HUGE outbreak of aiptasia

Bcdjoe

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I have gotten rid of unwanted pests on my live rock by putting them in a bath of low salinity water like 1.010 in a tub with a power head and change the water every day for three or four days until they are dead then wash the rocks off with fresh water. Then I put them back into fresh salt water at full salinity for a few days then put them back in the tank. It kills everything but the coralline Algae and rocks look normal again. Not sure what to do with sand. Not sure you could treat the whole tank that way because after the first day the water is pretty nasty. I think I would consider starting over. Sorry.
 
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CoralWealth

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Move the fish and corals and start over. It’s easiest. Just clean your rocks, get new sand and go from there.

haha this would be the farthest thing from easiest, I wish it was this easy but if you look at my build thread my rock is all glued together
 
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CoralWealth

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That’s why I do not glue anything together You never know what you might have to do.


Very true. I should have just had something that would eat them from the beginning in a big tank honestly. I killed everything single one I could see but they get behind the rocks when you kill the big ones with aiptasia x
 

KIRBLIT

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I had an outbreak like that a few years ago, trust me just start over. It's not worth the time and energy to fight them. Frag all corals and start over you will be happy you did.
 

KenO

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Do a search on Google for Fendbendazole. From what I've read it will kill Aiptasia. I just received my order from Amazon to rid my tank of Aiptasia and blue clove polyps. It will also kill green star polyps and Xenia and bristleworms. I'm setting up a nano tank to house my gsp and Xenia during treatment.
 

cwiggins

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I used super concentrated kalkwasser that I inject in their mouth with a syringe. I make it with 1/2 tsp of kalkwasser to 15 mls water. (Use a kids medicine cup to measure the water). The aiptsia won’t retract until the kalkwasser is in their mouth. Kills them good.
I never had as much as your pics showed. It will take you awhile but it works.
Good luck!
 

DSC reef

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I used super concentrated kalkwasser that I inject in their mouth with a syringe. I make it with 1/2 tsp of kalkwasser to 15 mls water. (Use a kids medicine cup to measure the water). The aiptsia won’t retract until the kalkwasser is in their mouth. Kills them good.
I never had as much as your pics showed. It will take you awhile but it works.
Good luck!
This can work or lead to further out breaks. Injecting anything into an aptaisia is risky.
 

40B Knasty

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Let me call the President and we will have that tank nuked by the morning.
No joke what the wow! That is ridiculous! Only suggestion to get rid of it. Is literally getting rid of it. Start over and nuke those rocks. Let them release all the die off for the next 2-3 months in a bin with circulation.
 

tigé21v

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Do a search on Google for Fendbendazole. From what I've read it will kill Aiptasia. I just received my order from Amazon to rid my tank of Aiptasia and blue clove polyps. It will also kill green star polyps and Xenia and bristleworms. I'm setting up a nano tank to house my gsp and Xenia during treatment.
Keep us up-to-date on if you have success with it or not.
 

Tommy's Reef

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Bro file fish, put them n a separate tank first or sump and drop them n a little rock of aptasia to get use to picking at only feeding them that. Then put them n your tank so they won't be to curious of the corals at first and they will go after the aptasia! Also flow could be a factor
 

cmcoker

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I didn't read all the posts, but here's my experience with berghia.
I added 8 to a 54g display middle of August. I have done nothing since. My understanding was you have to stop any aiptasia x, it can hurt the Berghias . Only in the past two weeks have I seen a noticeable reduction to the aiptasia.
Don't add competing species, many that eat aiptasia will also pick off the berghias.
My tank was/is pretty close to your level of infestation. Aiptasia responded much like yours, reproducing the more you try to zap with aiptasia x

This pic is my tank, I released the berghia together on the bottom rock on the far right. The red circle was the first rock I noticed they cleared. Purple line was what was cleared as of Oct 16, yellow line is clear as of today.

Get a flashlight after lights out and see if you can find any berghia left, if so don't do anything less. Let them bred and eat.
f42075dee9b750fc9bc4541521465af8.jpg
 

Ardeus

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A matted file fish did a good job on my 100 gallon tank. I still have a few in areas where he doesn't venture but I'm ok with that.
 

EleMental

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Holy Aptasia Batman! I get a few monsters in the fuge from time to time that I feed a thick mouthful of Kalkwasser but hitting each one of these heads would take weeks I imagine. I've been reading a lot about filefish and nudis...Im wondering about corals. Anyone know if introducing some species with potent sweepers ie, brains or galaxia might take these guys out as they spread? Obviously in conjunction with other suggested options. Just curious. My brain does a good job of keeping some palys at bay.
 

M007

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CBB worked and continues to work for me provided it has not switched to prepared foods. Mine only eats mysis and I feed that once per day so the CBB has to hunt the rest of the day for food. With your level of infestation it will take some time. Regarding the nudis, did you add them to a low flow area away from the Aiptasia? If you dropped them into the middle of a bunch of open polyps they got eaten.
 

pjr

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I've seen scats work really well... they tear apart aptasia! Also success with certain species of peppermint shrimp, they can be insatiable.
 

Duraticate

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Very interested in this. As i have an outbreak. Not nearly as bad as you but they are all over and there are a few big ones in my system. I have 4 peppermint shrimp 4 nudis and not seeing any change. I have had success with the shrimp in the past but the last few shrimp i have gotten dont care. Trying to feed less to get the peppwrmjnt shrimp hungriwr for the aptasia

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bif24701

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My aiptasia problem was worse than yours in my 180 and 8 nudis took them all out. It took 4 months for them to grow and multiply but it finally worked. I would give them another try, they could even still be in the system. What size did you buy? Buy bigger ones next time and take out any predator that might eat them. Nudis are 100% guaranteed to get rid of them if they live and multiply.
 

3mm3

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I've seen scats work really well... they tear apart aptasia! Also success with certain species of peppermint shrimp, they can be insatiable.
Was that the silver or green scat? I heard about using them a long time ago
 
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