Best way to kill aiptasia

[Ace6090]

@Travis Stewart - There is only 1 true way of eliminating Aiptasia out of your tank so it will not grow back! They are called - Berghia Nudibranchs and they will 100% work guranteed.
Let's put this way, it took 8 #Nudibranchs to take care of alll of my Aiptasia

Berghia Nudibranchs

The best natural defense against Aiptasia is Berghia (Berghia Nudibranchs), as their sole diet is Aiptasia anemones. Berghia are non-toxic to corals and fish and are considered to be completely reef safe.

Reeftown recommends at least 1 Berghia per 10 gallons, but NEVER less than 3 Medium Berghia. Berghia need each other to Hunt, Feed & Breed. If you're not sure, it's best to overestimate rather than underestimate. Read more about selecting the right number of Berghia for your aquarium on our Estimating Needs page.

Reeftown recommends the Medium Berghia (Click Here) that lay eggs frequently and are available in greater quantities.



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Before picture with Apitasia thats covering all of my Live rock.

4 weeks after adding the a half of dozen Berghia Nudibranchs:

FYI - Nothing on the market works, Joes Juice, JUNK / Aiptasia X junk as well or any other product on the market...I tried them all in the 25 years I have been a reef keeper and the only think that works are Berghia Nudibranchs or the correct Peppermint Shrimp (Lysmata wurdemanni) will do the trick as well..

I have a tricolor wrasse in a 90 gallon. Does anyone know if it will eat nudibranch? I would like to try berghia nudibranch but not sure if the wrasse will eat them or the eggs.

 

[reeftigergal]

Vinegar right in the mouth and a puff of what looks like smoke.
ALL GONE. I’ve been doing this for So many years it’s shameful.
It’s really cool to watch them emplode and that little puff of smoke give instant revenge status’s was as well. Lol

 

[An ngo]

Just quick question, How cAn we apply lemon juice on aptasia, because when I put lemon juice into it’s mouth which enough to cover the whole disk, it start reacting and deflate right away. However, there are the root still there, so do they still grow it back. Should I put lemon juice on the root too??

 

[Acro maniac]

Unfortunately injecting anything into an aptasia, no matter what it is can cause this issue. This is why I recommend removing a rock if possible and deal with the pest out of the tank. If you don't have any predators to them, berghia work very well.

What is your out of tank treatment? Ive read that acid and bleach were not sucessful, but maybe just not long enough in the solution. I have removed all the rock from my tank cleaned and dried it out (tank), ran rodi water for a week, its now got salt back in but no rock.
The rock is in a tub with all my fish. I have cycled some base rock to replace the infested rock in the tub. And i would like to reuse the infested rock in the DT once the aiptasia is eradicated. So what is the process to be confident there are no spores that could return?

 

[DSC reef]

Manual removal and a wire brush too remove all tissue. A few thorough rinses in old saltwater, usually after a water change. Never had permanent success with any injection treatments. If we ever did have another infestation I think we would invest in nudibranchs.

 

[Acro maniac]

Manual removal and a wire brush too remove all tissue. A few thorough rinses in old saltwater, usually after a water change. Never had permanent success with any injection treatments. If we ever did have another infestation I think we would invest in nudibranchs.

No dry time or anything else???
A wire brush cant get all the tissue if there in a crevice or the base is deep in the rock, or babies unseen?? Ill do whatever if it works.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Wire brush . . . . . May leave metal bristles in pores and rust. Unless you get the aptasia 100%, the leftover tissue could contain cells for reproduction.
I like Mojano/Aptasia wand. there are a few for sale right now on R2R

 

[DSC reef]

You can use a hard plastic brush but never had an issue with wire. Rinse very well, and look over the rock a few times. For the aptasia in the holes of rock we used do our best with a screwdriver or sharp object and glue over the hole or holes after.

 

[Jon Fishman]

Remove 50% of tank's water, replace all 50% with "Real Lemon" bottled juice.



*Note: Not a reef, fish, Invertebrate, Live Rock, or Substrate safe method.

 

[An ngo]

In my experiment, I have tried lemon juices, nudibrand, file fish, copperband butterfly, and pepermint shrimp. I spent almost $500 on nudi and it turn out worse for some reason because I rely too much on nudi. After 3 months, my tank look nasty and aptasia has 1.5” diameter. Haven’t seen any nudi at the time, then I try to use lemon juice. It really effective if you know how to inject right at its mouth to advoid spreading out. By this method, I did twice a week, because you don’t want to put too much acid into your DT. My RBT suffer couple days, but 70% have gone. After 1 week small aptasia start pop up right next to died aptasia. One more thing I need to emphasize is I need to suck aptasia out after one day inject lemon juice. I used coral feeder to suck it out. Lemon juice work pretty well and cheap, but need to do often until all gone. Last method is peppermint shrimp, it may miss or hit, but lucky me. Aptasia came back after 1 month lazy to inject lemon juice, and PS eat all aptasia within 1 week. I witness so many times mt PS try to eat aptasia. There are few on my live rock, but my tank 97% out of aptasia. That your choice what you should choose, but you do it slow and it take time. So far PS is the beast of aptasia killer. I did try file fish and copperbanfd butterfly but turn out all dead and haven’t touch any aptasia. Hope this help. My aptasia battle take almost 6 months

