Aptasia, Aptasia, Aptasia!!!!

[KingRicky]

I am ready to pull my hair out over these darn things. I can't seem to get rid of them. I have tried everything that I have heard or read to eliminate them. I have tried Boiling RO/DI Water, Lemon Juice, Kalk Paste, Peppermint Shrimp. I have thought about trying Bergia Nutties but am worried about the fish eating them. I have been told that Copper Banded Butterflies work but am worried about it eating my corals. If any one can offer any advice it would be greatly appreciated.

I am to the point where the only recourse I have will be to remove the rock from the tank and cook it and that is something that I would prefer not to do.

 

[Murfman]

Try the butterfly. If it nips, it will usually happen when there are not more Aptasias to feed on.

 

[blaze98]

aptasiaX has done wonders for me, and a couple of peppermints for good measure.

 

[JR's Reef]

From what Ive been told fish will not eat the nudis. Check with saltycritter of the forum on here(sponsor) they breed them. They could anwser that for sure. CB tend to get ich real easy but they do work. I had 1 yrs ago and never had a prob with them eating corals. The PM shrimp will not eat them cuz there eating fish food you feed your fish. You could take out all your fish then they would eat them cuz they would need to eat to stay alive.

 

[reefz3ro]

All the pastes with needles never worked for me just made them shrivel for 2 weeks and bang right back. I have got a Copperband Butterfly for about a month now in a 180g reef tank with acans, chalices, acros, monti's, birdsnest, rbta, favia, elegance coral, maxima, teardrop maxima, derasa, Squamosa clams and the only thing it has nipped at is feather dusters and it has ate Aptasia but not like i thought it would, I thought it would go crazy for them but it just picks here and there.

 

[Cuda]

I put a Copper Banded Butterfly in all my reef tanks . They never touch any of my corals but will hunt down and eat your problem away in a short time.

 

[mikedelgado]

kalk slurry microwaved for 30 seconds or so injected into the little jerks with a hyperdermic needle works for me.Sometimes but not often I have to hit them more than once

 

[cultivatedcoral]

Copperband work very well. Just give them some time. If you have a problem with them eating initially try frozen bloodworms and then mysis.

 

[ReeferBen]

I have a few aiptasias I can't shake either. My tank is wide 36" so reaching every where is challenging for me. I have kalkpasted and it works well if its thick and sticks, and you cover where the anemone is. Make sure the circulation is off when applying so it sticks and doesnt blow around.

I tried Aiptasia-x, and Joes Juice, both worh equally well and kill the adult anemone but leave enough small particles of the tissue to let it come back as many. In this case if you had peps you'd be fine.

I have found peps will eat small, young aiptasia well but don't do as well on larger ones. Copperband butterflys are awesome at this job, on all size aiptasia anemones IME.

My problem is CBB's I have added have went right for my acans, and I can't have that. The problem with the other methods is I can not reach every where in my tank, and small anemones I don't see. I have a wrasse that will eat peps if they come out in the open and so they can never clean certain areas. I got some majanos in one spot also...

I may need to set up my frag tank, move all my acans out and use a CBB to clean the tank for a few months.

 

[gflat65]

Ricky,

I'll get with you on the Berghia's. I've not gotten any babies yet, but can let some of the adults go. CBB's and Peppermints are the other hit or miss thing that has worked for me (besides the unexplained workings of CombiSan about a decade back...). For pepps, you can't feed the tank anything, though...

 

[kev2me]

Go for the Berghias. They like to eat them from inside of the rocks where the aiptasia is growing from. They should be pretty safe and hidden from any fish that may dare to nip at them. They'll do most of their aiptasia munching at night anyway.

We had a 14g full of aiptasia and we bought some Berghias and about a month later the tank is aiptasia free.

 

[Rickyrooz]

Peppermint shrimp work, you have to have at least 10 of them for every 50 gallons. The best way to treat is to put the shrimp in a bucket with the rock that has the aiptasia on it. The shrimp work very well when they are under fed. After a few weeks in the tank they will not bother with the aiptasia's, they would rather eat the prepared foods.

