How to kill bacteria growing on reef

[ikimonogakari]

Hi all. I have a fluval Evo that has been going for about a year now. Current stock is:

1 watchman goby/tiger shrimp pair
1 hermit crab
1 conch
2 nassarius snail
2 astrea snail
3 corals

Keep up with 2x per month water changes and testing and everyone does fine. I had a nassarius and turbo for recently and thought it might be from lack of food since it’s just the goby and shrimp in there.

Lately I’ve had these guys (see pics) growing on the rocks. They aren’t a big deal but it just doesn’t look pretty. I’m looking for recommendations on how to clean it up and should I add a few more corals to the rocks or what would be a good plan? I don’t want to invest a ton but can definitely add another coral every few weeks if there are recommendations. Thanks in advance!

 

[Triton_Z]

Looks like you have a growing Aiptasia (a type of nuisance anemone) infestation and this will get worse over time. Given the small tank size, it may be easier to remove the rock and bleach soak to try to kill all of them. This will kill everything else on the rock, but they will take over the entire tank without action.

Do you have any other dry rock you could introduce while the original rock is cleaned? You'll want to check the sand and whole tank for any other Aiptasia otherwise if one survives it will re-infest the tank.

There's other methods, Peppermint shrimp and/or chemicals, but again a small tank may allow you to just clear the rock and start over.

 

[Aquavaj]

Looks like aiptasia. It's not a bacteria but a form of coral as well.

A quick google brought up this article that tells more about them and how to eradicate them- https://www.thebeginnersreef.com/what-is-aiptasia/

 

[ikimonogakari]

Looks like you have a growing Aiptasia (a type of nuisance anemone) infestation and this will get worse over time. Given the small tank size, it may be easier to remove the rock and bleach soak to try to kill all of them. This will kill everything else on the rock, but they will take over the entire tank without action.

Do you have any other dry rock you could introduce while the original rock is cleaned? You'll want to check the sand and whole tank for any other Aiptasia otherwise if one survives it will re-infest the tank.

There's other methods, Peppermint shrimp and/or chemicals, but again a small tank may allow you to just clear the rock and start over.

Yes, I have a few pieces of unused rock I could put in there in the meantime. What is the best method for bleaching the rock so I don’t throw off levels when I add the rocks back in? Lemon juice or just boiling it? I don’t have any coral on these rocks besides a candy cane I can easily relocate back to the sand, so I can completely take the rocks out to clean the infestation.

 

[ikimonogakari]

Would a peppermint shrimp be ok in a fluval Evo? Most response I’ve seen online is that they are ok together.

 

[Brit’s Fish]

I had a peppermint shrimp in my Evo along with a tiger pistol shrimp and they never bothered each other. The peppermint knew that he needed to get out of the way.

 

[ikimonogakari]

I had a peppermint shrimp in my Evo along with a tiger pistol shrimp and they never bothered each other. The peppermint knew that he needed to get out of the way.

Good to know. Thanks for the feedback!! Seems like bleaching the rocks and adding a peppermint might be a good plan.

 

[Brit’s Fish]

Good to know. Thanks for the feedback!! Seems like bleaching the rocks and adding a peppermint might be a good plan.

I’d try one or the other first. A peppermint shrimp could wipe all those aiptasias out but it will definitely take longer than bleaching. Bleaching will kill all of your good bacteria though.

 

[gbroadbridge]

Hi all. I have a fluval Evo that has been going for about a year now. Current stock is:

1 watchman goby/tiger shrimp pair
1 hermit crab
1 conch
2 nassarius snail
2 astrea snail
3 corals

Keep up with 2x per month water changes and testing and everyone does fine. I had a nassarius and turbo for recently and thought it might be from lack of food since it’s just the goby and shrimp in there.

Lately I’ve had these guys (see pics) growing on the rocks. They aren’t a big deal but it just doesn’t look pretty. I’m looking for recommendations on how to clean it up and should I add a few more corals to the rocks or what would be a good plan? I don’t want to invest a ton but can definitely add another coral every few weeks if there are recommendations. Thanks in advance!

They look like Aiptasia and if you're planning on keeping a tank you may as well get used to them as they piggyback in any time you add something new.

They're part of the ecosystem so I just ignore them unless they start to offend corals.

Attacking them with chemicals often will spread them, but as others have said, you can try peppermint shrimp.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

Ok, @ikimonogakari there are a few things to consider before you start taking the advice in this thread.

It's certain that you have an infestation of aiptasia. And there are a few options to help control the population.

Ideally the best approach is to find a fish or invert that will eat them.

Peppermint shrimp are a good choice for a small tank, the downside is that they may not see aiptasia as food.

There are fish that will eat them, but considering the size of your tank, the best recommendation would be an aiptasia eating file fish. The down side to those is that they may nip at other soft corals.

