Consensus on aiptaisia control?

[agiacosa]

Well I've gone through valonia, bryopsis, flatworms and now I'm getting aiptasia. :rolleye1:

I have a DSB with plenty of fan worms and other pods in the system. I want to keep these critters for obvious reasons.

I wouldn't mind aiptasia in a filter feeder area but not in the display tank. Is there an effective control out there yet that everyone agrees on?

Oh, I have a 58g. I could add a small CB but would prefer not to. Should I spend the $38 for the nudi?

TIA.

[Rock Anemone]

Your best bet is to mix up a heavy Kalkwasser paste with aquarium water. Then, get a syringe or needle, or even small turkey baster and fill it up with the paste. Then inject it as close to the anemones mouth as possible. This will usually get rid of them. You can even try boiling water.

I have had GREAT success with Peppermint Shrimp, everyone I recommend them to has also had great success. It takes them about a week or so to get interested in them but when they do, they are gone. However, they tend to nip at other polyps, so they are generally a hit or miss.

If you want to keep your fan worms, I wouldn't go with a Copperband Butterfly. They also require larger established systems and are finicky eaters sometimes.

Rock Anemone:D

[SPC]

Originally posted by Rock Anemone
Your best bet is to mix up a heavy Kalkwasser paste with aquarium water. Then, get a syringe or needle, or even small turkey baster and fill it up with the paste. Then inject it as close to the anemones mouth as possible. This will usually get rid of them. You can even try boiling water.

I have had GREAT success with Peppermint Shrimp, everyone I recommend them to has also had great success. It takes them about a week or so to get interested in them but when they do, they are gone. However, they tend to nip at other polyps, so they are generally a hit or miss.

If you want to keep your fan worms, I wouldn't go with a Copperband Butterfly. They also require larger established systems and are finicky eaters sometimes.

Rock Anemone:D

Ditto ,so far we have 100% agreement:D .
Steve

[hesaias]

Yes! Boiling kalk paste mainlined into those little suckas will off 'em every time. I keep an insulin syringe and a few extra needles in a safe place (children, no touchy!) and wait till I have 6-10, then mix up about a 1/4 cup and lock and load.

[pete_ra]

hesaias, do u have problems getting the paste into the syringe, when my mix is too think, it doesnt take it.

[hesaias]

Yeah, there is a fine line. Just thick enough to suck into a syringe. Its kinda tricky. Just use about 1/2 tsp of kalk powder and 1/4 cup of water. Thin as needed.

I use the leftovers in that nights kalk jug.

[SPC]

Where you been Scott? You haven't been on that politics/religion site have you?:D
Steve

[wpbfishguy]

I have had good success with pepermint shrimp getting rid of my aptasias...I fact I have a few in my tank that I would give you but not sure it's worth the drive.

[John M.]

peppermint shrimp all the way...one little guy will wipe out a lot of aiptasia anemones in one week or less.

[rockyd]

I love the shrimp too, but they can wreak havoc with a DSB (or at least that's what i've read). If you get one, just leave him in until the problem is gone, and then yank him out.

[Alberio]

I just make Kalk Milk. It's the consistency and color of whole milk.
Goes in the syringe fine.
Vaporizes the litte Mutha's.

mjd

[agiacosa]

I'll look into the Peppermints as the ones I have are hard to get access to for the chemical thing.

Thanks.

[brewercm]

Are there any problems with other polyps that may be in the near vacinity of the aiptasia using the kalk mixture? I have a couple but they sit very close to the sun polyps on the same rock.

[Schism]

Peppermints often to a good job on aips, you must be sure to get true peppermints not others that appear to be peps. Peppermints also will often go to town on pods and a DSB. I have 3 peps in my tank, they don't bother the pods population or the DSB, but they have never eaten an aiptasia either.
I wouldn't go with berghia either. They are awesome animals, but likely will not control aiptasia like you want. I will need a bunch about 1 per 10 aips, and that could be EXPENSIVE!
I have tried every methods, kalk paste works, but will never get rid of the problem completely. You will always have to get the kalk out monthly.
I now have a copperband. I have had it almost a month, and have only 1 aip that I can see. Its probably not reachable to the CB. It did eat most of the tubeworms though. I have not noticed a change in my pod population, but then again I have a freakin ton of pods!

