Fighting Aiptasia w/ Nudibranches - no longer works?!

[attilak]

Guys,

I understand that there are many articles on fighting Aiptasia so debating if I should post this but I am struggling here... I had now spent over $300 on buying Nudibranches from salty-underground, and have not seen any improvement. Aiptasia spreading and worried now as it is getting out of control. A few years back I used nudibranches and after 4-6 weeks all Aiptasia gone. This round, no luck, and it has been 8 weeks... I acclimated Nudibranches, etc. followed the instructions. I also know a friend of mine had the same problem.

1. I wanted to see if anyone else experienced this problem with purchasing Nudibranches and no success.

2. Is there a better alternative to Aiptasia X? I used that stuff years ago and seemed to make things worst. I just purchased Aiptasia F from BRS, but assume this is similar to the Aiptasia X but I am running out of options.

Appreciate any feedback.

Thank you,
Attila

 

[Reeferbadness]

I have been fighting Aiptasia for 2 years. I use F Aiptasia for spot control and also used Nudibranches from Salty Underground when it got pretty bad at one point. The Nudibranches did their job but not completely - enough so that they died out but now i'm back to using F Aiptasia for spot control. I haven't had any issues with F Aiptasia as long as you are careful to not get it on your Zoa's or other soft corals. Good luck.

 

[Borat]

Pictures ?

 

[albano]

I have a Filefish in each of my tanks… no aiptasia!

 

[Jason boles]

I purchased the nudis, and also got a peppermint shrimp. I once put him in a different tank and two weeks later saw an Aiptasia.

put him back and he ate em!

 

[laezur]

Don't worry mate, I've tried everything EXCEPT nudibranchs. It's all hit and miss. FIlefish didn't work, he just ate the food I gave the rest of the tank, Aiptasia X just seems to increase their spawn rate after killing them, and my peppermint just hides under a rock and eats whatever leftovers he can get.

 

[nuxx]

It's weird... I saw one pop up and freaked out... kind of went away and never saw them again...

 

[Hats_]

You keep any wrasses? they eat those nudis

 

[Troylee]

A needle with boiling hot vinegar works wonders! Stick them and squirt the vinegar they just dissolve instantly! To never come back! Very satisfying haha

 

[jsker]

Don't worry mate, I've tried everything EXCEPT nudibranchs. It's all hit and miss. FIlefish didn't work, he just ate the food I gave the rest of the tank, Aiptasia X just seems to increase their spawn rate after killing them, and my peppermint just hides under a rock and eats whatever leftovers he can get.

This is a spot on response.

I used to post that a matted filefish were the best I found to control aptiasia but my last one did not measure up. I have used Nudi's and the same. I added Peppermint shrimp this last time, and the shrimp seem to be doing the clean up this time.

I would suggest a combination of Nudibranches and peppermint shrimp. You could add a copper ban or filefish. Both fish are great to look at and sometime mow through the apitasia

 

[sp1187]

if your tank is large enough, a copperband butterfly.
added one to my tank.
i have aips in the sump.
all that make the trip up to the dt the cbb takes care of.

 

[albano]

Over the years, I’ve seen many reports of Peppermint shrimp not eating aiptasia… but usually it’s a case of mistaken identity!
People are being sold similar looking camel/camel back shrimp from the Pacific instead of actual Peppermint shrimp from the Caribbean/Atlantic Ocean.

 

[Chris Spaulding]

Tried nudies and spent a small fortune and never saw an improvement. Main tank I have a Copperband and he keeps aiptasia gone but I also have 2 peppermint shrimp in each section of my sump and aiptasia get wiped out before they have a chance to get to the main tank.
In my Seahorse tank same Peppermints in the sump but I have a Blue Faced Klines Butterfly in the main tank and he demolishes any aiptasia.
In the Euphie tank peppermints in the sump and Aiptasia eating file fish in main tank he too wiped out all Aiptasia.
Is there Aiptaisa in my systems ? Yes, as I see them in the overflows but the comps keep them out of the tank and the sumps Refuges.

 

[Wakenbaker420]

I have a Filefish in each of my tanks… no aiptasia!

I recently bought a filefish recently from a lfs to see if it would help with my aiptashia but I noticed a couple acropora started to RTN and I caught the little ******* eating the polyps on the tenuis like it was aiptashia. Had to move him to another tank with no sps. I think it doesn't know what its suppose to eat. Just been spot controlling with aiptashia X. Was looking at the nudibranches as well but they are pricey and was worried my wrasse would kill them.

 

[brandon429]

Every suggestion here is a biosecurity risk to the system except Troy's (these offers might kill all his fish and infect his tank with velvet for example)

I'm amazed with the rates of disease in the disease forum we still tell people to add non quarantined vectors all day long

I collect these examples of non working filefish + nudi's, things guaranteed to work based on personal testimony, for compare and contrast in our surgical removal aiptasia thread.

 

[brandon429]

aiptasia is a fascinating hobby invader. I don't recall the last time someone woke up to fifty of them for example as a legit overnite surprise.

what I/we do see is: 1 aiptasia is detected, usually in a rock down low in someone's glued arch (starts the "I can't access the rock for X reasons excuse") and a series of indirect kill options come from the crowd, that inevitably produce 50 more aiptasias via fragmentation.

what does not occur: someone sees 1 aiptasia, cuts the rock in half, throws out the aiptasia side, keeps the non aiptasia side, and immediately dispenses with the invasion instantly, on day one. (they then instate observational quarantine for all new substrates added to prevent aiptasia hitching into the display)

You can't get aiptasia owners to dispense on day one, it's fascinating psychology. the umpires have them trained to literally turn 1 into 50, that's what I'm interested in studying/how hands off modes taught by the masses produce endless reef tank invasions. I'm not saying we have to saw everyone's rock in half, just wanted to post what resolved folks do who would never allow such an invasion. aips are the easiest scourge to beat in reefing, you just have to not follow the masses on day one. You have to have tank design that never allows an excuse to override surgical control.

I had an aiptasia once in my nano, it was on the edge of the rock. instead of doing things to multiply it, I used wire cutters to cut off that portion of the rock and the whole matter was fixed ten years ago, in one pass. the masses do not allow that option, so nobody practices it, and tanks are wiped out bigtime by groupthink.

 

[Hats_]

IMO aiptasia is not a big threat at all, just keep a syringe ready with either hot vinegar, a highly concentrated kalk slurry or one of the other products you can get and whenever you see one you kill it. easy as that, cant say its much maintenance and every little thing that keeps us engaged with our tanks is a good thing in my experience. if you are always looking its also easier to spot other problems quicker that otherwise may creep up on you

 

[Borat]

Don't use dispersive foods such as lobster eggs or mysis shrimps - they are leading to the explosion of aiptasia. Use chunky live foods such as whole mussel or clam, they don't fly around your tank feeding aiptasia populations.

That way you easily control aiptasia with periodic injections of kalk slurry or vinegar..

 

[ARCkeeper]

I read an article a few years ago (Sorry, I can't remember the author but I'm pretty sure it was in TFH) that recommended scats for aiptasia control. The author said he never had them bother his corals. Anyone else ever use them?

 

[AKL1950]

I’ve used nudibranches and they do a good job of eating what they can find. Problem is, they can’t, or don’t go down after the root to that thing. Once they move on, it can start regrowing.

Wait till real late at night after your lights have been off for a while. Look around the tank with a flash light and see if you see them out hunting. If you see them, they’re still working the problem, but they don’t move to new areas real fast And they need several together to attack a medium size Aiptasia.