 

[IvanW]

I like most people who have a reef tank also have Aptasia, I think it is just one of those things that we have to deal with as someone mentioned earlier it is about control rather than eradication. I have also and am still trying to keep them under control. I have used most of the the methods, and I am now onto a Copperband, which is not easy to keep alive until you can get them to eat. The one I have now has been in the tank for four weeks and is eating, but yet to touch the Aptasia, with that said it is a beautiful fish and a great addition to the tank.
I was at a lecture given by Dr Patrick Krug (Cal State Los Angeles) whose expertise is with sea slugs but also has extensive experience with Nudibranchs, he seem to think that the fish in most cases, Wrasses in particular will not touch Nudi's as they have a toxic mantle as a self defense mechanism (please do not jump down my throat in the event that this is not correct).

 

[MrObscura]

I don't think aptasi x makes it worse, they just spread naturally. It's what they do.

I use aptasi x to knock them out as I spot them. You have to keep at it. Unless you get some that'll eat every last one as they reproduce it'll probably always be an ongoing battle. I won't risk peppermint shrimp, if they'll eat aptasia they'll eat coral. Aptasi eating nudis are worth it if you have a major infestation.

 

[Haggisman14]

Check this stuff out:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/f-aiptasia.542934/

I used to use Aptasia X, and just spread the problem...2 treatments in my tank, and I'm pretty much aptasia less!

EDIT UPDATE: First treatment was almost 4 weeks ago, and the entire area I treated (some large aptasia, even some on the side of rocks that I couldn't fully cover), have been gone for the entire time.

Previously with Aptasia-X, they would hide for about 3-5 days, and then come back bigger.

 

[Orko]

I use a 4000mw laser. This is not the "wand" device commonly found at aquarium supply stores, but a VERY powerful laser pointer that literally burns the aiptasia underwater. As long as you have a direct line of sight to the aiptasia either through the tank glass or from above the water through a top-down viewing portal, you can zap them quickly and easily. Nothing more gratifying than hearing them crackle & sizzle underwater.

Where would someone acquire a laser pointer as powerful as this?

 

[SuncrestReef]

Where would someone acquire a laser pointer as powerful as this?

I got mine on eBay. Search for "aiptasia laser". There are also several websites that sell a variety of lasers. Just be sure it's 450 nm wavelength and at least 3000 mw (3 watts) or more in power.

 

[Belgian Anthias]

I got mine on eBay. Search for "aiptasia laser". There are also several websites that sell a variety of lasers. Just be sure it's 450 nm wavelength and at least 3000 mw (3 watts) or more in power.

Why 450 nm? Is it the wavelength wich is most important or the light intensity?

 

[jd371]

I've used Nudis in the past with success. Recently I found a few in my tank so I opted to try something new, F-Aptasia. It's sold by a sponsor on here Franks Tanks. So far I killed 4 of them and haven't seen more come back. The thing with this stuff is it stays put and doesn't get blown off when the pumps are turned on, so if applied over holes they stayed covered.

 

[fishybizzness]

I too have been battling aptasia for awhile now. To me, keeping a reef tank is like an ongoing experiment. I first tried a filefish and was very successful. All the aptasia were visibly gone in about 2 weeks at which point it took a liking to my zoas and Duncan. It had to go. Within a few weeks the aptasia were everywhere again. I then tried kalk paste which was partly successful but never really under control unless I was applying it bi-weekly. I then tried lemon juice with very little success. I then read somewhere that some people had success with banded coral shrimp. I got a banded pair a few months ago to try. The first month had no noticable effect. After that, I started noticing that I wasn't seeing any new aptasia popping up. The last few weeks I have noticed that there are less and less every week. Today I counted about 5 and noticed that they have shrunk down to less than 1/2 their previous size. My question is, has anyone else had success with banded coral shrimp or is this all in my mind...

 

[Belgian Anthias]

?

I too have been battling aptasia for awhile now. To me, keeping a reef tank is like an ongoing experiment. I first tried a filefish and was very successful. All the aptasia were visibly gone in about 2 weeks at which point it took a liking to my zoas and Duncan. It had to go. Within a few weeks the aptasia were everywhere again. I then tried kalk paste which was partly successful but never really under control unless I was applying it bi-weekly. I then tried lemon juice with very little success. I then read somewhere that some people had success with banded coral shrimp. I got a banded pair a few months ago to try. The first month had no noticable effect. After that, I started noticing that I wasn't seeing any new aptasia popping up. The last few weeks I have noticed that there are less and less every week. Today I counted about 5 and noticed that they have shrunk down to less than 1/2 their previous size. My question is, has anyone else had success with banded coral shrimp or is this all in my mind...

Did you actally see the shrimp feed on the aptasia? Mayby it does attack the aptaisia when stiched?

 

[fishybizzness]

?
Did you actally see the shrimp feed on the aptasia? Mayby it does attack the aptaisia when stiched?

Stitched?