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

Jubei2006

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 1, 2021
Messages
640
Reaction score
1,019
Location
Hickory
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I bought a zoanthid rock with an aiptasia polyp on it. Had some Joe's Juice and said it's okay I'll take care of it. So treated it, then kept treating as it spread across the tank. Took out all the rock, replaced it, most of the sand, and kept removing as they came back. Gave up let ot grow for a bit and now trying to eradicate it with berghias. Learned my lesson, hoping the betghias work, but so far nothing (about 2 months in)
 
Last edited by a moderator:

David S

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 23, 2016
Messages
482
Reaction score
269
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Had none for years.
Then last month, I bought frags from 3 different vendors (all well known).
Don't know which was the culprit, but suddenly had some in my rockwork.
Tried using a Majano Wand but they grew back in a couple of days.
Then I remembered I had some Aiptasia X, which I bought last year; not for killing Aiptasia. It was for killing Vermetid snails (as per R2R thread). It did not work for the Vermetids, but so far it looks to have worked for its intended victim.
 

LPS Bum

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 22, 2021
Messages
570
Reaction score
828
Location
Colorado
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Like everyone else, I battle aiptasia. I only try and remove them when they encroach on a coral and I see signs that they're bothering it. I broadcast feed my reef tank with Zooplankton twice a week, and unfortunately that means I'm feeding these evil jerks too, which helps them to multiply and grow.

No such thing as smart zooplankton...
 

MARK M. DAVIS

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Nov 6, 2017
Messages
209
Reaction score
146
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I have some very very large Aiptasia. I also have a bunch of small ones. The last time I had them, I put some peppermint shrimp in my sump, display and frag tanks. They did a great job until they all died. The infestation re occured. I put some peppermint shrimp again and am waiting for the positive results. They take a bit to start eating the aiptasia. I will be trying to get some berghia's when my melanarus wrasse kicks the bucket.
 

DreadedReefer95

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 12, 2021
Messages
26
Reaction score
21
Location
Florida Keys
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Im on my first tank ever in the hobby, and juuuust added my first coral drags two days ago…..guess what I noticed this morning? Yep, aiptasia. And tonight after work, I’ll be taking care of it. I’ve here so many horror stories of them thruout my research.

But just for curiosity’s sake, how’s the care of those cute little aiptasia filefish? Do you keep them in a tank long term? And they eat other foods besides aiptasia?
 

Val1064

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 2, 2020
Messages
36
Reaction score
91
Location
Decatur
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I don't worry about aiptasia since adding these two.
 

Attachments

  • files.jpg
    files.jpg
    194.3 KB · Views: 75

mslabonik

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 28, 2015
Messages
686
Reaction score
688
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I'm that 1 "Other" this poll. I have never had aiptasia, been in the hobby off and on for over 15 years.

I know typing this message that a colony is blooming in my tank in the other room.

I too have never had it in my tanks in 14 years, but I know as sure as I am typing this it will probably happen, lol!
 

Elena Y

New Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 9, 2020
Messages
21
Reaction score
8
Location
Charleston
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I had a plague of massive proportions a couple years ago. Tried everything in the book with no luck. Only thing that keeps them at bay are natural predators. CBB in display tank eliminated 100's of them in 3 days and haven't had any for 2 years. I keep an Aiptasia eating filefish in my frag tank and haven't seen any in a year.

I still have them in my overflow and sump but they are good filter feeders so I leave them alone.
 

speedieber

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 11, 2019
Messages
449
Reaction score
44
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I had a massive aiptasia issues a couple of years ago in both of my tanks. It came in on frags from an online retailer (nameless) and they survived coral dip. I tried aipX, kalk, even a laser and that made the issue worse. Added a pair of aiptasia eating filefish in both tanks and it took about 2 weeks but my displays are aiptasia free. And to this day they are model citizens and don't nip at any corals.
Where did you get the file fish… I have bought over 20 and no dice
 

Hupajupe

New Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 4, 2020
Messages
21
Reaction score
18
Location
Placerville
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I had aiptasia that hitch hiked along in a large coral colony that I missed through QT. They then spread everywhere in my tank very quickly. I used F-Aiptasia every time I saw one pop up for months and they never stopped. I was about to give up on the battle and decided to try out a few berghia nudibranchs. I put 8 of them in my 90 gallon tank and stopped using any F-aiptasia at that point as well. The day I put them in I counted about 20 aiptasia in my tank that i could see. about 4 weeks later I could not find anymore. Its been 6 months now and i have not had any come back at so i guess those little guys won the war. I would highly recommend them to anyone battling this pest!
 

Dutch46

New Member
View Badges
Joined
Nov 4, 2021
Messages
10
Reaction score
5
Location
Greenville
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
what are Aiptasia i,m new to this salt water ,anybody has a picture of them ,so i no where to look for, just in case? i just have some coral frags still building it up slowly,thanks
 

tores

New Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 28, 2019
Messages
6
Reaction score
3
Location
San Jose
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Have had Aiptasia for a while in a 65G. Kept under control with a couple of Peppermint Shrimps. Keep discovering Aiptasia where the peppermints don't go (such as the overflow and sump) so I am probably stuck with them.
 

BigSkyRich

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
May 6, 2020
Messages
186
Reaction score
195
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I had a massive aiptasia issues a couple of years ago in both of my tanks. It came in on frags from an online retailer (nameless) and they survived coral dip. I tried aipX, kalk, even a laser and that made the issue worse. Added a pair of aiptasia eating filefish in both tanks and it took about 2 weeks but my displays are aiptasia free. And to this day they are model citizens and don't nip at any corals.
Same for me. A few popped up and being my first "outbreak", I freaked! Well, all the remedies tried. The good news is the second file fish I purchased (first one took a carpet dive) decided he liked to eat them, so no more evil weed. He did destroy my paly's, tho. Gonna put him in time out as soon as I get my other Time out fish out of TO. The good news is all those peps I bought for the aptasia have gotten quite big - but certainly not from eating aptasia
 

shwareefer

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 29, 2020
Messages
1,192
Reaction score
1,306
Location
The Shwa of course!
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I got some rock from a fowlr tank that was shutting down. It had some pretty healthy aiptasia that I ignored for a while, then used aiptasiaX, kalk paste, lye. Other than taking rocks out and blow torching spots nothing worked and they just spread. I found a fellow reefer who had berghia and he had two he could save for me. When I got there the next day 1 had perished so he gave me a string of eggs for my inconvenience with the one that I bought. Needless to say the string hatched and eventually I had hundreds of berghia in the tank and the aiptasia was wiped out over a couple months. I managed to pass about 6 berghia onto another reefer but I never found out how he faired. I'm still usuing the same rock for more than 15yrs without any recurrence.
 

Moab_Reefer

New Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 27, 2021
Messages
14
Reaction score
3
Location
Moab
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
In my 50 Cube. I use peppermint (6) shrimp to control them in the display. I also use Apt X on the large ones that the shrimp don't seem to touch. On the overflow and in the refugium I tend to let them be.
 
Back
Top