Found my first aiptasia.. Is that bad?

[KonradTO]

Hey folks,
I am 2 weeks into cycling process with 6 pounds (only) of LR + some biomedia (30 gal tank). I was very happy with LR because I enjoy this unknown diversity that comes with it. After 2 weeks I found my first aiptasia, it's halfway in a hole so I didn't see it before. Hopefully it's only one and didn't spread yet..
Now I removed the LR and placed it in a bin with light an a pump for keeping the LR healthy. I red many posts about this, and as far as I understood it's not a good idea to treat with kalkwasser because it will spread fragments around and increase in numbers. The best I could come up with was to isolate the rock and treat it separately. Now, giving that I would like to avoid to reduce biodiversity on the LR, what do you think is best to selectively kill the aiptasia? I am leaving for holidays in few days so I doubt I can get a aiptasia-eating shrimp and find it alive after 2 weeks without food with 1 aiptasia only, given that water quality is good enough.
Should I wait till I am back from holidays and then treat the LR with shrimps separately with a risk that it will spread in other parts of the rock ?
Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[SchrutesReefs]

You could pick up some Aiptasia-x l, F-aiptasia, or similar product. Comes with a syringe and directions are simple to follow.

 

[KonradTO]

You could pick up some Aiptasia-x l, F-aiptasia, or similar product. Comes with a syringe and directions are simple to follow.

Isn't aiptasia-x just kalkwasser? I red many posts here on the forum about such products just spreading aiptasia rather than killing it.. But I have literally 0 experience maybe someone that used it successfully has some tips..

 

[Sebastiancrab]

The easiest thing to do is take it out of water and scrape/pry it off. Then put a dab of super glue on the spot. Make sure the glue is reef safe.

 

[KonradTO]

The easiest thing to do is take it out of water and scrape/pry it off. Then put a dab of super glue on the spot. Make sure the glue is reef safe.

Do you think scaping epoxy (the one you mix the 2 tubes together) would work?

 

[Sebastiancrab]

It has to be made out of cyanoacrylate. I used Lactite super glue.

 

[LeftyReefer]

I found my first aiptasia in my tank this week too. Tank has been up 13 months, with not a single one in site, until now.

First I noticed two on a small rock towards the back of the tank that could be easily removed... no corals growing on it. No big deal I thought. Then I noticed 2 more on a rock with my duncan attached and then 1 more on a rock with a hammer attached. That made it five total, that I could see. I scoured the rest of the tank looking for more, but those 5 were all I could find.

I started by removing the one rock that didn't have anything attached. I placed it into a 5 gallon metal bucket and used a blowtorch to burn the aiptasia anemones on that rock. Rinsed it off then put it back in the tank.

The other two rocks that had corals attached, were not going to be blowtorch friendly.... So I ran to the LFS and grabbed the last 2 peppermint shrimp they had and took them home. put them in the tank and they disappeared into the rocks. Next morning, I check the tank and there's no aiptasia to be seen. The 3 remaining aiptasia anemones were gone. That was the good news.

The bad news is that my Duncan has not come out since that first night either... I'm thinking the shrimp must have attacked it that night too. Its been completely closed up for 2 days now since. Not a tentacle in sight, closed up tight.
It's never closed up... its always open and flowing in the current. I love my duncan!

I'm going to give these shrimp another night or two, but then they are going back to the LFS if they can't get along with my corals. I'm not going to let (2) $9 shrimp destroy my corals that I've tended too for this long. That duncan was one of my first corals. And unfortunately for the shrimp... I have no attachment to them so back they will go!

 

[Gtinnel]

It has to be made out of cyanoacrylate. I used Lactite super glue.

It doesn't have to be superglue, OP could use a 2 part epoxy as long as they're are talking about the same stuff we use to stick frags down with. So basically the stuff that is a putty like consistency that gets kneaded together and not the liquid type of 2 part epoxy.
I personally use jb waterweld which can be bought at walmart and is completely reef safe.

 

[KonradTO]

I found my first aiptasia in my tank this week too. Tank has been up 13 months, with not a single one in site, until now.

First I noticed two on a small rock towards the back of the tank that could be easily removed... no corals growing on it. No big deal I thought. Then I noticed 2 more on a rock with my duncan attached and then 1 more on a rock with a hammer attached. That made it five total, that I could see. I scoured the rest of the tank looking for more, but those 5 were all I could find.

