Aiptasia Care

Apollo7235 · Jul 4, 2021

Hi there all,

Probably a strange idea, but considering the many issues I have been having with my tank, I am looking to find something simple to keep me occupied while my tank recovers from an unknown source of metal contamination.

I am considering grabbing a small (3-gallon) desk cube from Petco and throwing a rock with some aiptasia in it to see what happens.

I know I have seen a thread somewhere where a reefer kept a tank full of pests and literally did no maintenance and had no equipment aside from a small power head, yet the aiptasia thrived.

I suppose my question is, will this just turn into a swamp if I was to attempt the same thing in a 3-gallon or less cube or bowl? No lighting or filtration, just a little power head?

I think it would make an interesting little desk piece, but I definitely do not want another headache.

All thoughts and opinions welcome!

All that being said, I will pay ground shipping (Florida local preferred) if anyone wants to get rid of their prized aiptasia! Hahaha

PeterC99 · Jul 4, 2021

You said all opinions welcomed!

People do some strange things but now that you mentioned this, I’m wondering if it will work? Also wondering what is the minimum required for 3 or 5 gallon saltwater aquarium to maintain life?

Good luck with your experiment! Curious how it turns out?

Apollo7235 · Jul 4, 2021

PeterC99 said:
You said all opinions welcomed!

People do some strange things but now that you mentioned this, I’m wondering if it will work? Also wondering what is the minimum required for 3 or 5 gallon saltwater aquarium to maintain life?

Good luck with your experiment! Curious how it turns out?

I am honestly probably going to give it a go, I just don’t want to intentionally harm a living organism, regardless of how much a pest they may be considered to be..

That being said, if I do give it a shot, I will link a build thread for it to this post!

Apollo7235 · Jul 4, 2021

jesspal · Jul 4, 2021

Just try to kill them and they will surely thrive and multiply.

Apollo7235 · Jul 4, 2021

Well, in that case, does anyone have any they would be willing to ship for me? Preferably attached to a small rock? I will pay shipping, ground would probably be sufficient, preferably from someone in Florida, considering these things are supposed to be indestructible. Also posting in marketplace.

Apollo7235 · Jul 4, 2021

Well crap, another strike out!

Weasel1960 · Jul 4, 2021

Apollo7235 said:
Hi there all,

Probably a strange idea, but considering the many issues I have been having with my tank, I am looking to find something simple to keep me occupied while my tank recovers from an unknown source of metal contamination.

I am considering grabbing a small (3-gallon) desk cube from Petco and throwing a rock with some aiptasia in it to see what happens.

I know I have seen a thread somewhere where a reefer kept a tank full of pests and literally did no maintenance and had no equipment aside from a small power head, yet the aiptasia thrived.

I suppose my question is, will this just turn into a swamp if I was to attempt the same thing in a 3-gallon or less cube or bowl? No lighting or filtration, just a little power head?

I think it would make an interesting little desk piece, but I definitely do not want another headache.

All thoughts and opinions welcome!

All that being said, I will pay ground shipping (Florida local preferred) if anyone wants to get rid of their prized aiptasia! Hahaha

LOL now you’re playing with fire.

Rmckoy · Jul 4, 2021

This has to be a joke ?

after all the other headaches you’re solving , I wouldn’t attempt something that small or with something we all kill with fire .

I believe they could live and thrive in the worse conditions .

just my 2 cents …. Why not set up a small 3-5 gal desk tank with a few zoas ?
much nicer to look at and if you need to move some they can go in your established and cured dt

jgirardnrg · Jul 4, 2021

I keep an Aiptasia tank... just a 10g with HOB filter. All that's required is topping off water. I have a cheap Amazon light over the tank and feed them once a week. I raise them as food for my Berghia nudibranch. As long as the temp is 78ish and there's some kind of flow, they're fine.

Apollo7235 · Jul 4, 2021

Oh no, I’m serious. I like weird stuff and I would honestly be interested in keeping something like this. I actually would prefer to keep tube anemones, but I am too afraid of them killing my corals, inverts, and fish.

So, hey, @jgirardnrg , would you be willing to part with one?

jgirardnrg · Jul 5, 2021

Apollo7235 said:
Oh no, I’m serious. I like weird stuff and I would honestly be interested in keeping something like this. I actually would prefer to keep tube anemones, but I am too afraid of them killing my corals, inverts, and fish.

So, hey, @jgirardnrg , would you be willing to part with one?

Part with an Aiptasia? Well sure but the shipping to Orlando would be a bit on the high side. I'd just go down to your LFS and look in the tanks for one. They'll dig it out gladly for you. When I run low I go around the the fish stores in my area and clean them out.

Apollo7235 · Jul 5, 2021

jgirardnrg said:
Part with an Aiptasia? Well sure but the shipping to Orlando would be a bit on the high side. I'd just go down to your LFS and look in the tanks for one. They'll dig it out gladly for you. When I run low I go around the the fish stores in my area and clean them out.

That’s my plan, thank you! Hopefully I find something!

jgirardnrg · Jul 5, 2021

Apollo7235 said:
That’s my plan, thank you! Hopefully I find something!

There is ALWAYS something in one of the stores.

Zer0 · Jul 5, 2021

I keep two majano nems in a tiny sealed container, they’re about two months old now. I change the water out once every two weeks and light spill from my main tank keeps them happy. You don’t need much to keep pests alive, they’re hardy for a reason. In my opinion though, aiptasia is pretty boring compared to other pests you could potentially house. Some majanos can be quite pretty, but I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to track them down. The ones I have now came in on a frag.

Katie M · Jul 5, 2021

jgirardnrg said:
I keep an Aiptasia tank... just a 10g with HOB filter. All that's required is topping off water. I have a cheap Amazon light over the tank and feed them once a week. I raise them as food for my Berghia nudibranch. As long as the temp is 78ish and there's some kind of flow, they're fine.

Have you been able to successfully raise the berghia? If so, could I send you a message with a couple of questions? Thanks so much!

Tamberav · Jul 5, 2021

I would send you some along with some majanos (I keep weird things too) but I am in Wisconsin and not sure they can make the journey in priority box as heat kills most things in shipping! Probably even those buggers! Shipping is so slowww these days.

FYI I also found asterina stars to be indestructible so those would make a good addition too. I kept rock in a basement in the cold winter without a top off or heater (just a powerhead) for over a year circulating... with what eventually became hypersaline water... in the dark... and the stars were still alive. They were feeding off bacteria I am sure. The only larger things I found alive were those stars, a single predatory snail (probably eating the stars?), and hydroids. I didn't even find any worms.