Aptasia On Live Rock

[Hishman]

I overnighted some gulf live rock and sand to seed a new tank. I placed the sand and rock down in the sump and checked a couple hours later to see a couple heads of aptasia on 2/3rds of the rock. I pulled all the rock out and put into a quarantine. Is there any reasonable way to completely remove aptasia or should I just go ahead and bleach the rock. I’ve seen people talk about joes juice etc but this seems like it kills the adults so you can rely on shrimp/nudis to keep the population down vs eradicating it completely.

I know it’s not uncommon to eventually introduce pest to a tank but to knowingly introduce aptasia is starting off on the wrong foot.

I ordered from gulf live rock and the chaeto was full of Asterina stars and detritus as well. So far pretty disappointed in their product. Would not recommend.

 

[ReefTankENG]

You paid for the live rock, so it would suck to kill everything you paid for. I seeded my 200 gallon tank with rocks from my other tank that had “controlled” aptasia. A couple months in I started seeing heads pop-up. Unfortunately my Copperband did not survive the transition. But a couple peppermint shrimp keep it under control now. They’ll probably show-up one day anyway. I would recommend killing the heads you see with aptasia-x or any of those brands, and then eventually buying some animals to keep them under control naturally. Good luck! How big is your tank?

 

[Baby Damsel 219]

whats the tank size?
if big enough go full blown peppermint shrimps
copper bands or even file fish.

 

[reneeL]

Before you destroy your live rock do add some Berghia Nuds. These little guys will clean things up and your rock will not have to get destroyed. I also just got an order from Gulf Live Rock is beautiful but I am putting my the Berghia Nuds that cleaned up a smaller tank in the live rock tank. I assume there will be apitasia and I need to find more food for my Berhia Nuds. It takes about 2 months to see the little white Berghia Nuds all over the tank.
Good luck and I hope you find some neat stuff that grows out.

 

[Hishman]

You paid for the live rock, so it would suck to kill everything you paid for.

This is really the only reason I’m considering using it.

I have a 9gallon with the sump. I was able to fill it out as a mixed reef some years ago and had no macro pests like flatworms etc. it’s easy to quarantine and dunk when your entire tank only hold a couple dozen frags.

With it being a nano I’m more limited to any permanent residents that would keep it at bay. I just didn’t know if having a couple peppermint shrimp on the quarantine for a couple months would eventually completely remove them. I know all the methods to nuke them but those would all kill everything else that makes the rock actually live.

 

[Hishman]

whats the tank size?
if big enough go full blown peppermint shrimps
copper bands or even file fish.

9gal nano w/ fuge in sump.

Before you destroy your live rock do add some Berghia Nuds. These little guys will clean things up and your rock will not have to get destroyed.

I think that’s what my plan is going to be.

 

[reneeL]

This is really the only reason I’m considering using it.

I have a 9gallon with the sump. I was able to fill it out as a mixed reef some years ago and had no macro pests like flatworms etc. it’s easy to quarantine and dunk when your entire tank only hold a couple dozen frags.

With it being a nano I’m more limited to any permanent residents that would keep it at bay. I just didn’t know if having a couple peppermint shrimp on the quarantine for a couple months would eventually completely remove them. I know all the methods to nuke them but those would all kill everything else that makes the rock actually live.

The little Berghia Nuds do work, peppermint shrimp do work but may not get really big ones unless hungry, the CBB is to big for your tank, and my filefish is not a confrimed apitasia eater, a Molly Miller blenny also eats the small ones. I have all these critters and Berghia wiped a whole tank out. I have so many I have put them in all my tanks as weel as the tank with a new batch of live rock.

 

[Fish Fan]

Don't bleach this rock, that's a total waste!

Others have already mentioned a few ways to take care of these anemones. A couple here and there is really not a big deal. I've had good luck taking out a few at a time with a needle and syringe that you can get at any pharmacy for 50 cents, loaded with lemon juice (or vinegar), stick the 'nem, inject, and goodbye 'nem.

A kalkwasser paste can also help.

Here's even more ideas:




Good luck!

 

[Fish Fan]

And not all Asterina stars are bad, some are harmless detrivores. If they get out of hand, there's ways to deal with them too.

 

[BryanM]

I overnighted some gulf live rock and sand to seed a new tank. I placed the sand and rock down in the sump and checked a couple hours later to see a couple heads of aptasia on 2/3rds of the rock. I pulled all the rock out and put into a quarantine. Is there any reasonable way to completely remove aptasia or should I just go ahead and bleach the rock. I’ve seen people talk about joes juice etc but this seems like it kills the adults so you can rely on shrimp/nudis to keep the population down vs eradicating it completely.

I know it’s not uncommon to eventually introduce pest to a tank but to knowingly introduce aptasia is starting off on the wrong foot.

I ordered from gulf live rock and the chaeto was full of Asterina stars and detritus as well. So far pretty disappointed in their product. Would not recommend.

Aiptasia on live rock is common.

I've used Joes Juice very successfully. They key is to turn off all flow before you use it, and leave the flow off for 15-20min after. No flow helps reduce the spread if anything happens, and 15-20min, just giving the juice time to work.

I am down to 3-4 left, two of them are showpiece stunners they are so big. I'm going to give them the same treatment I did the smaller ones.

 

[Hairyteeth]

I’ll send you some dead rock in exchange
But really just get a few nudibranchs and get on with life, aptasia is forever and guaranteed

 

[Hishman]

the nudibranchs didn’t seem to go for the aptasia and both died a few days after purchase.

I believe this is due to the Aptasia found in the Gulf to be of a different species than the kind that proliferates quickly.

The species found in the gulf was formally recognized in 2023 as Lightbulb Anemone - Bellactis Lux

Lightbulb Anemone - Bellactis Lux

ID: This anemone is from the family Aiptasiidae, and as of 2023 has the published name of Bellactis Lux. The TBS Lightbulb nem come in shades of brown, sometimes beige, sometimes a greenish hue and rarely a translucent yellow. It sometimes has stringy tentacles much like a bubble tip doesn't...

tbsaltwater.com

 

[reneeL]

Aiptasia on live rock is common.

I've used Joes Juice very successfully. They key is to turn off all flow before you use it, and leave the flow off for 15-20min after. No flow helps reduce the spread if anything happens, and 15-20min, just giving the juice time to work.

I am down to 3-4 left, two of them are showpiece stunners they are so big. I'm going to give them the same treatment I did the smaller ones.

Do not bleach your rock. Add the Berghia Nudibranchs, buy 2 or 3. They work. You have to wait a few weeks.
I added them to my Gulf Live Rock (new) before adding any rock to my main display. It was good to let it just run in a separate tank then I will know what other cool things are on the rock.

 

[reneeL]

Apitasia are an on going pest. If you get a head start on your rock then in my display I have a filefish, CBB, and peppermint shrimp. NO apitasia.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Keep it simple: Using a syringe or pipette, inject either lemon juice or better yet. . kalkwasser powder mixed with tank water into a paste the consistency of toothpaste and inject into the very center core and it will melt away