 

[ReeferBen]

Go for the Berghias. They like to eat them from inside of the rocks where the aiptasia is growing from. They should be pretty safe and hidden from any fish that may dare to nip at them. They'll do most of their aiptasia munching at night anyway.

What about powerheads like vortechs and koralias will the nudis get sucked in?

 

[KingRicky]

Ricky,

I'll get with you on the Berghia's. I've not gotten any babies yet, but can let some of the adults go. CBB's and Peppermints are the other hit or miss thing that has worked for me (besides the unexplained workings of CombiSan about a decade back...). For pepps, you can't feed the tank anything, though...

thanks, let me know. I won't be at the CRC swap, I will be in Mobile next weekend.

 

[KingRicky]

What about powerheads like vortechs and koralias will the nudis get sucked in?

I will set up my small QT, place one rock at a time in it. I use a small filter so they probaly wont be sucked up by it.

 

[gflat65]

If you're planning on a separate tank, Peppermints would likely be your most economical route. As long as you don't have to feed, Pepps work like a champ. I bought a 75 from somone earlier this year that was covered in Aips (120 pounds with nothing but). 75 or so peppermints later (and about a month), the rock was clean. I have to look for rock now that has Aips to feed the nudi's;). I'd still be glad to get you some nudis, though. If coming back through from mobile on Sunday, you could maybe swing by. I'm about a mile or so off I85 at exit 4, so not a huge jump off of 65. I plan on heading back Saturday after the swap, so we'll be here Sunday.

 

[iunknown]

I've been nuking them with superglue, but they keep popping up. Has anyone else used superglue? Does it eventually work?

 

[Posh]

I have a 120g tank that had about five aiptasia spread from that to about 100 babies in about two months. I bought two true peppermint shrimp (not the camel backs) and between the two they ate every aiptasia I had including several gigantic ones. They did this in less then two months. Don't buy mini peppermints.. buy the biggest ones you can find.. and it will work.

 

[Nanofins]

Berghia, Berghia, Berghia!

That's your answer. I had a 75 COVERED in them because of the failure of peppermint shrimp and aiptasiaX/juice. I bought and received 8 berghia on 4/5 to deal with this. By the end of June, there were barely any of the 1,000's left to be found. I have no aiptasia left in that or any other tank now. I've given away dozens of offspring and wiped out other tanks of aiptasia in a short time. These guys are top-notch and permament, so far as I can see.

As said before, they are nocturnal, so you won't see them doing their work, you'll just see diminishing anemones. All fish I've seen try them when they were out during the day (running out of food, looking for more) spit them out with no harm. I have a korallia 3 in the tank and have had no problem with that or the overflow. Though they did manage to get into the overflow and down to the sump, this was a good thing, as they hunted down every last aiptasia in the system, leaving egg strands here and there to deal with any they missed.

I can't say enough good about what they did for me, and it's undeniable. As it is, I bring home more aiptasia to feed the berghia I find and hold for others. In most cases, they are on the new food in minutes munching away happily.

 

[Cuda]

They claim they only eat one thing,aiptasia.

Berghia, Berghia, Berghia!

That's your answer. I had a 75 COVERED in them because of the failure of peppermint shrimp and aiptasiaX/juice. I bought and received 8 berghia on 4/5 to deal with this. By the end of June, there were barely any of the 1,000's left to be found. I have no aiptasia left in that or any other tank now. I've given away dozens of offspring and wiped out other tanks of aiptasia in a short time. These guys are top-notch and permament, so far as I can see.

As said before, they are nocturnal, so you won't see them doing their work, you'll just see diminishing anemones. All fish I've seen try them when they were out during the day (running out of food, looking for more) spit them out with no harm. I have a korallia 3 in the tank and have had no problem with that or the overflow. Though they did manage to get into the overflow and down to the sump, this was a good thing, as they hunted down every last aiptasia in the system, leaving egg strands here and there to deal with any they missed.

I can't say enough good about what they did for me, and it's undeniable. As it is, I bring home more aiptasia to feed the berghia I find and hold for others. In most cases, they are on the new food in minutes munching away happily.