Aiptasia on my clam shell stinging mantle

[livinlifeinBKK]

Hey I have a clam with a few aiptasia anemones on its shell right up against it's mantle and I think they're stinging it because it hasn't been opening as fully as usual...what can I do about this?? I heard something about injecting them with vinegar or lemon juice...does that work??

 

[dvgyfresh]

Lemon juice works , so does kalk paste

 

[T-J]

I wouldn't do that, out of fear that the clam could ingest the juice. Instead, I would take the clam out and scrape the Aiptasia off. Or, you could touch the Aiptasia to make it retract, then cover it with super glue.

 

[sdreef]

Scrape it off, use a tooth brush to remove any residual tissue. I would be wary of injuring the clam mantle and this will allow you to remove the anemone without injuring the clam.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Scrape it off, use a tooth brush to remove any residual tissue. I would be wary of injuring the clam mantle and this will allow you to remove the anemone without injuring the clam.

I'll give it a good scraping until that things nothing but a pile of goo

 

[Porpoise Hork]

Peppermints or nudibranchs would take care if them, but YMMV on the shrimp. I have had the best success with peppermints from Petco going right to work on aptasia vs ones from anywhere else.

 

[Miami Reef]

I'll give it a good scraping until that things nothing but a pile of goo

NOOOO!! Don’t scrape it off. That will literally spread and create hundreds of new aiptasia as soon as you put them clam back into your tank. Aiptasia can grow from fragmentation.

Just dab glue and cover the aiptasia with it. It will die and not spread.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

I'm in Bangkok though so they might be hard to get a hold of...I was thinking a filefish or nudibranch since one of my DT is covered in them...I just moved the clam to a new tank and am being hyper vigilant of aiptasia popping up in it

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

NOOOO!! Don’t scrape it off. That will literally spread and create hundreds of new aiptasia as soon as you put them clam back into your tank. Aiptasia can grow from fragmentation.

Just dab glue and cover the aiptasia with it. It will die and not spread.

Ok...I'll go the glue route

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

I'll be getting some aiptasia x just in case they pop up in this tank

 

[sdreef]

NOOOO!! Don’t scrape it off. That will literally spread and create hundreds of new aiptasia as soon as you put them clam back into your tank. Aiptasia can grow from fragmentation.

Just dab glue and cover the aiptasia with it. It will die and not spread.

IF it is an isolated aptasia, then it's true the aptasia can spread this way.

IF the aptasia are already everywhere, then don't injure the clam in the process as the aptasia spreading is irrelevant. You can also remove the clam to a separate container to perform the removal.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

IF it is an isolated aptasia, then it's true the aptasia can spread this way.

IF the aptasia are already everywhere, then don't injure the clam in the process as the aptasia spreading is irrelevant. You can also remove the clam to a separate container to perform the removal.

I just glued all the aiptasia on the shell I could see...some are really tiny though...yeah this tank is taken over because I didn't pay much attention to it during the fallow period...just moved the clam to a different tank so I can watch him all day and make sure he's not getting stung. Don't worry about the tank he's in now, I watch it like a hawk!

 

[Dburr1014]

NOOOO!! Don’t scrape it off. That will literally spread and create hundreds of new aiptasia as soon as you put them clam back into your tank. Aiptasia can grow from fragmentation.

Just dab glue and cover the aiptasia with it. It will die and not spread.

Thank you, I was just going to tell him to do the same thing

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Thank you guys!!!

 

[Porpoise Hork]

I'll be getting some aiptasia x just in case they pop up in this tank

My experience with that has been an explosion of aptasia in my tank. I went with peppermints, a copperband and an aptasia file fish. Is aptasia still in my tank? Yes in the sump, but i'm just put a couple peppermints down there. Is there any in the display? Not that I have been able to find in months.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

My experience with that has been an explosion of aptasia in my tank. I went with peppermints, a copperband and a aptasia file fish. Is aptasia still in my tank? Yes in the sump, but i'm just put a couple peppermints down there. Is there any in the display? Not that I have been able to find in months.

That's my plan...tank just finished the fallow period so in they go soon enough!

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

I have a nano tank I'm dedicating just to coral and inverts so I wanted to the clam in there already

 

[Porpoise Hork]

A couple peppermints would probably work. Otherwise put on a nitrile glove and ball up some superglue gel under the water surface. Mess with the aptasia till it suck in then encase it in the glue.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

I'm working with an infestation here... probably going to put a few of the rocks in peroxide to just kill 100 at a time

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Thank you, I was just going to tell him to do the same thing

What about Manjano nems? Can they reproduce from being smushed? There's a sizeable one on his shell and the tentacles are touching his mantle...