Aiptasia removal

[Colesweat342]

So I’ve recently discovered I have an a aiptasia infestation. I’ve got to many hiding in the tank for f aiptasia to be used. I’ve read that peppermint shirmp get the job done. But I have 2 anemones in the tank I have a carpet nem and a h-Mag nem in my tank. I didn’t know if I would be able to order peppermint shrimp due to the nems. Will my nems eat the shrimp??

 

[Roatan Reef]

Peppermint Shrimp, and F-Aiptasia

 

[Colesweat342]

Peppermint Shrimp, and F-Aiptasia

Nothing in my tank will eat them?

 

[aliceb]

Berghia nudibranch

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Aiptasia-X

 

[BubblesandSqueak]

Berghia nudibranch

another vote if its an infestation.

 

[Colesweat342]

another vote if its an infestation.

How many do you think I will need, I’ll say I have about 40 aiptasia. Will anything in my tank bother or eat them is my main worry.

 

[BubblesandSqueak]

How many do you think I will need, I’ll say I have about 40 aiptasia. Will anything in my tank bother or eat them is my main worry.

If it were me, I’d get 3 breeding size.

 

[Doctorgori]

Berghia nudibranch

I’ve tried all the above methods and this is the only sure fire options short of a nuke from space

 

[Colesweat342]

If it were me, I’d get 3 breeding size.

Thank you!

 

[phillyb614]

I have 2 peppermint shrimp and a file fish in my 20 gallon cube. They destroyed the aptasia in my display. This was the only way for me to beat them. I tried EVERYTHING else prior to this. Nothing else worked for me. But, that was the case for me. Others have had success other ways. Just sharing my experience.

 

[Colesweat342]

I have 2 peppermint shrimp and a file fish in my 20 gallon cube. They destroyed the aptasia in my display. This was the only way for me to beat them. I tried EVERYTHING else prior to this. Nothing else worked for me. But, that was the case for me. Others have had success other ways. Just sharing my experience.

I’ve heard peppermint shrimp and file fish will target other corals I didn’t want to get them and them destroy the coral.

 

[TKCorals]

Berghia Nudibranch is definitely the way to go, since aiptasia is their only diet.

I breed and sell berghia and I have saved 100's of tanks over the years.

 

[fishnchips17]

I’ve heard peppermint shrimp and file fish will target other corals I didn’t want to get them and them destroy the coral.

Have you thought about copperband butterfly? When I had aptasia problems, I did research on the most reef safe solution: nudis were my first choice, but something kept killing them in my tank; then I went with copperband butterfly cause I read they were less likely to go after corals than peppermint shrimp or filefish. My copperband is a model citizen in my tank and has never gone after any corals, I have a mix reef with, zoas, leathers, lps, rfa, mushrooms. Bonus is that's its a beautiful fish.

 

[Macce]

I’ve heard peppermint shrimp and file fish will target other corals I didn’t want to get them and them destroy the co

I have had 4 diffrent peppermint shrimps over 3 years (2 at a time) had a nasty outbreak of aphasia like 60 of them fairly big when my fist two peppermint died. got 2 new and the aphasia was gone in a week. the peppermints had never eaten of my corals and i have LPS, SPS, Soft. I cant speak for all variants of peppermint but i have always had lysmata wurdemanni with no problen and i havent even feed them (fish free tank for 2,5 years) if you feed corals they might try to grab there food but jsut throw some on the side and they dont bother the corals.

 

[threebuoys]

Copperband Butterfly!

Early July I ordered the copperband. I spent a couple of weeks getting him to eat, then ran the full QT protocol, 30 days copper, 2 prazipro cycles. I added him to my display tank last weekend. Today I did a close inspection of my tank and I cannot find any remaining aptasia.

I would never have believed it if I had not seen it with my own eyes. I can't comprehend how he could have found and eaten all that were in the tank. I did not see him eat any of them, yet I can't find them today. Maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me. I don't know.

Knock on wood. This seems to have been magic, and no, I have not noticed the copperband nipping corals (YET), but he is eating other food.

 

[Uncle99]

Copper band.
100% wiped out in days.
Protects for any new ones.
Should have done that years ago.
Touch nothing else, loves PE mysis.

 

[exnisstech]

CBB obviously but is not an easy fish to get eating and competing for food with other fish, I have two. I also have two tanks with peppermint shrimp and aiptasia are all gone. I got the peppermints from reefcleaners

They've been fine with my haddoni

 

[Jesse Sunday]

Maybe I just haven't had bad experiences with Aiptasia, so I don't understand why they're considered such a nuisance. Whenever I get rock from my LFS, it comes with 4 or 5 "heads" on it but I never worry. My display tank usually takes care of them (maybe it's the 3 peppermint shrimp I have?) but some do survive in the sump.

Maybe I've been lucky?

What do you mean by "infestation"? I'd love to see a pic of your tank.

Majano on the other hand... they've taken over my biocube over the past few years. Whereever there is no GSP or BTA, there are majano. Hate hate hate them.

 

[threebuoys]

Maybe I just haven't had bad experiences with Aiptasia, so I don't understand why they're considered such a nuisance. Whenever I get rock from my LFS, it comes with 4 or 5 "heads" on it but I never worry. My display tank usually takes care of them (maybe it's the 3 peppermint shrimp I have?) but some do survive in the sump.

Maybe I've been lucky?

What do you mean by "infestation"? I'd love to see a pic of your tank.

Majano on the other hand... they've taken over my biocube over the past few years. Whereever there is no GSP or BTA, there are majano. Hate hate hate them.

In my case, they showed up back in the spring. They began multiplying at various places in my 125 gallon tank. On other rock, on a flow pump cover, on the return flow plumbing, on the sump overflow towers, on the base of several sps corals, etc I tried Aiptasia-x on many of them, unsuccessfully. A couple of weeks ago, I notice one had taken up residence in the middle of a large zoa colony. Definite eye sore and was directly affecting the Zoas. I was able to kill it with Aiptasia-X (fist and only success), but I have a large hole in the colony now where the chemical killed surrounding polyps. I should have waited until I added the Copperband to see if he would have taken it out without damage to the surrounding zoa polyps.

I had planned to buy the peppermint shrimp too, in case the copperband didn't work. So I can mark that off my list for the time being.