If I were you I would get a copperband. They are an AWESOME fish, without a doubt my favorite fish, and they do a damn good job on aiptasia if you can get it to live. I got mine MAC certified. I believe this is going to give me the best chance for survival. He came in eating frozen mysis and had a good appetite for aiptasia. The way I look at it, it rather have pods than tubeworms, and I'd rather have neither than aiptasia. I have tried everymethod over the past 2 years, the copperband has been BY FAR the best!

[Schism]

Originally posted by brewercm
Are there any problems with other polyps that may be in the near vacinity of the aiptasia using the kalk mixture? I have a couple but they sit very close to the sun polyps on the same rock.
Oh yes, kalk will kill just about anything it touches. If a sun coral injested it I would expect its quick demise, same for zooanthids and many other corals.

[hesaias]

Originally posted by SPC
Where you been Scott? You haven't been on that politics/religion site have you?:D
Steve

Who? Me?

Nah. Not much traffic yet. Still hangin out in the sump some. I decided its better to actually add to the community by posting of the reef related boards than just sponge off the lounge all the time :D

[hesaias]

How many peppermints should a person have? what do they eat when they can't get hobbit, er, aptasia?

[Rock Anemone]

How many peppermints should a person have? what do they eat when they can't get hobbit, er, aptasia?
I had 2 for my 75 gallon and within a week there wasn't an Aiptasia in site. There were about 5 Aiptasia on each rock as well... I would go with one small and one large.

They will east Aiptasia, small pieces of food, anything that they can get their hands on basicly. They are great scavangers. They may nip at Feather Worms though.

Rock Anemone:D

[rockyd]

One more option:

You could make a hyper or hyposalinic solution, and inject it directly into the aptasia bud. I remember someone else advocating that the solution should be hot, but I can't recall where I read it.

Just another idea, and it should not harm your corals, or anything else in the tank as long as you're careful.

[HuBu]

i tried injecting them with a kalk solution. but they always come back. they aps that i injected the kalk into would reappear within hrs.

[entropygain]

I had a few aptasia popping up, added peppermint and the pests disappeared and never came back.

No downsides that I've found of the peppermints. Occasionally, they steal the catch from a polyp. Sometimes they try to grab a starfish arm from my Harlequin, but he always chases the peppermint off.

Now if you could just find a shrimp to eat flatworms.....

[LauraBay]

Another vote for peppermints. Did a great job for me. Mine will eat yellow polyps but leave everything else alone as long as there is enough food that they can grab some at feeding time. Last week I received a colony of zoos that had an aiptasia right in the middle of the polyps. Next morning aiptasia gone, zoos fine. An added plus - they will regularly have babies that make great food for everyone else in the tank.

I have tons of pods and life in my sand bed and have had 4 pmints in my 75 for years.

[cecilturtle]

I have had good results with hot water/syringe and peppermints also. The peps though seem to go after only a certain size...once they get bigger mine seem to leave them alone. On my latest one I read where someone on Nano-Reef.com had used vinegar and I thought I would give it a shot. This particular aip had survived 2 hits with hot water/syringe and it was perched just above one of my pep hangouts. They wouldn't go near it. I filled a syringe with white vinegar and I believe I had actually punctured him with the needle but for good measure I put the whole dose in the crevice anyway. An hour later I found him floating in the same area and I turkey basted him out. This one looked melted but had not disintegrated like some do with hot water. It was by far the easiest method. I have not noticed any shift in pH or Alk...yet.

