Do peppermint shrimp REALLY kill aiptasia???

[Phyber]

I have a 65g reef, currently with about a dozen dime to nickle sized aiptasia in the rock work. I tried to get ahead of them with Aiptasia-X, but couldn't. I'd think I had them all licked and they'd just come back out after a few days.

I want to fix this before they spread more....I know berghia nudibranchs are the best bet, however I'm not finding them anywhere online, and my LFS said they were going to be extremely difficult to source with this pandemic, BUT, they did have peppermint shrimp in stock.

Should I try the shrimp? I already have two cleaner shrimp....I do have some zoas, LPS, SPS, etc. that I'd rather not turn to lunch. But if they'll really solve the problem I may consider getting some.

What's your experience?

 

[jblasi]

I can personally say that I have had both success and failure with peppermints. It is really a gamble. Some will do serious work, others will not give them the time of day. I wish I could give you a better answer . There are people on here that have had great success with them and others that will tell you it is not the right choice.
I am fighting them at this moment as well. I have peppermint in my tank. I used to have 4. They ate a few and then become uninterested. I have tried aiptasia-x, also with terrible results. I am looking at getting some Nudi’s and I have ordered some F-Aiptasia. Going to try those next.

 

[Phyber]

I can personally say that I have had both success and failure with peppermints. It is really a gamble. Some will do serious work, others will not give them the time of day. I wish I could give you a better answer . There are people on here that have had great success with them and others that will tell you it is not the right choice.
I am fighting them at this moment as well. I have peppermint in my tank. I used to have 4. They ate a few and then become uninterested. I have tried aiptasia-x, also with terrible results. I am looking at getting some Nudi’s and I have ordered some F-Aiptasia. Going to try those next.

I worry that the F-Aiptasia would be the same product as X. Seems like once the Aip's get established and a certain size they are immune. That or I'm being TOOO stingy with the squirting.

 

[NeSsyAqua]

There is different kinds of peppermint shrimps. Some arent even true peppermint shrimp but still sold as a "peppermint shrimp". I believe A (Lysmata wurdemanni) is the true aiptasia eating peppermint shrimp.

 

[LesPoissons]

I had one tiny aptasia tat my peppermint took care of in seconds. I have 1 big aptasia and the shrimp never went near it. I guess it depends on a variety of factors- shrimp size, aptasia size, availabilty of other food etc.

 

[jblasi]

I worry that the F-Aiptasia would be the same product as X. Seems like once the Aip's get established and a certain size they are immune. That or I'm being TOOO stingy with the squirting.

F works a little differently, at least from what I have read. It seems to have a lot of positive reviews, so I figured I would give it a shot.

 

[Phyber]

There is different kinds of peppermint shrimps. Some arent even true peppermint shrimp but still sold as a "peppermint shrimp". I believe A (Lysmata wurdemanni) is the true aiptasia eating peppermint shrimp.

Very good chart! My LFS is doing "drive thru sales" now so basically you tell them what you want, they bag it inside and bring it out. I wonder how patient they'd be with me scrutinizing the chart lol

 

[furyofthegnomes]

Salty Underground carries nudis, I just received some yesterday. Purchased 3 and an abalone and they gave me a free nudi.

Salty Underground: The best online store for saltwater livestock

Salty Underground is the online store for the saltwater aquarium hobbyist. We have a large selection of saltwater fish and other marine livestock for sale and always free shipping after $169

saltyunderground.com

 

[Phyber]

Salty Underground carries nudis, I just received some yesterday. Purchased 3 and an abalone and they gave me a free nudi.

Salty Underground: The best online store for saltwater livestock

Salty Underground is the online store for the saltwater aquarium hobbyist. We have a large selection of saltwater fish and other marine livestock for sale and always free shipping after $169

saltyunderground.com

How was the shipping quality/speed? That's my hold up... I plan to order 3-4 nudis but the shipping costs more than them and they're still just 1/2"...not sure if that's enough or not.

