Just found aptasia! Please advise.

[Picassoclown]

Hello everyone. So I just found a single glass anemone on one of my zoa frags on my zoa garden. I've had these corals for the past 6 weeks and it just popped out today or a max of 2 days ago, as I did a cleaning of my zoa garden and did not see it. I have not received any corals since then, up until last night My tank is 2 months old since cycle has finished. I have dipped every single new coral I have gotten and have done a very thorough inspection of them upon arrival. There was no trace of any aptasia on any of the corals I purchased.

I have not tried to scrape it off or try to pull it out as I do not want it to reproduce. I agitated it a little bit until it retreated into its hole and I plugged it with a decent amount of epoxy.

Questions:

1) How long can a glass anemone be hidden in a piece of rock work on a frag until it pops out?

2) I do not see any others in the tank after a thorough investigation. I know this does not mean it's now gone; once you get aptasia, it will always be in the tank. However, should I get a file fish and peppermint shrimp to help any breakouts? I do not want them to starve if no further aptasia pops up.

Appreciate the feedback everyone!

 

[shakacuz]

super glue over it or any exposed skeleton to avoid it spreading. if they are still tiny you have time to kill them off with the super glue

 

[Graemesreef]

Usually where theirs one there will be more to come. Peppermints always worked for me in the past, but I think these days theirs some critters being sold as peps that in deed are not and wont eat it. So get it from someone who knows whats up.

 

[herozero]

Eat it.

Or get a peppermint shrimp to eat it and you’ll be good to go. Love mine keeping it clean!

 

[Picassoclown]

Any recommendations on where to grab a peppermint shrimp from? Any venders you all trust?

 

[Graemesreef]

You'll probably end up paying more for shipping then the shrimp. If I'm not mistaken they only cost like 10 or 12 bucks which is crazy because I remember them being like 3 years ago. You dont have a decent LFS around?

 

[Graemesreef]

Any recommendations on where to grab a peppermint shrimp from? Any venders you all trust?

Ok so algae barn has ora captive bred peppermints in stock. The only catch is you have to buy 3 for $49 but that would get you free shipping. Not sure how big your tank is but thats what I would go for. That way your sure on what your getting.

 

[Tamberav]

So confused. If it is just one... just kill it using various methods...

I would not get a file fish or shrimp for ONE aiptasia (or even 5, maybe if I had a ton though). Sometimes filefish and peppermints can be worse then aiptasia. They don't always eat them either.

Aptasia is not always in the tank and can be eradicated.

 

[DHill6]

I carefully inspected all incomming coral and I ended up with a mini explosion of astapia. Corals came from well known big vendors here. I never had an astapia in 11 yrs. Until now. I had a peppermint shrimp who wiped them out phase 1. Then it started to go after scolymia which were far from cheap. Out he went. Recently a phase 2 explosion, now I’m going the Berghia route. Third batch coming in next week. The little ones I have no clue where they went. Some astapia are gone. Piping and overflow have been cleaned within the last 2 weeks. Not an astapia was found. From now on it’s berghia.

 

[bnord]

peppermint shrimp and F aptasia and eternal vigilance will do the trick !

 

[Greybeard]

"I say we take off, and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure... "
--Lt. Ripley

Actually, Aiptasia are just one of many 'pests' you're likely to have to deal with. Easier than many. These days, Biota is breeding Aip-eating mottled filefish, they're available cheap, and you _know_ what species you're getting. Worked for me, that little critter does a great job of keeping them at bay.

 

[strawberryfish]

Berghia nudibranchs will eat aiptasia reliably and can breed readily in home aquaria, you typically end up with a population of nudis that grows and wanes in relation to the aiptasia problem. As the Berghia breed the aiptasia disappears, until the Berghia run out of food, which in turn causes the aiptasia to return and vice versa. Once aiptasia are really established in a tank this is the best method of removal IMO. For a few individuals manual removal should suffice, but the babies are so tiny you'll never manage to get them all without help. I certainly wouldn't want to try.

 

[strawberryfish]

For the larger polyps most products like Aiptasia X, F Aiptaisa , Or Joe's Juice should work but it can be finnicky and best left for problem polyps actively bothering corals or otherwise easy to get to.

 

[Graemesreef]

Good luck!

 

[Graemesreef]

Good luck!

Just get some shrimp these kids will go all night on your post for only their reasons. blah blah blah i wanna post but dont have a clue.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Keep it simple . . . . .
Using syringe, 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

 

[Picassoclown]

You'll probably end up paying more for shipping then the shrimp. If I'm not mistaken they only cost like 10 or 12 bucks which is crazy because I remember them being like 3 years ago. You dont have a decent LFS around?

Unfortunately, my LFS is plagued with aiptasia. I would never in my life buy from there. I only pick up dry goods.

 

[Picassoclown]

So confused. If it is just one... just kill it using various methods...

I would not get a file fish or shrimp for ONE aiptasia (or even 5, maybe if I had a ton though). Sometimes filefish and peppermints can be worse then aiptasia. They don't always eat them either.

Aptasia is not always in the tank and can be eradicated.

That's good to know. Thanks!

 

[Picassoclown]

Keep it simple . . . . .
Using syringe, 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

Thanks Vette, always nice to see your replies on my post. I have heard of this in the past, I will watch some YouTube clips on how to do this. Thanks everyone for your replies!

 

[hobbyreefer]

I used to worry so much about aiptasia. I tried so hard to keep them out of the tank. I picked up some chaeto from a reputable source and ended up getting plague proportions aiptasia. I had hundreds or more all over my 5’ tank. I picked up 30-40 peppermint shrimp and they ate every single one. I never see an aiptasia any more and I don’t worry about accidentally picking one up. I would not be concerned about 1.