You can approach this with chemicals, there are a few products on the market, aiptasia x or f aiptasia, are the 2 popular ones. Some people swear by a home remedy of mixing calcium hydroxide and rodi water into a paste and injecting it into the aiptasia. Either way, this approach is time consuming and usually you'll have to buy a lot of product to knock the aiptasia population back.

One suggestion in this thread is to remove the rock and nuke em with bleach. This would be a poor choice for a small tank because not only are you killing the aiptasia but you're also killing your beneficial bacteria that convert harmful ammonia. I would consider this approach the nuclear option, when all you want to do is reset and start back at day 1.

Most tanks have aiptasia and hobbyist simply employ measures to keep their numbers low. I personally use copperband butterflies, and although my overflow and sump are riddled with aiptasia, my display tank has none. Anytime one pops up, the butterfly devours it.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Looks like aiptasia. It's not a bacteria but a form of coral as well.

A quick google brought up this article that tells more about them and how to eradicate them- https://www.thebeginnersreef.com/what-is-aiptasia/

*Anemones are not coral

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Yes, I have a few pieces of unused rock I could put in there in the meantime. What is the best method for bleaching the rock so I don’t throw off levels when I add the rocks back in? Lemon juice or just boiling it? I don’t have any coral on these rocks besides a candy cane I can easily relocate back to the sand, so I can completely take the rocks out to clean the infestation.

DO. NOT. BOIL. ROCKS!

 

[Debramb]

Yes, I have a few pieces of unused rock I could put in there in the meantime. What is the best method for bleaching the rock so I don’t throw off levels when I add the rocks back in? Lemon juice or just boiling it? I don’t have any coral on these rocks besides a candy cane I can easily relocate back to the sand, so I can completely take the rocks out to clean the infestation.

Recently saw BRS video and they said that Frank’s Aptasia brand works best to treat individuals in the tank. It’s sold iin Fort Worth Texas at Frank’s Tanks store. Owner, Frank really nice guy. We haven’t had any in years and had used Aptasia X. You inject right into their moths. Be diligent every day and you’ll conquer. At least less upheaval taking out your LR.
Good Luck! Debra

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Aiptasia as a Pest - and HOW to get rid of it

I think that's one of the most popular and common pest in our reef system, and I don't saw any in the hobby to say "I never - ever got Aiptasia in my reef system" I want everyone of you who got problem with or just found his best solution to share it here. Like the TITLE say, can we collect many...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Brit’s Fish]

I stopped using anything like Aiptasia X a long time ago because they definitely helped to make my issues worse. Just let the peppermint shrimp do their work and then keep an eye on them when they’re done. Sometimes they like to go rogue & eat corals or other inverts that are not aiptasias.

 

[Spare time]

Looks like aiptasia. It's not a bacteria but a form of coral as well.

A quick google brought up this article that tells more about them and how to eradicate them- https://www.thebeginnersreef.com/what-is-aiptasia/

Technically not a coral but an anemone

 

[Triton_Z]

Yes, I have a few pieces of unused rock I could put in there in the meantime. What is the best method for bleaching the rock so I don’t throw off levels when I add the rocks back in? Lemon juice or just boiling it? I don’t have any coral on these rocks besides a candy cane I can easily relocate back to the sand, so I can completely take the rocks out to clean the infestation.

I'd take the rocks out and place in a five gallon bucket with freshwater and add a cup of bleach. After 24 hours, you can rinse the rocks with freshwater a few times and let air dry. This will kill the rock and is the extreme option, but again given the size of your tank, numbers of Aiptasia visible already, and the low bio load of your aquarium, I think you'll have more success with this option rather than fighting to bring the Aiptasia under control via chemical methods and/or predation.

And it's not inevitable to have Aiptasia in your tank like others suggest. You need to check any new rocks or corals for these hitchhikers in the future.

If the infestation wasn't already this advanced, i would suggest a peppermint shrimp, but even with multiple shrimp the likelihood they will make a dent is pretty low. To attack chemically would involve a lot of time and expense which likely will discourage you. The pictures indicate high numbers.

I went through a introduction of one Aiptasia on a frag plug in my 40 gallon as I wasn't careful and messed up. This one turned into three, then five. I was successful at knocking the infestation out with three peppermint shrimp and RedSea's Aiptasia-X. The peppermint shrimp would not eat the few large mature Aiptasia as where Aiptasia-X worked well on those, but any small and developing specimens were ate up by the shrimp. It took a few months of careful work, but man was I disappointed when the first few appeared as they can really take over a tank in a short period of time with no action.

Guess depends on the level on action you want to take on, but with a 13 gallon tank and your bioload, a clean start may work better in the end in my opinion.

 

[PeterEde]

I farm bristle worms. Never thought to do an aptasia farm