Dip for aptasia?

TheIcon42 · Sep 23, 2019

I have a zoa plug currently on a frag rack that has aptasia all over it, is there a safe dip I can use to get rid of it? I’ve been using aptasia X but it doesn’t seem to be doing much.

GregOyeah · Sep 23, 2019

I don’t think there’s a dip you can use that wouldn’t kill the zoas in the process.

You should try ‘F Aiptasia’ by Franks tanks. It’s a similar process to Aiptasia X but it will kill the Aiptasia without coming back. You CANT get it on your zoas though, it’ll burn them

COreef8 · Sep 23, 2019

Unfortunately, dips will not get rid of Aiptasia. Since it is still on the plug, I've had success with taking the frag out of the water, then scraping the Aiptasia off the at the base with a razor. I scrub the area well, dip it in some saltwater (which gets thrown away) then putting it back in the tank. So far, I've had 100% success ridding frag plugs of Aiptasia this way. Good luck!

John08007 · Sep 23, 2019

Could get a peppermint shrimp, cleared my tank of them-but i only had 5-6

brawthy · Sep 24, 2019

Sadly, unless you want to kill the coral it's affixed too, dipping is not an option.

your best bet is to set up a qt system and watch the frag over a period of a few weeks. If you see any sign of aiptasia you can apply aiptasia x. Rinse and repeat until you don't see any others pop up in the weeks following

You could also get a little frag rack for your dt to keep an eye on the frag if you can't get a separate system running. Obviously, this incurs a higher risk of the aiptasia spreading through your dt.

If aiptasia does start making its way into the main, I would suggest aggressive treatments with aiptasia x or berghia nudibranchs.