Beautiful Hitchhiker

[Charley75]

Can anyone ID this hitchhiker…it’s actually really pretty. I hope it can stay. Thanks I’m advance.

 

[revhtree]

Looks like a large aiptasia and that's not a good thing. They reproduce very fast and will kill corals.

 

[Charley75]

Sorry..couldn’t resist…I’ve tried to kill this sucker like a hundred times…it’s in a hard place to get to, back bottom corner. It’s freakin HUGE too.

 

[Hallowhead]

Hahahaha my daily laugh.

That things the size of a softball.

 

[Cell]

Biggest aiptasia I've seen. I dont know whether to give you congrats or condolences.

 

[Charley75]

I know right…it’s like the size of my Flame Angel in the background. Luckily, it seems to be the only one that I haven’t been able to kill. Maybe I should name it….like after an impossible to kill Marvel Villain or something.

 

[Dkmoo]

i guess... if you have some ways of keeping its baby's from spreading (ie, either via good monitoring/aggressive maintenance, or an army of peppermint shrimps), then i guess you can keep this one as a trophy...

 

[Goaway]

Beautiful assassin. May as well call it "the hitch hiker".
That thing is huge.

 

[Dkmoo]

@revhtree i think we should consider giving Charley a "biggest aiptasia" tag haha.

 

[Jekyl]

Also get that GSP away from your main structure before its too late

 

[Reefer Reboot]

I'm going to throw the proverbial monkey wrench into the whole Aiptasia belief trend with my personal experience regarding the large ones. (Again, just my experience.) I also had a large one like this that I could not get to due to it's position in the tank. So I started planning on how to get rid of it. With so many cures being hit or miss, I figured Berghia nudibranchs would be my best bet. But buying a bunch of Berghias for one Aiptasia seemed a little overkill for critters that only ate Aiptasia. So I decided to wait until it started to spread... and waited and waited and waited. The "Aiptasia" just kept getting bigger and bigger and never did spread. After 3 years I picked up a Copperband which slowly whittled it down by eating the tentacles causing it to shrink down into oblivion. I have never found another. Doing a little research, there are so many anemones that look very similar. Are they all super spreaders?
Has anyone else ever experienced a similar situation with a single "Aiptasia" that did not spread? (@revhtree , QOTD idea.)
@Charley75 , how long have you had this one?

 

[TnFishwater98]

Did you get LR from the gulf?

 

[G Santana]

Try covering it with a rock to see if it will migrate onto a rock that you can then remove

 

[euphygarden]

That's a big one.. F aiptasia is your friend.

 

[Charley75]

Try covering it with a rock to see if it will migrate onto a rock that you can then remove

Good idea…never even thought about them being able to move like any other anemone.

 

[TnFishwater98]

Good idea…never even thought about them being able to move like any other anemone.

Did you get your LR from the gulf because as you know there are many types of anemones. I feel like most none long tent or bubble top is almost called Aiptasia or Majana.

 

[dvgyfresh]

Soon it will have lots of friends!

 

[TnFishwater98]

Soon it will have lots of friends!

Crazy how big it is and it being the only one, if it is Aiptasia. Don’t they usually spread when they are still pretty small

 

[dvgyfresh]

Crazy how big it is and it being the only one, if it is Aiptasia. Don’t they usually spread when they are still pretty small

I’m not sure , I have a couple that look just like that one with the white circle , nowhere near as big , I have probly around 5 been lazy to kill. I will probly buy berghia eventually

 

[TnFishwater98]

I’m not sure , I have a couple that look just like that one with the white circle , nowhere near as big , I have probly around 5 been lazy to kill. I will probly buy berghia eventually

The reason why I asked about his LR because I have LR from the Gulf and have different types of anemones. I got a berghia and put it in a small QT tank and it didn’t do anything to the anemones. So do Berghia’s eat all species of Aiptasia or does it mean my anemones are not Aiptasia....?.....