Anenome appeared from nowhere.

Moody66 · Jun 20, 2017

I am new to saltwater aquariums. Been freshwater for years. The one I have has been running 6 weeks or so. The wife and I bought some rock from a lfs about 7-10 days ago and I saw an anenome three days ago. Not sure whether It's bad or good. Hopefully one of you more experiences reefers will know. So many look alike... Feel free to chime in. Any knowledge Is good. And much appreciated!

ndrwater · Jun 20, 2017

Aptasia. Nuisance Anemone. Remove is asap.
Best way is to remove the rock if possible and scrape it off since your tank is new.
Other options are Aptasia-X or a product called Joe's Juice.
When threatened, Aptasia will release spores causing more and more.

Moody66 · Jun 20, 2017

I was afraid of that after looking at many pictures. He is very small. 3/8" or so. Can they reproduce that small? Thanks for the heads up. He will be gone tomorrow one way or another.

ndrwater · Jun 20, 2017

Yup.. they never get all that big, just reproduce quick enough to make rabbits blush...

Snookin · Jun 20, 2017

That live rock looks very new. Hopefully you don't have any corals or fish. I'd take it out and dry it out. Even a small aptasia can reproduce quickly. There are a lot of hit or miss methods to kill them when you have livestock but if you don't just start over. It's only been a week. Dry it out and start over. That rock looks like dry rock already. I'd be very apprehensive about buying from that LFS again. What price per pound did you pay for that?

Moody66 · Jun 20, 2017

I have a lot of nicely coraline covered rocks. And live sand. That was just a coral skeleton i like the shape of and picked up for decoration. It will look awesome when It's covered in coraline. I removed that peice from the tank. Scraped him out with a knife and just to make sure I took needle nose pliers and broke that peice off. Now to dread the coming days and weeks to watch if it reproduced before I got it out... So glad I came here. I have been reading several hours a day for weeks. Much of it on this forum. Identifying things has been my uphill battle. So many things look like other species and such. Hopefully this one will NEVER be in my tank again..

Moody66 · Jun 20, 2017

oh. The price of that was 2.99 a pound. It was dry so no water weight. My live rock has been aquarium kept for 7months. I paid 6.99 a pound for the aged live rock.

Moody66 · Jun 20, 2017

Apraxia x will be here tomorrow... Just in case. Love this forum. I could read for years and not soak it all up. Sigh.

ReefMaster101 · Jun 20, 2017

looks like aptasia to me.

Moody66 · Jun 20, 2017

He's gone. Along with the rock he was stuck too. How long does it take before they are noticeable if he spawned?

ndrwater · Jun 20, 2017

Hard to say really. Keep your eyes open for the next few weeks.
Unfortunately, Aptasia are unwittingly added on live rock, frags, in Chaeto etc..
The real trick is staying on top of the situation before they get out of control

jd371 · Jun 21, 2017

ndrwater said:
The real trick is staying on top of the situation before they get out of control

This. My tank has been up for 2 years, this is the approach I took when I first spotted one a few months in after the tank was set up. I would spend a couple of minutes each day to look for them and kill them with Aptasia-X. Never got rid of them totally, but it did help to keep them under control and not infest the whole tank.
I recently added a Copper Band Butterfly and I noticed that I don't see that much Aptasia, I assume he's chowing down on the small ones that pop up. I do see some big ones that I believe are out of his reach and take care of those with Aptasia-X.

madweazl · Jun 21, 2017

If it was on a piece of dry rock, it originated from some of your live rock. If there is one, there is likely more so keep an eye out for them.

Moody66 · Jun 21, 2017

Thanks to all. I will be diligent and keep an eye out. When I add fish I will be sure to pick one of those up. Almost tempted to start over. But the wait of another cycling would really suck. Lol. I also found out there is a Nudibranch I think it's called that will eat them efficiently as well. Expensive. But if they won't attack other things I will get a few of them as well.

Moody66 · Jun 21, 2017

Berghia is the species I am looking at. Anyone have an opinion on Berghia to remedy aptasia and not attack other things in my tank?

ndrwater · Jun 21, 2017

Kinda spendy, but effective. Wrasses would probably munch them.

Moody66 · Jun 21, 2017

I will look into those as well. Six line Wrasses look nice.

Snookin · Jun 21, 2017

Moody66 said:
I will look into those as well. Six line Wrasses look nice.

You would regret adding a 6 Line. They are mean as hell. They sell like gangbusters because they are cheap and they do look cool. But, they are mean. There's a 90% it will kill and attack any new fish introduced to your tank. Add it last if at all. But, IME stay away at all cost. People will disagree on this forum and that's the problem with public forums. You will side with the opinions you agree with.

spiraling · Jun 21, 2017

be careful adding fish or anything for pest control
copper band butterfly's have very specific requirements and are very difficult to keep for most people. IME six lines will eat flatworms, but not aptasia. (and will go after all future additions an probably kill them) Peppermint shrimp will eat the small ones, and are probably a better option if you want that route.
Your best way is to keep an eye out - and remember to look in your sump or filtration or other areas - and kill them with the aptaisia x. it takes minutes a day, and will completely eradicate them in time. i had a really bad infestation in a frag tank, and within 3 months (of not being lazy) got them all. peppermint shrimp for me is a second choice. You can totally eradicate them as long as you dont let them go for a few weeks.