Best Fish for Aiptasia

[piranhaman00]

Hello,

What are people’s thoughts on best fish for Aiptasia besides Copperband? Looking for something relatively reef safe, looks like Kleini or filefish, any others?

Berghia and shrimp are not an option.

edit no Aiptasia Concoctions either

 

[SlugSnorter]

current tank stockings and tank size? including corals and nems. Maybe best to use anti aiptasia chemicals

 

[piranhaman00]

current tank stockings and tank size? including corals and nems. Maybe best to use anti aiptasia chemicals

150 gallon, corals and nems, fish suggestions only, those chemicals only spread the infection.

 

[Lavey29]

How do the chemicals spread the infection? Aptasia x seems to work well and others just use lemon juice, kalk paste or even boiling water in a syringe.

 

[pecan2phat]

My last two matted filefish, both at different times have not even looked at aiptasia, so they are off my list. Both also nipped at SPS FYI.

 

[Tamberav]

Boiling water never spread them for me.

The fish are hit or miss on reef safeness and if they will eat nems. So just try one of the popular ones and see what happens. Have a fish trap ready.

 

[ying yang]

Not a chemical method but have you read of boiling water and injecting into mouth of the aiptasia?
Read this from @Tamberav first and from others and seems very effective method, I got 5 or 6 small ones on a small zoa rock im going pull out dt soon and try it on.

I've read the correct file fish.
Copperbands and some more from the same family are good additions to combat aiptasia,other than that only true peppermint shrimp so not much help sorry.
Good luck and hopefully you win the war ^_^

Edit: there you go tamberav beat me to it ha ha

 

[davidcalgary29]

I haven't had any success with fish-as-control at all: my matted filefish did destroy an acan colony, though.

I could only clear out aiptasia from two of my tanks with berghia nudibranchs. One tank remains infested -- something kept eating the nudibranchs -- but the aiptasia are kept in check with @Tamberav 's boiling water method.

 

[Tamberav]

You don’t even need to aim well. If they suck back into the rock just flood the hole with a generous amount of water and they will melt to sludge.

 

[piranhaman00]

My last two matted filefish, both at different times have not even looked at aiptasia, so they are off my list. Both also nipped at SPS FYI.

Are matted and “Aiptasia eating” the same filefish?

I have used copperband in the past and fish control is nice because you don’t have to keep injecting them with water, kalk etc. CBB are just very hard to qt. Nudi worked wonderfully for me in past but they are not an option with current stock list.

Might try orange butterfly

 

[SlugSnorter]

150 gallon, corals and nems, fish suggestions only, those chemicals only spread the infection.

take epoxy or coral glue and seal those guys in a caste of death.

 

[dwest]

A kleini worked for me but also ate acans. Im guessing meaty LPS and kleini not good pair.

 

[wattson]

Matte file fish , Molly Miller Blenny ,,

 

[KonradTO]

When I found my first aip I superglued it in its hole. Then I found 5 more after one week. I decided to get rid of the rock (fortunately was feasible) and no aip anymore. I keep a tank for fun where I have the aiptasia rock and that thing survives everything, when you think is dead you will find 10 more small ones.

 

[SlugSnorter]

When I found my first aip I superglued it in its hole. Then I found 5 more after one week. I decided to get rid of the rock (fortunately was feasible) and no aip anymore. I keep a tank for fun where I have the aiptasia rock and that thing survives everything, when you think is dead you will find 10 more small ones.

cant just seal the hole, you have to embalm it in a shell of death where it cannot ever contact water again

 

[KonradTO]

cant just seal the hole, you have to embalm it in a shell of death where it cannot ever contact water again

yeah unfortunately the foot was deep in the hole so I had to use a full tubestick of glue. Still did not work, those things are immortal.

 

[SlugSnorter]

yeah unfortunately the foot was deep in the hole so I had to use a full tubestick of glue. Still did not work, those things are immortal.

take a laser and scorch em.

 

[GHOSTLY]

Understandable not using chemicals. For 150 id say a cbb but its really not worth the stress. Rather perhaps 1 or 2 biota filefish

 

[SlugSnorter]

Understandable not using chemicals. For 150 id say a cbb but its really not worth the stress. Rather perhaps 1 or 2 biota filefish

some do not go for aphistasia, some will eat other tank creatures.

 

[GHOSTLY]

some do not go for aphistasia, some will eat other tank creatures.

I'm aware of that. I'm going off the success my lfs had with them. I really can't think of any truly reef safe aiptasia ewtwrs that won't go after other nems or clams, perhaps even coral