Aiptasia: Do you ever just leave them alone? What happens if you do?

[Gail Allen]

Today I spotted two in the tank so ordered a couple of berghias. But today, I scrubbed one off the back of a Montipora plate with a toothbrush. I killed the other with a shot of lemon juice. "They don't like it up 'em, Captain Mainwaring! They don't like it up'em!"

Scrubbing them all can cause an explosion. If you noticed when you scrubbed it bits and pieces went around it only needs one cell to reproduce. Be careful with that approach, actually I’d say don’t ever do it again. Peppermint shrimp Think of Tasia is a delicacy and I’ll clean it all up and if you get real peppermint shrimp from Florida they will not bother your corals. Google peppermint shrimp and you’ll see there’s different varieties and some are coral friendly and some are coral eaters get the right one and you’ll be happy with the results and they’re fun to have as part of your cleanup crew. Colorful, entertaining to watch and get along with everybody

 

[fishybizzness]

So I had some aptasia popping up all over the place on the rocks In my 120. I pulled the filefish from my cube and dropped it into the 120 2 days ago. I had trouble finding 1 or 2 aptasia this morning. It eats them like candy!

 

[fishybizzness]

Moana for the win!

 

[natitasha]

Hi, I was wondering when did any of you notice copperband nipping at aiptasia? I recently got one, he seems to be doing well, very active swimming around, eating well from the first meal but so far no aiptasia nipping behaviour. Is that something that will come with time or if he hasn't started yet he might never go for it?

 

[Blknovass]

Hi, I was wondering when did any of you notice copperband nipping at aiptasia? I recently got one, he seems to be doing well, very active swimming around, eating well from the first meal but so far no aiptasia nipping behaviour. Is that something that will come with time or if he hasn't started yet he might never go for it?

When it comes to fish and inverts no two are the same. Some do it right away and others never do.

 

[zheka757]

Hi, I was wondering when did any of you notice copperband nipping at aiptasia? I recently got one, he seems to be doing well, very active swimming around, eating well from the first meal but so far no aiptasia nipping behaviour. Is that something that will come with time or if he hasn't started yet he might never go for it?

copperband naturally eat aiptasia in wild, so its just matter of time before they do in our aquariums, also from personal observation, i noticed copperband start off with smallest aiptasia first then move on to the larger size.

 

[rmcrom]

I never got it yet.

 

[Rp8]

while tearing down my tank before a move, I found the largest apstasia I have ever seen online or in person. I wish I had taken a picture. The base was 1.5” to 1 3/4” wide. Height 2.5” to 3”. It was pretty impressive.

 

[ssww21]

I've had a few in my refugiums and one in a cannister filter a year or two ago. I've always scraped them out when I see them but they've never spread in my tank.

On the flip side of that is the fact that no nems seem to survive in my tank. I've tried 3 BTAs and a Condi and none of them have made it more than 3-4 months. Nothing is eating them, they just shrink and disappear.

I wish I had the same problem. They keep splitting and moving over my corals. I would never add a nem to my tank if I started over. Over the last 5 years I think that I have removed over 25.

 

[ssww21]

I've never had it and never seen it.

Do we even have aptasia in Canada?

Yes I have a few in my overflow, but I leave them alone and they seem to be not spreading.

 

[unchaotic]

I wish I had the same problem. They keep splitting and moving over my corals.

Everyone else I know in this town has the same problem as you.

 

[Freenow54]

Well interesting information. Did not know what they were, and had to goggle it. I don't have any in my over 10 year tank, nor my year old. Never have

 

[WallyB]

This happens when you leave Aiptasia Alone. This Monster has been haunting the Bottom of my DT for months. Really hard reach.

I got motivation to carve him out for food source to put into my Berghia Farm. Bigger lasts longer.

This Berghia farm started about a Month ago, and things were slow. Had 4 Adult Berghias.
Recently I couldn't keep up with adding tiny Aitpasia, since they kept eatting them really fast.

Here is a Couple of Berghia finishing off a smaller Aitpasia. They Gang up on all sides to take down the Aipatasia, especially the larger ones.

I was going to tear down the farm and add them to my Frag tank which is very infested with Beghia.

HOwever as I stared lifting things, I found Berghia Eggs spirals hidden under all rocks, plugs and acrylic plates.

