Aptasia?

[Bradley Keck]

 

[Mical]

yep

 

[Bradley Keck]

Hey everyone! So, I am on week 17 of my reef tank. Never have spotted anything close to this until this AM while the lights were still out. I added 4 small pieces of rock about two weeks ago, but I am pretty sure it had no aptasia on it. The only thing I can tell that is different from Aptasia, is it's oral disc is flush with the rock. No "stalk" if you will. Any chance it's not Aptasia?

 

[Bradley Keck]

It's on an original piece of rock that was put in at the start 17 weeks ago.

 

[DSC reef]

From the pic it looks like aptasia. Can you get a side view picture. Smaller aptasia have less pronounced stalks or sometimes they are hidden in the rock.

 

[Bradley Keck]

From the pic it looks like aptasia. Can you get a side view picture. Smaller aptasia have less pronounced stalks or sometimes they are hidden in the rock.

That's what I was wondering. Maybe there is hole right there or something and it's stalk is down in it. I have looked all over the tank and cannot spot anything else. He is on a piece of rock that is right in front. You can't miss it. I am positive he was not there just yesterday. Know way I would have missed him. I'll be curious to see if it stays out when the lights come on. If it is aptasia it should just stay out right? I'll try to get side view pic.

 

[Bradley Keck]

 

[KJ]

Aiptasia.

 

[DSC reef]

No doubt it's aptasia. I'd remove the rock and try to remove the aptasia. Make sure there is no tissue left behind. This will help prevent a future outbreak from messing with it in the tank. Aptasia are exceptional survivors. Had some live after 10 hours plus without water.

 

[Bradley Keck]

I'm on it. I have an acan and trumpet mounted on that rock. So, should I try to remove it with tweezers or something since there are corals on the rock too?

 

[DSC reef]

That makes it a little more difficult. I usually used a flat head and dug out the rock during a water change and rinsed in a seperate bucket. For rock I could not remove I used kalkwasser paste but it seemed to just control them instead of eliminating them. No matter what I injected it seemed to only make more aptasia sprout up.

 

[Bradley Keck]

That makes it a little more difficult. I usually used a flat head and dug out the rock during a water change and rinsed in a seperate bucket. For rock I could not remove I used kalkwasser paste but it seemed to just control them instead of eliminating them. No matter what I injected it seemed to only make more aptasia sprout up.

Thank You. That is good to know. I will try carefully removing it with tweezers and try to grasp it from the base as much as possible. Then I will cover that area with a little coral putty or something and hope that takes care of it. Man, now I'm going to have to really watch out for others to pop up. It's just crazy this thing showed up over night.

 

[lapin]

Kalkwasser paste or Aptasia-X. Make sure you shoot it down its throat to be 90% effective. Then paste over the hole with some super glue. If you see one there are prob others. It is a very common issue and needs to be addressed. Control is what we do. I find it nearly impossible to get rid of them. I find biological controls are the most effective.

 

[HawaiianReef]

If possible, quarantine the rock and then inject it with lemon juice or a slurry mixture of calcium or kalkwasser. With the slurry, be sure to cover the disc with the mixture as well. If you can, use aptasia X or Joes Juice on it.
If you attempt to remove it physically, tissue will enter the water column and create more. Dont do it.

Here's what your dealing with:
https://m.liveaquaria.com/article/294/?aid=294

 

[DSC reef]

Removing the aptasia was suggested outside of the tank, don't try that in the tank. If the rock can not be removed then kalk paste, aptasia x, etc may work fine.

 

[Bradley Keck]

Thanks for the advice all. I will not try to remove it while in the tank. I'll look into injecting it. I know all about these guys and have been watching out since week one. I suppose it was just a matter of time. If I start seeing more, I'll look into biological control. Thanks!

 

[SteveO83]

Howd it go? Have found the ap x is failing me and I need to find another way

 

[Bradley Keck]

I have applied the aptasia x twice now. Keeps coming back. So far, I have been able to keep it from spreading and I make sure to cover the whole disc, but I don't think I have been able to get it into its mouth. I am waiting for it to come out a little more and then I'm going to try to get the needle in its mouth. I have been looking everywhere for others and so far have not found any.

 

[Bradley Keck]

Each time I covered it, it would retract for about a week and then slowly come back out. It's definitely smaller than it originally was, but still going

 

[DSC reef]

Keep an eye out for babies sprouting up