I started by removing the one rock that didn't have anything attached. I placed it into a 5 gallon metal bucket and used a blowtorch to burn the aiptasia anemones on that rock. Rinsed it off then put it back in the tank.

The other two rocks that had corals attached, were not going to be blowtorch friendly.... So I ran to the LFS and grabbed the last 2 peppermint shrimp they had and took them home. put them in the tank and they disappeared into the rocks. Next morning, I check the tank and there's no aiptasia to be seen. The 3 remaining aiptasia anemones were gone. That was the good news.

The bad news is that my Duncan has not come out since that first night either... I'm thinking the shrimp must have attacked it that night too. Its been completely closed up for 2 days now since. Not a tentacle in sight, closed up tight.
It's never closed up... its always open and flowing in the current. I love my duncan!

I'm going to give these shrimp another night or two, but then they are going back to the LFS if they can't get along with my corals. I'm not going to let (2) $9 shrimp destroy my corals that I've tended too for this long. That duncan was one of my first corals. And unfortunately for the shrimp... I have no attachment to them so back they will go!

I am sorry to hear that.. I am lucky since at the moment I have only some small featherworms and asterinas so I could actually try to burn it. The only problem is that the stem seems inside an hole.. I might burn it, than cover with glue the hole and the surrounding holes so I am sure there is no way out

 

[KonradTO]

It doesn't have to be superglue, OP could use a 2 part epoxy as long as they're are talking about the same stuff we use to stick frags down with. So basically the stuff that is a putty like consistency that gets kneaded together and not the liquid type of 2 part epoxy.
I personally use jb waterweld which can be bought at walmart and is completely reef safe.

That's good news, as I just ordered this morning some microbe lift epoxy for scaping.

 

[Gtinnel]

That's good news, as I just ordered this morning some microbe lift epoxy for scaping.

I've never heard of it before so I just looked it up and that should work just fine. I just realized you're from Germany so I don't even know if you can readily get the JB waterweld that I mentioned but if you can it's safe to use as well.

 

[KonradTO]

Well now the epoxy putty I have found it's ordered, I will try tomorrow to fry it up and then cover the hole with epoxy. I was going to order it anyway for my dry rocks so.. Hopefully there is not too many undetected somewhere else. I might get some peppermint shrimps when the tank is a bit more crowded because right now I fear they will eat my feather dusters

 

[Sebastiancrab]

It doesn't have to be superglue, OP could use a 2 part epoxy as long as they're are talking about the same stuff we use to stick frags down with. So basically the stuff that is a putty like consistency that gets kneaded together and not the liquid type of 2 part epoxy.
I personally use jb waterweld which can be bought at walmart and is completely reef safe.

Never said it had to be super glue. My first statement suggested it had to be reef safe. Then he stated about the epoxy and I don't know what it is made out of.

 

[Gtinnel]

Never said it had to be super glue. My first statement suggested it had to be reef safe. Then he stated about the epoxy and I don't know what it is made out of.

I was just saying it doesn't have to be cyanoacrylate, which is just the chemical term for superglue. The OP wanting to use 2 part epoxy was fine as long as it was reef safe like you said.

 

[KonradTO]

I used superglue in the end since I had some. I had to fill several little caves because it looks like the inside is full of tunnels. Hopefully the little ******* will not show up again

 

[Murphs_reef]

I have 1 single peppermint shrimp and he keeps my tank in order.. never had any problems in the DT, and I know I have aiptasia, I have to clean them out the sump monthly.

 

[KonradTO]

I have 1 single peppermint shrimp and he keeps my tank in order.. never had any problems in the DT, and I know I have aiptasia, I have to clean them out the sump monthly.

Yes once I am done cycling and I have some stuff in the display I will get some shrimps, to me seems the best to have a way to keep pop down instead of going crazy with single treatments

 

[chiefifd]

I had a break out of aiptasia a year or so ago, I tried the epoxy covering method with little luck.
I had great success with 3 peppermint shrimp getting rid of all the aiptasia in my 90 gallon/340 liters, they also cleaned up hundreds of small tube feather-dusters.
One of the issues I've heard here is people might not get the specific species of peppermint shrimp that eat aiptasia. There are several shrimp that are very close in appearance, so you need to be sure of the species.
Good luck!