I have one more LFS I'm waiting to tell me if they have them/can get them...I guess I'll pull the trigger on Salty if not.

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

They don't always kill them, but they do give aptasia the stink eye.

 

[furyofthegnomes]

They do free overnight shipping on orders over $75. Between the three nudibranchs and the abalone my total was around $77 so I had free shipping. Packaging was good, they include a little wide mouth pipette for handling the berghias.

 

[furyofthegnomes]

I got 1/4 inch berghias but looks like they'll have 1/2 inch ones in twelve days.

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

They do, but they can't always completely eradicate them

 

[Klaas]

I have a 65g reef, currently with about a dozen dime to nickle sized aiptasia in the rock work. I tried to get ahead of them with Aiptasia-X, but couldn't. I'd think I had them all licked and they'd just come back out after a few days.

I want to fix this before they spread more....I know berghia nudibranchs are the best bet, however I'm not finding them anywhere online, and my LFS said they were going to be extremely difficult to source with this pandemic, BUT, they did have peppermint shrimp in stock.

Should I try the shrimp? I already have two cleaner shrimp....I do have some zoas, LPS, SPS, etc. that I'd rather not turn to lunch. But if they'll really solve the problem I may consider getting some.

What's your experience?

I added 5 peppermint shrimps in my DT and still have Aiptasia. When I see new ones I treat them with Aiptasia-X with good results but then after a week they pop up elsewhere. Never in the same spot though. I just keep on killing them and thereby the aiptasia population is under control. But in my case it’s not going away.

 

[lck]

If it is talking about the true peppermint, it does clear at least some smaller sized aiptasia and how well a particular shrimp perform totally depends on the order of its own menu (sorry, always on the top of the list is regular fish foods). If a true peppermint is starving, it will probably start to do the job expected anyway.

 

[tehmadreefer]

Yes they do, ONLY IF you get the correct ones, as there are many that look like them but are not the ones the EAT not KILL aptasia.

 

[mattfish]

Nudis work ! But you have to be patient , it takes about two months. Got 10 for $120 from Salty Underground , just get the 1/4 inch place them careful on the rocks with the pipette. You wont see any diff for about 6 weeks, then all of a sudden Bam, ALL aptasia were completely gone. The nudis grow big and they multiply like crazy .After I had a hundred in the sump on a 139 gal system. But sadly they turn white and start to die off when no aptasia left.

 

[jordan9095]

Just make sure you get the right species and should work quickly. Very satisfying to watch

 

[AltitudeReefer]

I have a 65g reef, currently with about a dozen dime to nickle sized aiptasia in the rock work. I tried to get ahead of them with Aiptasia-X, but couldn't. I'd think I had them all licked and they'd just come back out after a few days.

I want to fix this before they spread more....I know berghia nudibranchs are the best bet, however I'm not finding them anywhere online, and my LFS said they were going to be extremely difficult to source with this pandemic, BUT, they did have peppermint shrimp in stock.

Should I try the shrimp? I already have two cleaner shrimp....I do have some zoas, LPS, SPS, etc. that I'd rather not turn to lunch. But if they'll really solve the problem I may consider getting some.

What's your experience?

I’ve had great success with peppermint shrimp, but I don’t think they go after the big ones. The little ones though, I never see them in my DT and if they pop up in any of my other tanks I grab a peppermint out of the DT and it solves the issue. My peppermints also eat bristle worms, and seem to teach each other how to do it, or make the other shrimp see them as a food source. My cleaner shrimp have also picked up this habit. All that being said, I think only some peppermints automatically go after aiptasia, but I also think they teach each other, so it couldn’t hurt to get some from different sources (bad timing for sure). Good luck!!
Here’s a cleaner having a snack!!

 

[Simply__J]

My little guy has kept my tank aptasia free for a year now. Once all the aptasia was gone I've been obliged to feed him reef roids. (Started bybaccident) I squirt a little at the entrance of his cave and he comes out to eat.