Need your help with my Aiptasia problem (local to NJ)

[Ashish Patel]

Does anyone local to central NJ have filefish or bergia nudibranchs for sale or trade?

Background:
So over the last 3 months my aiptasia has gone bonkers. The first year I didnt have much of an outbreak because I added 20 peppermint shrimps and stayed true to my word of not messing with them. Than I watched a video by reefbuilders were they used sodium hydroxide and thought the idea was genious. However, after using that all my peppermint shrimps died and the aiptasia seemed to just go on a spreading zone. Also, i stopped using my UV filter 3 months ago because it had a leaky union and i think that contributed to the spread of the aiptasia. so in 3 months i went from maybe 10 aiptasia to 300aiptasia. and they are getting big.

 

[Doctorgori]

whatever you do, make sure ALL of your plumbing areas go dry for 48 hrs: Hoses, over flow box, sump, sump and the sump
a PITA but worth it unless you want to go months thinking you licked it only to later wonder where the h3ll these things came from

 

[Miami Reef]

Peppermint shrimp from Reeftopia worked like magic in my tank. I only added 6 to my 260 gallon, and they were all gone in a week or two.

 

[Ashish Patel]

Peppermint shrimp from Reeftopia worked like magic in my tank. I only added 6 to my 260 gallon, and they were all gone in a week or two.

peppermint shrimp did ok for me but I am kicking myself for using sodium hydroxide which i believe killed these peppermint shrimps. Still the peppermint shrimp in my tank were fat and lazy so didnt have to go after all the aiptasia. Maybe I'll give it another try they are just so expensive.

 

[Ashish Patel]

whatever you do, make sure ALL of your plumbing areas go dry for 48 hrs: Hoses, over flow box, sump, sump and the sump
a PITA but worth it unless you want to go months thinking you licked it only to later wonder where the h3ll these things came from

Honestly its not possible to eradicate aiptasia once they are in your system. I just need to find something that controls them in the display tank so they dont kill my zoas, which they are very good at doing.

 

[Ashish Patel]

Peppermint shrimp from Reeftopia worked like magic in my tank. I only added 6 to my 260 gallon, and they were all gone in a week or two.

I actually did order from reeftopia in May 2023.
Maybe I'll give it another try and this time use my siphoning tube to suck out the larger ones and hope the peppermint shrimp will work on the remaining. I still want to try 2 filefish from biota.

 

[Username:Required]

Best thing I did was to get something to eat them peppermint copperband filefish. The other remedies seemed to always get another out break.

 

[Ashish Patel]

Best thing I did was to get something to eat them peppermint copperband filefish. The other remedies seemed to always get another out break.

I just ordered 2 captive filefish from biota - they will arrive 3 days. I am setting up a small tank and training them to eat aiptasia....

 

[Username:Required]

I just ordered 2 captive filefish from biota - they will arrive 3 days. I am setting up a small tank and training them to eat aiptasia....

Awesome mine did great with clams and muscles I think they like blackworms too some places sell them. I read an article one time about how the mouths of the fish tell about how they eat. These guys are pickers so being able to have a shell and them pick the muscle helped my fish a lot.

 

[Ashish Patel]

Got the 2 filefish and setup a temporary aiptasia eating boot camp.

 

[Ashish Patel]

I really don't want to hit these captive raised fish with copper and prazi. It's not like I don't have ich and other infectious parasites in my system that the fish are healthy enough to fight through. However I am scared of introducing a velvet or something new that could irritate them.

I got these fish from biota because I figured there systems would be more sterile but it's mother nature, life finds a way

 

[Miami Reef]

I really don't want to hit these captive raised fish with copper and prazi. It's not like I don't have ich and other infectious parasites in my system that the fish are healthy enough to fight through. However I am scared of introducing a velvet or something new that could irritate them.

I got these fish from biota because I figured there systems would be more sterile but it's mother nature, life finds a way

Observe the fish for a month. If they truly have velvet, you’d know by then.

Being biota and captive raised, the chances of velvet coming with them is very low.

Prazi is pretty gentle. You can use that if you’d like.

 

[exnisstech]

Observe the fish for a month. If they truly have velvet, you’d know by then.

Being biota and captive raised, the chances of velvet coming with them is very low.

Prazi is pretty gentle. You can use that if you’d like.

30+ days observation is what I do on all new additions. I only medicate if I see symptoms. I've been through velvet and understand the risks.
I don't remember reading of anyone saying they introduced disease from Biota fish. I added 3 yellow tangs earlier this year first fish in a brand new system and all is well.

 

[Ashish Patel]

I am going to observe them until they eat aiptasia and hopefully have the patience to wait longer but I just dont know I can this time, I may slip.. I may add them to my coral QT tank but my 2 damsels are going to be such D**Ks, i just know it.

 

[Maho.B]

I am going to observe them until they eat aiptasia and hopefully have the patience to wait longer but I just dont know I can this time, I may slip.. I may add them to my coral QT tank but my 2 damsels are going to be such D**Ks, i just know it.

Keep an eye on the file fish, when I had increasing numbers of aptasia (mostly due to the ones I simply couldn't physically get to) I added a file fish from Biota, he was awesome to watch, really cool fish. At first I didn't think he was eating any because virtually none of my aptasia were gone after a month or so. Then one day my acan's weren't expanding, and I caught the file fish picking at the acan's and a pavona, I immediately removed him and gave him to my LFS. Within a couple weeks after removing him the aptasia were nuts, TONS of small ones established. It turns out my file fish was eating them, just tiny baby ones, not one of the larger established ones. He was simply keeping them in check. Would have been awesome if he didn't like the taste of my corals! Just my experience.

 

[Ashish Patel]

So the filefish have been going to work on the aiptasia...what a great feeling to see aiptasia with their heads chopped of.


Below are pics of the display tank..very ugly

 

[Ashish Patel]

First rock is completely cleaned. Second rock they are still working on it

 

[Ashish Patel]

This pic is from before the file fishes went at the aiptasia

 

[Ashish Patel]

Here's a side by side.

 

[Miami Reef]

It’s so satisfying when you can sit back and watch the aiptasia dwindle away with no effort at all.