Aiptasia in Refugium . . . What are my options?

esther

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So, have a couple of aiptasia that have popped up in my refugium. Nothing in display tank (not sure if it's because we have 4 peppermint shrimp or not).

I was thinking of buying 2 peppermint shrimp (apparently @AlgaeBarn sells aiptasia eating peppermints) and throwing them into my refugium to get rid of the aiptasia. I know that they'll eat the pods we have in their too, which I'm fine with. I can always throw more in after the shrimp eat all of the aiptasia.

What do you guys think? Any other recommendations? I really don't feel like throwing away all of the macro algae we have because it's doing really well. I'm just trying to eradicate all of the aiptasia in the sump.
 

blasterman

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Insulin syringe and injecting the buggers with vinegar with pumps off has been very succesfull in my experience.
 

lapin

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I was thinking of buying 2 peppermint shrimp (apparently @AlgaeBarn sells aiptasia eating peppermints) and throwing them into my refugium to get rid of the aiptasia. I know that they'll eat the pods we have in their too, which I'm fine with. I can always throw more in after the shrimp eat all of the aiptasia.
That might work or try nudibranches

That might work or try nudibranches
 

NinjaTiLL

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In a refugium, your options are many. Peppermints are probably the best option. The other 2 options are: berghia nudibranches or the matted filefish (aiptaisia eating). The cons to both of those options are: 1. nudibranches are slow moving and there's no guarantee they will find the aiptasia before they die off (since they only eat aiptasia, they can't sustain themselfs on something else until they "stumble" upon every last aiptasia.). 2. adding a fish to your system is a long process especially if you do quarantine. (I have a matted filefish in QT so I can't verify if they are an effective aiptasia control method just yet.) I do have 2 peppermints and they started eating aiptasia within 5 minutes of introduction to the tank and they are scavengers that can survive on detrius and whatever scraps make it to the sump.

Good luck!
 
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esther

esther

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In a refugium, your options are many. Peppermints are probably the best option. The other 2 options are: berghia nudibranches or the matted filefish (aiptaisia eating). The cons to both of those options are: 1. nudibranches are slow moving and there's no guarantee they will find the aiptasia before they die off (since they only eat aiptasia, they can't sustain themselfs on something else until they "stumble" upon every last aiptasia.). 2. adding a fish to your system is a long process especially if you do quarantine. (I have a matted filefish in QT so I can't verify if they are an effective aiptasia control method just yet.) I do have 2 peppermints and they started eating aiptasia within 5 minutes of introduction to the tank and they are scavengers that can survive on detrius and whatever scraps make it to the sump.

Good luck!

Did you get your shrimp locally? Also, did you specifically look for "aiptasia eating" peppermint shrimp? Just curious if it was just luck.
 

NinjaTiLL

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I did buy my peppermint shrimp at my LFS. The were just labeled "Peppermint Shrimp" @ $19.99 ea. More expensive than most online retailers but I didn't have to worry about shipping. I took a chance because I did not press the employees on the exact genus. But after acclimation, I put them in the tank near a rock with a bunch of aiptasia and the larger of the two shrimp took down a small aiptasia almost immediately.

You could print out this identifier and take it with you to your LFS to make sure the peppermints are the correct type.
PeppermintShrimpMarkings.png
 

lapin

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Will the nudi's crawl around the chaeto to eat them? That's the only thing I was wondering.
Yes if you place them on the alage they will live in it until the food (aiptasia) runs out
 
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