So I'm hoping the eggs hatch soon and then SEND OVER THE ARMY.

These Berghia's are Brutal when it comes to the Favourite and only Food!!

 

[Sean Clark]

What is Aiptasia and how does one get it?

 

[KTTX]

Today I spotted two in the tank so ordered a couple of berghias. But today, I scrubbed one off the back of a Montipora plate with a toothbrush. I killed the other with a shot of lemon juice. "They don't like it up 'em, Captain Mainwaring! They don't like it up'em!"

Lemon juice? That didn't kill corals or fish?

 

[Gordi]

Lemon juice? That didn't kill corals or fish?

Not at all. Straight into the middle of the aiptasia and it's gone. The one I killed was attached to the base of a kenya tree and that's still fine.

 

[HaveFishWillTravel]

I thought this could be an interesting subject today because we all have some sort of experience and if you haven't then rest assured that you will! Aiptasia! Sooooo what leads me to this topic today? Rather, why have I worded the title in such a way that it might suggest I "leave aiptasia alone?" I'm glad you asked! First let me say that I do not condone or advise people to not eradicate aiptasia as quickly as they can. But I am curious so let's proceed.

As mentioned in an earlier QOTD topic I have been really "hands off" with my tank for the past year and it has blossomed. Not only has it done well color, coral growth and algae wise but it's also had an issue or two and one of them being that some aiptasia popped up many months ago. More like a year ago. Being that I was hands off at the time I decided to roll the dice and if the aiptasia got out of hand I would throw in some berghia nudis to devour them. Well as time marched on the aiptasia got worse and spread a little more. Still I held out. Over time though I noticed that they were starting to diminish! The fields of aiptasia were disappearing. A few BIG ONES had set up filtering stations and claimed homes of their own but the masses started diminishing. Where were they going? I don't have any aiptasia predators in the tank, that I'm aware of. But it did get me thinking that maybe there was something to this. Let's talk about it today!

1. Do you ever just leave aiptasia alone?

2. What is your experience with leaving aiptasia alone, in a maintained tank? Not talking unmaintained, don't care about you, type of tanks.

image via @Cameron Martinez

I cannot really comment on leaving the aiptasia alone because whenever I see one pop up, I will get rid of it. I turn my pumps off and use the appraisal-x with a fine needle to get down into what I think are their roots. They will go away for a while, but they seemingly hang on and will sometimes sprout back up in the same location. Depending on how large of a tank you have, what animals you have and what your intentions are for the future of your tank are all things to consider. If you like a clean look then, by all means, eradicate them when you find them. If you want to let wild things grow, let them go. I think it is more of a personal choice. Sort of like the Paly’s. I have quite a few of the dangerous Paly’s and I know that they can be dangerous to humans, dangerous to me (not that I’m not a human…lol) and they can crash my tank. I have kept most of them for a long time. I finally decided to rid my tank of the death drop Paly’s. I just didn’t want to deal with them any longer. If you think about your garden outdoors…do you like a wild outdoor experience or a finely trimmed lawn? Whatever you enjoy is what you should probably strive for. I say, “Live and Let Live”. I really don’t want to kill anything in my tank…except the evil Bristleworms. I know that others feel differently than I do about the Bristleworms. It’s kinda’ up to you.…sorry, that might not be of much help

 

[HaveFishWillTravel]

Not at all. Straight into the middle of the aiptasia and it's gone. The one I killed was attached to the base of a kenya tree and that's still fine.

Acid in an aquarium can be a bit tricky. Never, ever do that in freshwater otherwise, all of your Fishes will be Fins Up in less than 20 minutes. I know that there are ‘water clarifying’ solutions for saltwater that contain vinegar, but you have got to be careful. I worry about the aiptasia-x floating around in the water even with the pumps off because I worry how it might adversely impact the other animals.

 

[zheka757]

coperband butterfly fish is my answer to all aiptasia problems. i have lots of them in my sump, and i don't mess with them as they are source of food for my copperband

 

[HaveFishWillTravel]

I’ve had two or three pop up on frags in the past year, but over time they just disappeared never to be seen again…
I would always suggest to kill them, but I never had to.

Love your profile photo of the clownfish! Pretty cute!