totally cured a massive aiptasia infestation in about 2 weeks. Prior to him I had tried 12 peppermints and they didn't do anything.

Joe's juice works for a little while, but really isn't suitable for an all out problem.

I don't have a single aiptasia in my tank anymore! CBB is super healthy and pigs out on frozen mysis.