Apastasia question

Brew12 · Mar 12, 2017

So I had some apastasia come in on a frag plug. It was so small when I got it that I didn't even see it for over 3 months and it survived a Bayer dip. I thought I had eliminated it when I pulled the plug, scraped it off and covered where it was in super glue. A piece of it must have stuck to the live rock where I had put the plug because today I noticed one growing where the frag plug used to be.

So, I pulled the piece of live rock and it is sitting in a bucket drying out in my garage. My question is this. How long should I let the rock dry out before it is safe to put back into my tank? Just wait until it is completely dry?

basile · Mar 12, 2017

Those are the scourge of the universe. I say boil it silly and the soak it in RO water . If its to big to boil have a happy campfire and throw it in and cook it the oven does the same thing......lol yes i'm paranoide but they're worst than Hydra in Mythological Greece

vertigo01 · Mar 12, 2017

I wouldn't boil the rock, just due to the fact that there could be some hidden nasties that may make your life miserable. Would be even worse if you put it in the oven.

If you plan on putting the rock back in, you could give it a bleach bath and the a soak in RODI.
Or if you really wanna clean it, Muriatic acid bath followed by bleach then a good RODI soaking.

IMHO I would have left it in the tank and gotten a peppermint shrimp to take care of it.

ahiggins · Mar 12, 2017

basile said:
Those are the scourge of the universe. I say boil it silly and the soak it in RO water.

Please don't boil it. It could explode.
Like vertigo said, bleach or dry out-that's extreme though.
I added 3 peppermints to my 25 gal and it's been over 6 months since I've see any.

ksfulk · Mar 12, 2017

Brew12 said:
So I had some apastasia come in on a frag plug. It was so small when I got it that I didn't even see it for over 3 months and it survived a Bayer dip. I thought I had eliminated it when I pulled the plug, scraped it off and covered where it was in super glue. A piece of it must have stuck to the live rock where I had put the plug because today I noticed one growing where the frag plug used to be.

So, I pulled the piece of live rock and it is sitting in a bucket drying out in my garage. My question is this. How long should I let the rock dry out before it is safe to put back into my tank? Just wait until it is completely dry?

Easiest solution would be to take a chisel and bust off the chunk you found the aiptasia on. Then watch it like a hawk. Ive had aiptasia survive on rock that was sitting "dry" for 3 weeks. Bleach will work. Muratic acid bath is also an option. Blowtorch if you are so inclined, but be careful if there were zoas/palys on the rock previously, as thats just asking for trouble.

Syntax1235 · Mar 12, 2017

When the rock is dry you should be good to go. If you don't want to wait use kalk paste or lime juice and squirt them with a syringe.

LetItReef · Mar 12, 2017

Brew12 said:
So, I pulled the piece of live rock and it is sitting in a bucket drying out in my garage. My question is this. How long should I let the rock dry out before it is safe to put back into my tank? Just wait until it is completely dry?

I did similar to this when a piece of rock had aptasia. I probably waited couples hours and put it back in my tank.

Best Fish-Jake · Mar 12, 2017

Squirt some 'ph down' straight into its mouth via syringe... works like a charm

Donovan Joannes · Mar 12, 2017

Kalkwasser paste works, everytime.

basile · Mar 13, 2017

I've use every method possible even a laser , lemon juice, aiptasia - an electric rod, bleach, the only thing that worked was boiling anyway good luck. i hate those thing with the heat of a NOva lol.

Luna · Mar 13, 2017

What to do if it on a small rock or plug with Zoas, then what do I do. Don't want to add peppermint shrimp, afraid they might eat my frags- ?????

Water Dog · Mar 13, 2017

I boil some RO/DI water, suck it up with a 10 ml syringe, then blast the heck out of it with the boing water. Keep a net handy to scoop up the cooked remnants that float away.

Syntax1235 · Mar 13, 2017

Luna said:
What to do if it on a small rock or plug with Zoas, then what do I do. Don't want to add peppermint shrimp, afraid they might eat my frags- ?????

Scrape it off with a toothpick and swish the rock in a small bowl of tank water, I've had to do this before and it worked.

Brew12 · Mar 13, 2017

ksfulk said:
Easiest solution would be to take a chisel and bust off the chunk you found the aiptasia on. Then watch it like a hawk. Ive had aiptasia survive on rock that was sitting "dry" for 3 weeks. Bleach will work. Muratic acid bath is also an option. Blowtorch if you are so inclined, but be careful if there were zoas/palys on the rock previously, as thats just asking for trouble.

I knew these guys were survivors but didn't know they were that good!

The little guy was deep into a hole in the rock so scraping it out or even super gluing like I did with the frag isn't practical. Just can't get to it. Fortunately, this was just a piece of extra rock I had sitting on the sand to eventually put zoas on. I'll just leave it in the attic for a year and replace it with some other left over rock.

Thanks guys!

Jongalt26 · Mar 13, 2017

As mentioned before, kalkwasser paste never ever failed me. Everything else has though including aiptasia X

Donovan Joannes · Mar 13, 2017

Brew12 said:
I knew these guys were survivors but didn't know they were that good!

The little guy was deep into a hole in the rock so scraping it out or even super gluing like I did with the frag isn't practical. Just can't get to it. Fortunately, this was just a piece of extra rock I had sitting on the sand to eventually put zoas on. I'll just leave it in the attic for a year and replace it with some other left over rock.

Thanks guys!

Kalkwasser paste is your answer. Squirt some into the hole using syringe. It will melt and will never come back. Be sure to turn off all wavemakers before doing so. As long as the paste is thick enough, it won't be blown all over the place.

4FordFamily · Mar 13, 2017

Water Dog said:
I boil some RO/DI water, suck it up with a 10 ml syringe, then blast the heck out of it with the boing water. Keep a net handy to scoop up the cooked remnants that float away.

I have tried this with mojano and aiptasia and it seemed only to spread them.

buckroe07 · Mar 13, 2017

I hate to say it but I equate those things to ich. Once one has been seen in the tank, it's in the tank.:mad: I really hope that's not the case but in my experience once I saw one and tried to get rid of it and thought I did, I saw another, and another, and another!

now I have berghia's in my tank and their slowly dwindling away

Donovan Joannes · Mar 13, 2017

buckroe07 said:
I hate to say it but I equate those things to ich. Once one has been seen in the tank, it's in the tank.:mad: I really hope that's not the case but in my experience once I saw one and tried to get rid of it and thought I did, I saw another, and another, and another! now I have berghia's in my tank and their slowly dwindling away

As long as you "terminate" them when you see one it won't come back. Letting them to grow a bit and releases some spores (or whatever replication method they use) is the reasons they keep on popping up. The best way to see one is when all light is off. Use a bright, pointed torch light and you will notice it even if they are still a baby.

Water Dog · Mar 13, 2017

4FordFamily said:
I have tried this with mojano and aiptasia and it seemed only to spread them.

I only had like three heads appear over the life of my current tank early on. Squirted them with boiling water in the syringe and haven't seen them since!