Aptasia infestation

[somerandomguy]

I am buying a tank from a friend of mine as he is moving and cannot take it with him. This is not my first tank but it has been a while since I had one, I am planning on tearing it down completely to move it into my house. This tank is absolutely infested with aptasia...very badly at that, I was looking for suggestions on how to completely eliminate them before I set it back up, any advice is greatly appreciated

 

[Big G]

Welcome to R2R! The most common method is to turn loose a Filefish in the tank. Problem is that once the aiptasia is gone the fish can starve so most would recommend re-homing at that time. Copperband Butterflyfish just love to eat aiptasia as it is one of their primary forage foods in the wild. Great excuse to get one of these difficult to "get eating" fish.

 

[Scott Williamson]

I had a tank with a healthy population of aptasia as well and a copper band butterfly is well suited for the job. However, They can be difficult to adapt to captivity. If you can afford a Australian copper band they tend to be hardier because of collecting regulations. Another option is to have the local fish store feed the tank and pick a copper band butterfly that eats...has clear eyes and fins...and a robust body... and does not seem to have labored breathing. Heathy copper bands tend to swim around and pick so if you can stand back and observe this behavior it is a good sign. In my experience having aptasia in the tank can help stimulate the natural feeding behavior. Once they are eating aptasia I would recommend introducing PEmysis soaked in Selcon. PEMYSIS is a high quality food and Selcon is like a Big Mac in a bottle and helps to put mass on fish rapidly. Hope this helds!

 

[Big G]

I had a tank with a healthy population of aptasia as well and a copper band butterfly is well suited for the job. However, They can be difficult to adapt to captivity. If you can afford a Australian copper band they tend to be hardier because of collecting regulations. Another option is to have the local fish store feed the tank and pick a copper band butterfly that eats...has clear eyes and fins...and a robust body... and does not seem to have labored breathing. Heathy copper bands tend to swim around and pick so if you can stand back and observe this behavior it is a good sign. In my experience having aptasia in the tank can help stimulate the natural feeding behavior. Once they are eating aptasia I would recommend introducing PEmysis soaked in Selcon. PEMYSIS is a high quality food and Selcon is like a Big Mac in a bottle and helps to put mass on fish rapidly. Hope this helds!

Hello, Scott! Welcome to R2R! +1 to everything you just posted. Good advice.

 

[Ubergroover]

if your starting from scratch, drain it and fill it with fresh water....soak all the equipment in it. drain it a day or 2 later, let dry then fill and setup...

 

[Hemmdog]

https://www.marinedepot.com/Majano_...minator-PS_Aquatics_LLC-4P1111-FIMIMW-vi.html

This thing works wonders for the ones you can’t get rid of and your shrimp/fish refuse to eat.

 

[somerandomguy]

if your starting from scratch, drain it and fill it with fresh water....soak all the equipment in it. drain it a day or 2 later, let dry then fill and setup...

Would i need to cycle the tank again after doing this?

 

[Ubergroover]

Would i need to cycle the tank again after doing this?

100%....If your starting from scratch.

 

[Bob Weigant]

I’ve found peppermint shrimp can also do a good job. Nearly wiped them all out