Anyone have success with killing Aiptasia?

[albano]

Aiptasia eating filefish...does a good job and is easy to catch if you want to remove it.

 

[vetteguy53081]

All these applicators and concoctions-
Kleini butterfly will do all the dirty work, eat them like candy, get along with all your fish and eat All frozen and dry foods.

 

[eaglalbo]

Burghia Nudibranchs is the only solution that has worked for me. I have introduced Berghia to control aptasia 3 times over 25 years of reefing. They have even eaten the aptasia that infested my sump, by the hundreds.

All other methods have unintended consequences. These are the ones I have tried over the years.

Kleins Butterfly ended up picking at corals. Impossible to trap. Had to rip out half of the rock, to finally catch. Huge mistake

Peppermint shrimp never worked for me.

chemicals where a waist of time, and will just promote aptasia explosion.



Call Jeff reeftown.com

 

[garri3822]

Aiptasia has a 47 day cycle from egg to reproducing. Aiptasia is something you have to treat as you see them. Aiptasia -X does work great but persistence is the key. You cannot treat it just once and think the problem is solved...you have to keep looking for offspring and treat as needed. Good luck to you.

 

[Afagard77]

Aiptasia x doesn't work that well. Peppermint shrimp work very well. It may take a few days for them to start eating the aiptasia, but they will definitely eradicate all aiptasia in your tank.

 

[Admann]

2 doses of berghia about a month apart. That was about a year ago and no aiptasia. I have 2 huge majanos though

 

[jeffrey750750]

When I see them I use a superglue gel and just blob over it right in the water. I'll wait about a week with a little screwdriver and pop off the glue. It worked for me when I hit about 12 of them in one night.
It's funny I never had them before and thought they were cute little nems. Reading up on them on how destructive they can be to other corals I nuked them.

 

[Willylumplump]

I got it from ball of chaeto I ordered. Aptisa x every time you see one. Persistance is key. And lowered nutrients, don’t give them anything to feed on.
I feel part of the problem is they will be in overflows, underside of rocks and are there but can’t see them.
Maybe I had something in my tank eating them, but have been aptisa free for 2 yrs

 

[Copingwithpods]

Here's what I've done and have had 100% success with.

Never tried aptasia x or others as I've never had to.

Here's where my approach differs. I don't use the included seringe as it's garbage and I think where most people fail. See, it's so blunt it only bathes the aptasia in the solution as it quickly retracts into the rock, stressing it out causing it to multiply and spread everywhere. I use my own hypodermic seringe.

Injecting the "poison" directly into the anemones tube. Killing it from the inside and not just mushing it up against the rock and blasting it with the chemical.

I've killed multiple anemones this way and never had them spread or pop back up. Has 100% been one and done. Never saw them again.

I even use this on zoas and mushrooms I don't want spreading too fast. A quick vaccine and call it a day.

 

[Richyreefer]

An integrated approach is always best. 1: physical removal where possible. Pull rock or whatever it is on and catch the water that drips off too, in case it expels offspring. Clip off the aptasia and rinse, then relpace rock. 2: Aptasia x or f aptasia where you cannot pull it out. Suck everything up when enough time has passed. 3: peppermint shrimp to scavenge the offspring you don't see. This has worked for me in 2 tanks.

 

[Whispers]

Copperband worked for me

 

[Bfragale]

A big blob of kelk paste completely covering it. It’s had great results. This will also kill GSP if you have any that’s taking over and you want to “trim” it back.

if you have a lot don’t do it all at once as kelk will raise parameters.

 

[Duncan Tse]

had about 15-20 in my tank previously in a 37 gallon reef. Bought 2 peppermint shrimps and it took care of all of them in the span of a few weeks.

 

[lilgrounchuck]

I added a peppermint shrimp When I saw one pop up over the summer. Haven’t seen any since.

 

[homer1475]

Peppermint shrimp work, but the caveat is.....

Once your aiptasia is gone, they get a nice taste for LPS corals.

 

[lilgrounchuck]

Peppermint shrimp work, but the caveat is.....

Once your aiptasia is gone, they get a nice taste for LPS corals.

I think it’s a dice roll there. Mine couldn’t care less about corals. It won’t even go after them when they’re full of reef roids (unlike the cleaner shrimp I have in there.) It does do a good job of grabbing food out of cracks in the rocks though.

 

[griff500]

This guy takes care of my Aiptasia in my tank:

Chelmon Marginalis - more robust than a Copperband and a great character.

 

[Dburr1014]

Just take a little ASW or salt and mix it with a little water to make a thick slurry. Using a baster, cover the thing. It will disappear.

Of course you can only do this if it is in a place for you to reach and it has to be upright.

This goes with all the means to kill it with a slurry. I love f-aptaisia but the ones that were sideways multiplied cuz I couldn't get good coverage.

 

[CJreef]

The Majano Wand does a great job. If the aptaisia retracts deep into a rock you will have to zap it until you get it all. Do it right and they won't come back.

If you have an infestation and some are not reachable, I would get a file fish. They are great and will eat prepared foods once the aptaisias are gone.

 

[Paul B]

The Majano Wand does a great job.

I actually invented and patented the thing. It works much better on Majano's because they are not that fast as aiptasia.