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

Have you ever just left aiptasia alone in your tank?

  • Yes and they multiplied beyond control

    Votes: 183 30.2%
  • Yes and they seemed to stay the same

    Votes: 92 15.2%
  • Yes and they started to diminish over time

    Votes: 36 5.9%
  • No, I remove quickly

    Votes: 239 39.4%
  • Other (please explain)

    Votes: 56 9.2%

  • Total voters
    606

zheka757

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I have sump full of aiptasia as well as my online frag tank, but nothing in my display tank tnx to my beutifull coperband butterfly fish. I know they get into my display tank, but I see it as food for my CBB.
 

Creggers

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I go through Binge / Purge episodes with them. Every other water change I go to town with Aptasia X from redsea, but I'm pretty convinced that just makes them multiply cause for every one I killed I saw two more.

Just recently swapped to F - aptasia and I'm very impressed thus far, the trick is to actually follow the directions and turn off all circulation and completely cover the aptasia QUICKLY. They give you a 4ml syringe and for every one I saw I dumped nearly all 4ml over it completely covering it. Left the pumps off for about a half hour while I mounted some frags and I've yet to see any more pop up.

Cautiously optomistic that this was the solution I've been looking for. I'd go the Nudibranch route but unfortunately my wrasses would make exceptionally quick work of them. They're too expensive to end up just a snack for a fish.
 

davidcalgary29

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I've never had it and never seen it.

Do we even have aptasia in Canada?
Don't make me show you mine. I have two species of them in my Evo. :)

I tried to cultivate them in a pest jar, but there's a direct correlation between feeding and growth, and I couldn't maintain a proper feeding in the jar without fouling it up. I just don't find that they do all that well in a species-only tank.
 

davidcalgary29

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I go through Binge / Purge episodes with them. Every other water change I go to town with Aptasia X from redsea, but I'm pretty convinced that just makes them multiply cause for every one I killed I saw two more.

Just recently swapped to F - aptasia and I'm very impressed thus far, the trick is to actually follow the directions and turn off all circulation and completely cover the aptasia QUICKLY. They give you a 4ml syringe and for every one I saw I dumped nearly all 4ml over it completely covering it. Left the pumps off for about a half hour while I mounted some frags and I've yet to see any more pop up.

Cautiously optomistic that this was the solution I've been looking for. I'd go the Nudibranch route but unfortunately my wrasses would make exceptionally quick work of them. They're too expensive to end up just a snack for a fish.
The key for me was that I had a ton of aiptasia growing in my halymenia. I used that in a cultivation jar for berghias (which also served as a quarantine), left it for a couple of weeks with an airstone, and then put it back in the tank. The macro then ended up protecting the nudibranchs from hungry mouths in my display.
 

Creggers

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The key for me was that I had a ton of aiptasia growing in my halymenia. I used that in a cultivation jar for berghias (which also served as a quarantine), left it for a couple of weeks with an airstone, and then put it back in the tank. The macro then ended up protecting the nudibranchs from hungry mouths in my display.
That's not a bad idea, I considered throwing some into the sump where my fuge is to allow them to get a foothold, hoping they'd find their way into the DT either through the plumbing or by my hand.
 

vetteguy53081

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I eliminate them as I see them before they multiply
 

Tamberav

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They slowly multiply in my coral QT tank. Boiling water in a syringe (no needle) makes short work of them and doesn't cause them to multiply.

My copperband eats them all in the DT so none ever last there for long.
 

Freakmachine01

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I am in the middle of an outbreak as we speak. I have tried atasia X and faptasia. The FF pages seems to work a little better since it's thicker and covers them but right now the back of my tank is covered with them and I can't get to them because unfortunately I built my rock wall very close to the back of my tank and some of the rocks actually touch the tank. They keep multiplying. I have put a few peppermints in there now but I still haven't been able to solve the problem very stressful
 

Spicy Reef

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the worst part is when I pull the rock out, I can no longer see them!
I just finished setting up a 20 gallon so I can put the rock in there and F them with F-aiptasia in that tank... MUCH easier, What about my huge rock-wa-scape... just have to deal.
 

Lyss

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Well this is timely -- a couple nights ago I noticed a very small one on a frag I've had for a few weeks. It was one of those things that was barely noticeable and when you did it was like, could it be a tube worm, I'm not sure, and then leave it there b/c finding out for sure would require pulling the frag, which had recently been glued to rock.

It was dipped before it went into the tank, and I thought I did a good job of scraping anything that looked weird off it, but alas.

After seeing this I took a break to pull the frag and put some super glue over the Aiptasia.
 
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Kiwi reefer

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I’ve been very lucky so far in reefing and have managed to keep it out of my tank all together, I don’t buy from tanks I see any form of it I also drip and check all coral that comes into my reef

my plan for if I do see it… well panic and remove it as fast as possible
 

fdevans

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I have a fairly new tank and seen a few small ones that went away, and now one large sized one has popped up. I added 5 Berghia's the other night so hopefully they showed up to the party hungry. Anyone know how long they might take to start seeing results? Being so small hard to know if they are even still in there somewhere.
 

Seymo44

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I have a fairly new tank and seen a few small ones that went away, and now one large sized one has popped up. I added 5 Berghia's the other night so hopefully they showed up to the party hungry. Anyone know how long they might take to start seeing results? Being so small hard to know if they are even still in there somewhere.
From what I’ve read, the nudis make pretty short work of the aptasia. They usually clear a system of aptasia so effectively that the nudibranchs tend to starve to death.
 

Jarry

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It's food for CBB. I keep CBB and multiple Halichoeres wrasses, so I don't have to be much worried about pests except asterinas as I can't have harlequin shrimp.
 

Daniel

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Mine are getting out of hand! I seem to be using aiptasia x more than ever now with them multiplying... started with 1, then 2, then hundreds!
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 76 37.8%
  • Not currently, but I have had feather dusters in my tank in the past.

    Votes: 69 34.3%
  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 25 12.4%
  • I have no plans to have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 29 14.4%
  • Other.

    Votes: 2 1.0%
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