Aiptasia help
- Thread starter 4n2xtacy
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McFly
Active Member
I use Red Sea Aiptasia-X for spot treating small Aiptasia outbreaks. Just make sure to cover the entire oral disk, or it will grow back in a few weeks.
Also, you can use Peppermint Shrimp, Filefish or Berghia Nudibranchs.
Also, you can use Peppermint Shrimp, Filefish or Berghia Nudibranchs.
The aptasia is most likely attached to the bottom and not directly to the coral. Anything sharp and make sure you remove all the tissue and rinse the coral in a seperate container of tank water. Make sure you remove the coral from the tank to remove the aptasia. With only one aptasia I'd recommend not going with a natural predator, they can work great for infestations and nudibranchs soley eat them so they would just starve and die. File fish and peppermint shrimp are hit and miss with a possibility of making LPS a meal.
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Problems exist when people confuse them for other types of similar shrimp. The true peppermint shrimp, L. wurdemanni is part of a several identical species.
Your welcome. It's a pest we have a lot of experience with and tried all kinds of solutions. If there is any way one can avoid messing with them in the tank then I suggest that first. Let us know how it goes.
I had 2 camel shrimps who were suppose to be a specie of peppermint shrimp. They ended up having a fist on my Acans. I took them out after tearing down my tank. I would never make that mistake again. Thanks, most helpful.
great timing.. I was just about to post about the same! I have a well established 65G mixed reef.. aptasia introduced on a coral and over the past year and I've spot treated w kalk paste/slurry. Mixed results- the problem is the aptasia often grows out of crevices and they instantly retract into that crevice with any kind of disturbance. So 'covering' them with something can be a tall order and often I think you get their tentacles and maybe some oral disc/body before they just retract and then regenerate. So my advice is to you: don't try and manually remove-- it's difficult, you'll probably fragment it (and those little pieces can regenerate into new aptasia elsewhere). If you can remove the entire piece it's on and treat , then that's the way to go.
Another thought I've had recently, after noting how crappy my epoxy really adheres to base rock, is just mixing up some epoxy clay and jamming it over the aptasia either smushing it or entombing it in its crevice. Then just remove the epoxy plug in a few weeks (or not if it doesn't look bad and gets covered in coraline). Anyone do this?
Here was what my question/post was going to be: I'm losing the battle. I think I've killed them only to see regeneration weeks later. Of course I have nightmares of my tank just overtaken with aptasia and all my corals killed by them.. what really happens if you just let it go? Do they end up stinging/killing corals? Part of me doesn't mind the anemone poking out of random crevices.. gives the tank a more natural look, just don't want to let them overtake. Is it the worst thing to just blow it off and let them do their thing, spot killing the ones that are too close to the corals? Just feel like I'm chasing my tail with these things, and wondering if its worth it?
Another thought I've had recently, after noting how crappy my epoxy really adheres to base rock, is just mixing up some epoxy clay and jamming it over the aptasia either smushing it or entombing it in its crevice. Then just remove the epoxy plug in a few weeks (or not if it doesn't look bad and gets covered in coraline). Anyone do this?
Here was what my question/post was going to be: I'm losing the battle. I think I've killed them only to see regeneration weeks later. Of course I have nightmares of my tank just overtaken with aptasia and all my corals killed by them.. what really happens if you just let it go? Do they end up stinging/killing corals? Part of me doesn't mind the anemone poking out of random crevices.. gives the tank a more natural look, just don't want to let them overtake. Is it the worst thing to just blow it off and let them do their thing, spot killing the ones that are too close to the corals? Just feel like I'm chasing my tail with these things, and wondering if its worth it?
Orko
Active Member
IF you mess with it in your tank the one will become 100 the "joes juice and Aptasia X and other remedies like them" you have to hit the mouth first shot then cover it with the juice so ones at an angle are tough. If you are not good shot and do nt get it in the mouth the first time your 1 will become 1oo in a week. I would take the rock coral that has the one on it out of my DT and get a nice clean brand new razor blade over a bucket slice that bad boy off all of it. then get calcium chloride paste and cover the spot for a few minutes. rinse it good then back in tank. you tank could end up looking like this:
stevepaynr84
Active Member
Freshly squeezed lemon juice! I've tried everything else and this is the only thing I've had success with and it's worked 100% of the time for me. Get a syringe with a needle and inject it into the body (I gave up trying to hit the mouth as mine would always succeed I hiding quicker than I could get it).
You guys are right...this guy wouldn't let me touch it,now im scared I have awoken the dragon. I'l try the lemon juice and hope that works before it spreads out. Hope the lemon juice wouldn't affect the Lobo Coral?