As for the best method...that depends on where it is. Generally I rely on the hot water for reachable areas and I have also had limited success with B-Ionic, but those with B.I. tend to come back after a few days or so. As for hard to reach areas, I have been very pleased with the peps. On a large tank though, I think a CB is worth the added risk.

[Frick-n-Frags]

I used pepps. You can't inject thousands of Aiptasia. The pepps wiped them out completely and they find every last one, plus they are on patrol 24/7.

[jayare]

My only problem with peppermint shrimp is that either my CB shrimp or brittlestar eats them right away. I've gone through 6 peppermint shrimp, and the longest that one has lasted is about 2 months. Most only last a day or two. I wish I could figure out who's been eating them. I did try a kal paste for the first time last night on a huge aiptasia in my nano. After squirting him, he looked to be in very bad shape, so we'll see today if it did the trick.

[Rock Anemone]

Also I'll add that, my 75 gallon used to have about 5-6 Aiptasia on each rock. I went and purchased 2 Peppermint shrimp, one larger and one smaller, and within 1 week, there wasn't one Aiptasia in sight, under the rocks, or on the sand. They did an AWSOME job! Just watch your overflow, mine went to the sump and then dissapeared within the rock.

Rock Anemone:D

[3twenty5]

If I have one embedded in a Polyp(zoo) type colony, would it hurt if I turkey basted one? Its very close to the zoo(right next to) so if I use a baster will it harm the zoos? I do not have access to a syringe so..

[Rock Anemone]

I wouldn't use the kalk or vinegar if it is going to be used close to other corals. I would most likely harm the surrounding zooanthids. Unless you can do it very slowly and inject it right into the anemone, and not on it.

Rock Anemone:D

[SPC]

Originally posted by 3twenty5
If I have one embedded in a Polyp(zoo) type colony, would it hurt if I turkey basted one? Its very close to the zoo(right next to) so if I use a baster will it harm the zoos? I do not have access to a syringe so..

IME you need to actually puncture the aip with a needle, or at least give him a good mouthful. I would not use a baster to try and kill these.
Steve

[Flanders]

Also I'll add that, my 75 gallon used to have about 5-6 Aiptasia on each rock. I went and purchased 2 Peppermint shrimp, one larger and one smaller, and within 1 week, there wasn't one Aiptasia in sight, under the rocks, or on the sand. They did an AWSOME job!

I had the exact same experience, and I was totally skeptical. However, the shrimp cleared the most heavily populated part of my tank of aiptasia in a single night! I also got one larger and smaller and have a 75 gallon tank... weird. The only aiptasia I have left are the ones that are too large for them.

[Splendid Warrior]

Are there any other inverts that will consume the aiptasia? I live in Singapore and peppermint shrimps are not available here.

[Rock Anemone]

Berghia Nudibranch will consume and eat all your Aiptasia. The only problem is, once they do this, and they do ti fast, they won't have any thing to eat and will simply starve, leading to their death.

Just do a search on them, Berghia Nudibranch, and you'll get a lot of information, pictures, and places that sell them.

Rock Anemone:D

[Frick-n-Frags]

Well, if you must keep CB's in your little world, then I guess you have to go through the total hassle of injecting with kalk. The same goes for hawkfish. You populate your little world the way you like. Bottomline: pepps are THE answer to Aiptasia, IF you can keep your pepps alive. Otherwise, I am glad I'm not in your shoes.

I invested about $35 in a half dozen pepps and never had to do another thing to get rid of the Aiptasia, and I had a 10 year collection to get rid of.

[Splendid Warrior]

Originally posted by Rock Anemone
Berghia Nudibranch will consume and eat all your Aiptasia. The only problem is, once they do this, and they do ti fast, they won't have any thing to eat and will simply starve, leading to their death.

Just do a search on them, Berghia Nudibranch, and you'll get a lot of information, pictures, and places that sell them.

Rock Anemone:D

Where are these nudis from? I don't believe I've ever seen any in any fo my LFSs here.