Another aiptasia question

[Reefhaven26]

Ill make this short. Im battling my worst aiptasia outbreak. Trying nudibranches again. How many of you also take apart return pipes and overflow pipes to clean them. If I fail this time, I may restart the tank.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Good question, following....

 

[Waters]

I don't take apart pipes but I do use a UV substrate sweeper on overflows (and anything else that isn't live rock).

 

[EnterName]

I had a really aggressive outbreak once. Judging from the reports on R2R of various people and my own experience, I believe (but obviously don't know) that there are different species or strains involved. Some can be easily dealt with by using the various products to dissolve aiptasia, but others (mine included) just take this as an invitation to spread even more.

I tried peppermint shrimps first. They did only irritate the aiptasia whenever they catched some food, but didn't really eat them. Then I got rid of the peppermint shrimp so I could add Berghia nudis. Unfortunately something else in my tank ate those (I suspect the hermit crabs). In the end my copperband butterflyfish saved the tank. You will probably never get all aiptasia anemones and if you don't want to spread them, I recommend only cleaning things that you can fully take out of the tank and soak in bleach or acid. A little bit of pedal tissue is enough for them to spread.

For the few my copperband can't reach I'm currently using Aip-Away which appears to be far more corrosive than AiptasiaX. After 20minutes I take a small tube and siphon out all residues which reduces the amount of product that is floating through the tank and it might get a few cells that haven't fully dissolved yet. Only then the flow is turned back on.

 

[Evil1]

How old is your tank? Honestly if it is thriving I would not break it down. You are never going to eliminate all of them fully and there is no guarantee even if you restart the tank that in some way shape or form they won’t get reintroduced. Basically I just kill off what I can see and get to via chemical eradication. My copper band helps a little as well but, anything I can’t get to or is not annoying corals is left alone. Every month or so I’ll get my Elmer Fudd hunting equipment out and get them wascally wanbits! lol

 

[ScottJ]

I don't take apart pipes but I do use a UV substrate sweeper on overflows (and anything else that isn't live rock).

You use the Sweeper to kill aiptasia? I never thought of that! How long do you expose the area?

 

[ScottJ]

I had a really aggressive outbreak once. Judging from the reports on R2R of various people and my own experience, I believe (but obviously don't know) that there are different species or strains involved. Some can be easily dealt with by using the various products to dissolve aiptasia, but others (mine included) just take this as an invitation to spread even more.

I tried peppermint shrimps first. They did only irritate the aiptasia whenever they catched some food, but didn't really eat them. Then I got rid of the peppermint shrimp so I could add Berghia nudis. Unfortunately something else in my tank ate those (I suspect the hermit crabs). In the end my copperband butterflyfish saved the tank. You will probably never get all aiptasia anemones and if you don't want to spread them, I recommend only cleaning things that you can fully take out of the tank and soak in bleach or acid. A little bit of pedal tissue is enough for them to spread.

For the few my copperband can't reach I'm currently using Aip-Away which appears to be far more corrosive than AiptasiaX. After 20minutes I take a small tube and siphon out all residues which reduces the amount of product that is floating through the tank and it might get a few cells that haven't fully dissolved yet. Only then the flow is turned back on.

I have always wondered why when a fish, shrimp, nudi eats an aiptasia, the aiptasia doesn't spread like wildfire. But if you use a product to melt/cover them, they will spread. The animal eating them tears them apart and spreads cells around, I'm sure. But I have had very good luck with peppermint shrimp getting rid of aiptasia in the past, and zero luck with kalk paste, covering products.

I wonder the same thing about bubble algae and emerald crabs also.

Maybe it's just that the animals are always in the tank on the lookout for something to eat, and they clean up all the little tiny bits? I don't know.