It's hard to be patient, I want this aiptasia to hurry up and go away. Dang stuff is persistent, even growing out of my chaeto and other macro algae. But as with many things in this hobby, it's all about waiting.
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I tried a file fish to no success. He did nip at the nassarius snails.
can’t find the specific nudis in Canada so didn’t try this even though I’d like to.
I bought three peppermint shrimp, two survived. I went really light on the feeding for the first couple of weeks and combined with Aptasia x, my aptasia has really come down. Certainly not gone but the tank looks much better.
I did get a Copperband that didn’t make it through quarantine sadly.
Berghia is really effective, and they reproduce like crazy. You probably can find someone that has a big population and can sell you some much cheaper than that (I bought mine for like $5 each a couple years ago, just 4 of them, that turned into a hundred pretty fast) or you can even get some for free.I've come to the conclusion that I suck at manually controlling aiptasia. Boiling water, lemon juice, the various kalk pastes, all I end up doing is turning 1 into 4-5. As I move to upgrade to a 230 Gallon, I will barely be able to reach the bottom of the tank, so the precise application needed for the chemical methods is a no go anyways.
I know there's an assortment of livestock out there that will eat it. I'm aware of a few, but I'm sure there's more I don't. What are these animals, and what are the pros/cons of keeping them?
Berghia: Devours aiptasia, but as I understand it, they'll often starve to death after eating it all. At $25-$40 each, not exactly ideal.
Filefish: Won't stop at aiptasia, and can/will eat any and all anenomes.
CB Butterfly: Doesn't always eat aiptasia, can be a delicate fish from what I've read.
Peppermint Shrimp: Expensive yet equally tasty eel snacks.
Berghia is really effective, and they reproduce like crazy. You probably can find someone that has a big population and can sell you some much cheaper than that (I bought mine for like $5 each a couple years ago, just 4 of them, that turned into a hundred pretty fast) or you can even get some for free.
See if you can trade them, I had about 20-25 aptasias I couldn’t keep up with aptasia x. I got two pep shrimps n they literally ate them in a 24 hr span.Following ! I am trying peppermint shrimp and they have yet to go after any aiptasia. I’d love to get some berghia but just like you said at that price point and needing to get multiple doesn’t seem ideal for them to just die off eventually .
Thanks for the tip! Lots of good info. As soon as the weather warms up in a few months, I think I’ll order some.Bigshowfrags, based I believe in Ontario often carries nudibranches.
J&L Aquatics in BC sometimes has them, it's where I got mine. Had to call and ask though, they weren't on the stock list.
Canada Corals, also in BC can get them in too.
All about the same price, $25 each, and all offer shipping at various costs, though I am warned Peppermints will eat aiptasia flavored berghias.
I bought 4 peppermints and they have never touched the aiptasia. I have a 40 gallon and only 3 aiptasias, but they didn’t go near it. They got hungry and even flipped over my snails and ate themI guess I was lucky......spend $25 for 5 peppermint shrimps, and they wiped out 10-15 aiptasia (and a few big ones) over the next few days. I haven't seen neither the shrimps nor aiptasia for almost a year now.
I’ve tried peppermints and they didn’t touch it and instead went after my nerith and cerith snails. Literally flipped them over from the glass and I had to keep pushing them away. I tried aiptasia x and the thing worked and it hasn’t been backIt's hard to be patient, I want this aiptasia to hurry up and go away. Dang stuff is persistent, even growing out of my chaeto and other macro algae. But as with many things in this hobby, it's all about waiting.
i put many peppermint shrimp in my tank to get some aiptasia , they did nothing, they did however wreak havoc on my zoa colonies , so i used coral glue on the aiptasia and bought a marine betta to eat the peppermint shrimp. all is well in my tank nowFollowing ! I am trying peppermint shrimp and they have yet to go after any aiptasia. I’d love to get some berghia but just like you said at that price point and needing to get multiple doesn’t seem ideal for them to just die off eventually .
The 4 peppermints I got for my 40 gallon kept flipping my snails over from the glass and tried to eat them, but didn’t touch one aiptasiai put many peppermint shrimp in my tank to get some aiptasia , they did nothing, they did however wreak havoc on my zoa colonies , so i used coral glue on the aiptasia and bought a marine betta to eat the peppermint shrimp. all is well in my tank now
Any update on the effectiveness of the butterfly?I have a Kleini Butterfly on order to take care my aptasia. My understanding is that they clean it up really quick and are safer for SPS, but not so much for LPS and softies, so not sure if that is an option in your tank.
Also I had some small aptasia starting in my frag tank, added a peppermint shrimp and they were gone the next day, downside I think it has been snacking on a couple of LPS in the tank.
They work the best for sure, but don't spend the money on them if you have wrasse, they'll knock them out before they can do their job.I've tried everything and the only thing that worked was Berghia, not cheap but you may be able to recapture and sell if your part of local reef crew. That's how I got mine.