aiptasia Start over or not

[bblumberg]

copperband butterfly everytime i buy that fish put them in QT they die, i already bought 4 of them they all died

I lost every single one I ever tried in quarantine (probably at least 6), despite that they ate, until following Paul B's advice (and that of LFS where I bought them) not to quarantine. According to Paul, CBBs tend not to do well in quarantine. I put one directly into my 150g reef and another one from the same tank at the same store in quarantine with a well-seasoned sponge filter and an ammonia indicator (never saw any ammonia). The one in my 150g reef hid in the rocks for a few days, then came out and has been great ever since nearly 1 year later. It competes successfully for food with larger and aggressive tangs, and also holds its own agains them. The one in quarantine ate mysis but died in about 2 weeks as most of those I tried have done.

I got another CBB for my frag tank and again put it in there directly after acclimation. Result was the same - it is doing well and is an aggressive and voracious eater about 5 months in.

Perhaps if you have a quarantine tank that is well-established with good live rock and a few cheap corals, quarantine will work for you. From now on, any new CBBs I get will go into my frag tank to get settled and then to their final destination afterward.

 

[bblumberg]

+1 on Copperband butterfly. Been keeping my tank under control from Aiptasia. I had them and then CBB ate them all and now I visibly cannot see them. CBB keeps my cleaning crew in check too, picks on the Bristleworms which too many can be a pain too so I’m happy with my CBB.

Mine loves small bristleworms, too!

 

[Texas Rick]

I've tried the file fish, pepermint shrimp, and the nudibrachs. unfortunately for me, none of those worked. I had to throw away my rock, throw away my sand and clean my tank extremely good. added a couple of wave pumps and bought new rock, new sand and gained alot from it. i also switched my salt to Red Sea Coral Pro salt. The water actually looks flawless after the switch.

 

[Reeferfrank]

I am having aiptasia in my system what should I do

1. Kill the aiptasia
2. Start a new tank


Seems to me doesn’t matter how much you kill they still come back

Either buy Red Sea aiptasia killer very easy to do or get a couple of file fish they will eat them tout sweet.

 

[seldon]

I've had fantastic luck with peppermint shrimp. I had 150 gallon stock tank with live rock in it that was completely infested. I put three of them in there and after a couple weeks they were completely gone.

 

[Reeferfrank]

I've tried the file fish, pepermint shrimp, and the nudibrachs. unfortunately for me, none of those worked. I had to throw away my rock, throw away my sand and clean my tank extremely good. added a couple of wave pumps and bought new rock, new sand and gained alot from it. i also switched my salt to Red Sea Coral Pro salt. The water actually looks flawless after the switch.

Then you should have went with the Red Sea product that would have eradicated them

 

[MombasaLionfish]

Start an aiptasia jar.

 

[Bj’s Reef]

I have to break down my tank for a room remodeling job in a few weeks. My plan is to put the corals in a smaller tank and work on killing tha aptasia that I find around the frag plugs etc. As for the rocks I plan on putting them in a plastic bin with tank water and a pump for circulation. Then I’m going to put a lid on the bin to cut off all the light coming into the bin. My hope is that the total darkness will kill them off in a week or two. What’s your thoughts on this idea.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Simplify it- Put in a $30 kleini butterfly which will eat them like candy and wipe then out in 5-7 days and after theyre gone, will eat ALL fish food offered and also a peaceful tankmate

 

[Baldguy]

Molly Miller Blennies are another natural remedy. Very hardy and entertaining in groups whether you've got aiptasia or not.

 

[blasterman]

Lemon juice or vinegar in an insulin syringe and injected directly into them has a high percent on success. Its initially a lot of work but if you keep on it you will soon get over it.

Large outbreaks of Aiptasia will eventually out compete and hurt soft corals and LPS, so it's not a benign organism.

 

[Laurence Kofsky]

I am having aiptasia in my system what should I do

1. Kill the aiptasia
2. Start a new tank


Seems to me doesn’t matter how much you kill they still come back

I had the same issues in my reef. The answer is easy. Purchase a green matted file fish. Once established the one I have cleaned the tank up almost over night. I have not seen any more aiptasia at all in my reef. They have all vanished.

 

[Phildago]

Peppermint shrimp to the rescue. They have saved my tank on multiple occasions

 

[hankacrank]

I think this really depends on the size of your tank. If your tank is small and manageable, I remember I defeated them a decade ago simply by injecting a small amount of lemon juice into them with a syringe. One-by-one. Every several days as they emerged.

 

[seldon]

I have to break down my tank for a room remodeling job in a few weeks. My plan is to put the corals in a smaller tank and work on killing tha aptasia that I find around the frag plugs etc. As for the rocks I plan on putting them in a plastic bin with tank water and a pump for circulation. Then I’m going to put a lid on the bin to cut off all the light coming into the bin. My hope is that the total darkness will kill them off in a week or two. What’s your thoughts on this idea.

Don't rely on total darkness. That won't be enough to eliminate them.

 

[tony'stank]

Don’t start over. Even with good quarantine practices you will end reintroduring them. I used lemon injection until they overran my tank. I then tried filefish which didn’t work. I tried Bohemia nudibranch but my Blut tang ate them .i then used peppermint shrimp which removed almost all the aiptasia. I still have some aiptasia but the shrimp keep them suppressed

 

[Jimmyneptune]

CBB = copperband butterfly. Hit or Miss in my experience, which is the case for pretty much every method except for the berghia nudis

CBB is a miss for me wouldn’t touch the aiptasia. I’m going to get some Berghia nudis

 

[charged]

Peppermint shrimp worked for me. However once aptasia was gone they died off. Now I'm seeing some come back. Problem with them and they can be in places where they can't be seen easily. Behind rocks, in overflow, Sump, Plumbing. That is where difficulties eradicating them comes in. Nudi's seem like a good option. Can anyone tell me if it's safe to put them in the overflow? Mine came in from chaeto I had purchased.

 

[Jimmyneptune]

....those needle sold with Aptasia-X ...much more effective when filled with 35% H2O2 ;Spiderman
the funny part is watching them turn to bubbles... so far no multiplying offspring as a side effect either

That works?
I was killing byropsis on a piece of rock by spraying with H202. It is clean of byropsis full of aiptasia. On the + side the aiptasia doesn't have all that pesky briopsis to deal with.

 

[dopey]

Has anyone ever tried just sucking them out during a water change? After accidentally sucking off a mushroom(woops!).. it got me thinking if I ever saw aptasia again id try just sucking it off.

Decent diameter hose creates a pretty powerful suction.