Aptasia

[bobbyblank]

I picked up a nice piece of cured LR yesterday, when i looked at it this mornin before work, i noticed the backside is covered with aptasia (they were covered by other rocks when i got so i couldnt see them :() There are about 20 from my count. I have had luck with kalk paste before, but i would like to try a pepperment shrimp. i know they eat it but i hear its 50/50 some do and some dont. Just wondering about your experience with them.

[kdblove_99]

I use Joe's Juice.

I would probably just take the rock out and treat it

[lar1]

I've had very good luck with peppermint shrimp. I don't know if it helped at all, but I chopped off a piece of Aiptasia and fed it to the shrimp by hand. They were all gone in a few days. (2 shrimp in a 10g)

[Fragmented]

My experience with peppermint shrimp and butterfly fish is that they control Aptasia by keeping it eaten down. They do not kill it. When they die ore you get rid of them the Aptasia return. I rely on kalk past every time and have never been disappointed.

[bobbyblank]

so they do not rid the problem, just maintain it? maybe thats why i hear 50/50 results. Id like to get rid of them all. maybe kalk paste again?

[kevin95695]

We originally treated with the juice. We have since added a copperband and several peppermints and the only time we see aiptasia is on new arrivals and it's gone in no time. I can't see how it would hurt to add peppermints either way... Also heard the Florida variety were more likely to munch the devils.

[bored4long]

Sorry to hijack, but can someone explain kalk paste? Is this a DIY recipe or retail option?

Thanks.

- Mark

[bobbyblank]

mix kalkwasser into a thick concentrated paste, then squirt on the aptasia. DIY that works good but is a pain, thats why i was wondering bout the shrimp. Like kevin said, guess it wouldnt hurt

[seaworks]

kalk paste.....Joe's Juice, same thing.

[Fragmented]

I don't find kalk past a pain at all.

I mix it with RODI water into a thick paste similar to spackle thickness. It is important to make the paste thick and smooth. If it is too thin you can not control where it goes and it tends to just float away clouding the water. If there are lumps, it will not come out of the syringe smoothly. When it is thick and smooth, I suck it up into a syringe. (It takes a few times to fill with kalk paste and not air.) The syringe makes it easy to target where the kalk paste will go. I cover with a generous amount and am careful not to bump the kalk glob. It hardens over and slowly dissolves over weeks. When it is gone, so is the Aptasia. I have also used it to kill GSP that have invaded another coral's space.

[seaworks]

I've used Joe's Juice on GSP also and come to the conclusion that GSP is tougher to get rid of than aptasia!

[bobbyblank]

Well i got 2 nice size peps today, we will see what happens. Im gonna pull the rock out tomarrow and spot treat it with some kalk, at least the bigger ones and the ones i can see.

[bobbyblank]

Well my peppermint shrimp do not have a taste for aptasia, they just hide in the back and sway back and forth lol. infact, I got home and inspected my tank to find that it had spread to 4 other rocks in just 3 days. I took all 5 out and put into a 10g QT for spot treatment, and i spent a good part of an hour searching and squirting, then looking again and re-apply. The rock i intoduced that had the aptasia is very nice, i was thinking "worst case" senario, i would like to nuke the rock and just let it regrow. Any suggestions on how to nuke the rock, "worst case" senario?

[Reefugee]

The good thinkg about peppermint shrimps is that they can get aptasia in location where it would be impossible to kill with kalk. If you are lucky and get the one that eats aptasia, they do a pretty good job of keeping them under control.

If I remember correctly, there are two common type of peppermint shrimps that are available in this hobby. One of them will eat aptasia, and the other one does not. I have peppermint shrimps from several LFS, and none of them would touch aptasia. However - I have had really good luck with peppermint shrimps that I have purchased from Twins (located in Stockton).

The only problem with peppermint shrimps are that they tend to disappear. I don't know what it is about them, but they tend to disappear pretty fast. I put two into my nano tank, and never saw them again. I must have put at least 10 in my 120G, and I usually see only one or two in the evening. When I don't see any for a few weeks, then I go out and buy more.

[bobbyblank]

the other one is a camel back i think. Looks just like a pep. I killed alot last night, maybe about 20, going to start again after work.

[Reefugee]

Bobby - I don't think I am mistakening a peppermint shrimp for a camelback shrimp. I read somewhere there are two different peppermint shrimp commonly found in the hobby.

From Wetwebmedia.

Aiptasia-eating Shrimp, especially the Peppermint Shrimp, Lysmata wurdemanni (Image), can be a great Aiptasia muncher. Be aware that there is some confusion in the trade re this species (from the Atlantic) and a few others including the native California coast Lysmata californica... with darker, bolder dark striping... this latter Lysmata is no good as a designated Aiptasia muncher.


Here are the two species:

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/Arthropoda/CrustaceanPIX/SWShrimpPIX/Lysmata_californica.jpg http://www.wetwebmedia.com/Arthropoda/CrustaceanPIX/SWShrimpPIX/Lysmata_wurdemanniAQ3.jpg

Can you tell which is which? The one of the right is the aptasia eating shrimps. Interesting that the article said that the one with the darker band is the one that does NOT eat aptasia. I found that the ones that eat aptasia in my tank tend to be darker.

Another interesting article:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0QPU/is_1_23/ai_n9479378

[Underwaterparadise]

I can see the difference in the shrimps just from a quick glance. (But I also have seen hundreds in the past few months) The darker bands IME are not even the same color. The aptasia eating ones are more red color VS the other ones are "darker" and don't even look red.

Most people only buy 1-2 PM shrimp and complain they never even see them. IME the trick is to get 5 or more and they will venture out more and tend to eat the aptasia better. They like to eat all the tentacles first then come back for the rest later. Like with all animals in this hobby there is always that exception ;)

[muttley101]

Ever consider a CBBF... they also like spaghetti worms as well... kill two birds with one stone.

[Reefugee]

Maddness - are you able to get Lysmata wurdemanni?