Aiptasia...Avoidable or Inevitable?

[BriDroid]

I have managed to avoid them in my nano for over a year. I’ve had a couple pop up on new frags, but F Aptasia has been able to kill them off. Now vermetid snails…. I can’t completely get rid of them. There is always a couple back behind the rocks.

 

[vlangel]

I voted other. I think it is inevitable but also avoidable. As an aquarium tech who serviced folks tanks I saw aiptasia a lot. My own tank has had them on occasion. As soon as I see one I make a thick slurry of kalkwasser and shoot it right down the mouth of the aiptasia and I repeat it until the aiptasia melts. I actually have not had a single aiptasia in probably 10+ years.
Now bubble algae, that is a different story, LOL.

 

[Isaac Alves]

what do you mean by "invasion"? I think we will all get it in places, e.g., overflow box, that predators or manual removal can't reach. Is that what you mean? I think they are unavoidable.

 

[Mark Goode]

Four years in June, and still no sign of aiptasia.

 

[Daniel@R2R]

They're avoidable. It's a closed system after all. However, it's REALLY HARD to avoid unless you've got a really strict QT process.

 

[Double monti 61]

Most likely at some point aptasia will probably show up. They can be controlled if they do not get to large I have had success with peppermint shrimp and I actually still have aptasia that live in my filters but none in the tank.

 

[69cam]

Been in this game since 03 and never any in display, but plenty in quarantine tanks..

 

[juarec0201]

They can just be introduced in a frag that wasn’t caught during inspection. That’s how mine happened and I let them get wild. I had to get rid of all my sand, drain the tank, rocks I used a mix of fire and sodium hydroxide (don’t do that). It worked. I found sodium hydroxide to work better than kalkpaste. But obviously requires appropriate ppe.

 

[UncommonSense]

Over a decade without them here… (knock on wood)

As stated above, the trick is having a dedicated observation tank, trying to stick to a reputable LFS for frags, and not adding stuff to the system very often!

It takes a LOT of diligence, time, and patience!

 

[fandaga]

So far I’ve never experienced it but only 2 years reefing with three different tanks. I dip everything and QT corals. In the QT is a peppermint shrimp. I hope to avoid it.

 

[Euphylliaphyle]

I voted "other." I can't say if it is avoidable or not. By rookie mistake (wet rock from LFS) I started out with an infestation before I stocked my first on-purpose critter. However, I bought a real (Lysmata boggessi) Peppermint Shrimp, and that rascal went to work right away. It was amazing to watch him hammer away at an Aiptasia, absolutely destroying it! I sort of felt bad for the  Aiptasia! My tank was Aiptasia-free in about a week. YMMV. I understand that these shrimp can lose their taste for the unwanted nem once they get a hold of LRS Reef Frenzy or Mysis. It is possible that yours could have had lost its appetite for them before you even bought it. I may have been lucky with mine, but it demonstrates that avoidable or not,  Aiptasia are not a foregone conclusion in a tank.

 

[kitti-fish]

I feel like it’s inevitable. No matter how much dipping I did, how much bleach I used, apraxia has reared its ugly head over and over. Luckily it’s never gotten out of hand but I spot it occasionally.

 

[Isaac Alves]

Without strict protocols and a 24 hour staff they’ll come in on corals, rock, hard shell inverts, algae….are there really aquarists in here that don’t have a little forest of nutrient exporting aptasia deep in their overflows?

 

[ydoc_]

Though i'm usually interested in coldwater aquariums, I've seen videos, posts or stories of live rock or purchased corals with hitchhikers, and especially aiptasias. Otherwise it's inevitable.

 

[Renfield42]

Inevitable or close to it.

I went a year with none. Everything that went in the tank went through full QT first and came from reputable vendors. A month ago one popped up on a zoa plug that had been through multiple different prophylactic dips and 3 months in a QT system. I’d inspected the plug multiple times. The zoas came from a very reputable vendor. 2 weeks after being moved into the display tank for acclimation, there it was. Eat kalk and die!

Amazingly resilient. Life will find a way.

 

[UncommonSense]

are there really aquarists in here that don’t have a little forest of nutrient exporting aptasia deep in their overflows?

I can confirm that to be the case in my tank; the overflow, and plumbing are all clear plastic!

 

[me & my baby]

Over the last 30+ years I have had tank that have never had either of them . I had tanks with them . I think it’s mostly my own fault for introducing them in . Either it was from very chaeto for just anyone or not dipping the coral or really looking at the corals before putting them into the tank .

 

[Fishy888]

I have some in the display. They seem to grow rapidly, yet they don’t spread. There are three in the display. There are some in the sump/fuge. With all the chaeto and grape caulerpa in there I don’t know for sure how many there are. Since they’re not on the glass, on the parts of the rocks not covered by caulerpa, or on any equipment, I’d say there are very few in the sump.

I think Aiptasias are beautiful anemones when they don’t reproduce like tribbles. As a result I let them grow. My BTAs reproduce more than the Aiptasias thankfully.

 

[js-3Design]

If you see one, kill it directly.
If you always kill the first itll never become a problem.

Also make sure, when you do the rockscape that you can access it on all directions.

But this is my opinion.

 

[MossyFroggyLove]

I dont think it can be avoided, but it can ccertainly be getten rid off. I personally like them in my tank