Is this Aiptasia on my clam?

[1Clown]

I know it's not the best of pictures but it's the best I could do right now. I scrubbed down the clam shell as best as I could whilst being frightened at the same time that it wouldn't stress it out when I got it a couple days ago. Even after that I still have aiptasia attached to it! This has 100% come in with the clam.

What is the best and safest way to go about removing it before it takes over my tank? It's a 12 gallon nano tank by the way.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Personally I would get a little container of water from my tank, pull the clam out and place it in the container. Then scrape the anemone off with just my fingernail. Rinse the clam and add back to the tank. Shouldn't be an issue at all.

 

[1Clown]

Personally I would get a little container of water from my tank, pull the clam out and place it in the container. Then scrape the anemone off with just my fingernail. Rinse the clam and add back to the tank. Shouldn't be an issue at all.

That's what I've been thinking but given the size of the tank and the amount of water it will take for the clam to be submerged and for my hands to move around it, on top of that more water for rinsing, it'll add a fair amount of RO back in to my tank and make my salinity go down.

 

[nervousmonkey]

I agree with Rev. If you can make up some new saltwater then you can use that to submerge the clam. This is a really lucky break that you can pull out the clam; most of the time, aiptasia is on something you cannot remove. I would pull out that clam and get the aiptasia off before you start seeing them all over. They are hard to get out of your tank once in it, so get that thing out of your tank quick!

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

How big is the clam? You really could just pick it up out of the water, scrape it off and add it back.

 

[1Clown]

How big is the clam? You really could just pick it up out of the water, scrape it off and add it back.

Would it be okay if a little of it was exposed to the air whilst I tried picking the aiptasia off?

 

[Jeff Hall]

Peppermint shrimp may take care of the problem. Mine did

 

[1Clown]

How big is the clam? You really could just pick it up out of the water, scrape it off and add it back.

So I just did this with a sharp pair of scissors that could fit in between the scutes. I scraped the aiptasia really well, kept dipping the scissors back in a small pot of water to see if I could get it out but to be honest I think it may have entered the water column probably severely damaged. There was stuff in the small pot but couldn't spot the aiptasia as it was small to begin with and they shrivel up a lot. Hopefully it's too damaged to reproduce or am I doomed?

 

[nervousmonkey]

You're OK. Aiptasia death by scissor mutilation is still death. If you cut it up enough to scrape it off of the clam, it's a goner. I hope you don't find more of them, but if you do, peppermint shrimp are a good option as are berghia nudibranches. You are not doomed though; good job cutting that horrible little anemone to bits. ;Vamp

 

[reefwiser]

Best way to handle this is to use super glue. Remove clam and use the glue to engulf the aptasia. It one tries to scrape the aptasia off you will leave a piece of aptasia on he shell. Even a small speck of aptasia will allow it to grow back.

 

[TheLadyCrash]

Better to act proactively and get that off the clam and out of the tank as quickly as possible. I've been battling aiptasia on and off for 2 years.

 

[cj in sac ca]

I personally don't mind a few in my tank. They are a natural part of the ocean . Granted if not kept in Che k they can over take a tank. Cutting or scraping it. An help spread it. Peppermint shrimp, nudibranch,
Are good as well as file fish and there are a few chemicals out there. Been told to use a syringe / or turkey baister with hot water and squirt it on them to kill them.

 

[reefwiser]

Aptasia are like weeds they start out small and can over night take over a tank.

 

[1Clown]

Man so many scary responses in this thread, I thought perhaps I may have gotten rid of it. Now I'm completely disheartened and expect the worst! The most annoying thing is getting these pests on corals and clams, things you've spent so much money on!

 

[Oldsalt01]

Thumbs up, Reefwiser. If you don't get EVERY speck of Aptasia flesh the little bugger's will regrow. I had three come in on a zoa plug a year ago. I didn't notice them for a few days, because they were small. Well, all but the BIG one on the back of the plug that I couldn't see because of the position. After freaking out, I sought the advice of my local, thoroughly trusty LFS. He loaned me a Peppermint shrimp. The two days later my tank was clear on nem's. I paid him for the shrimp, and he's been a welcome denizen since. BTW, I don't believe dipping helps with these guys, but that's MHO.

 

[OrionN]

Aptasia is not hard to get rid off. There are plenty of fish that will eat aptasia. If you use biological control, then father dusters and some of the worm in the fauna will also be casualty along with aptasia.
QT your animal, especially clams and SPS. You will be much better off long term. The longer we are at reefkeeing the more pest that we discover that are not so forgiving. I don't quarantine my fish but I quarantine coral, clams and anemone and watch them like a hawk. I have a full blow reef 30 gal cube that is running all the time to use to get finicky fish ready for DT, and use this to QT my invertebrates.

Having just one aptasia, just take care of it. How you take care of it is up to you. won't take you more than a few mins and will save a lot of grief later on. A well know reefer referred to aptasia as the devil of reefkeeping, but his was early on, back in the early 90's. I doubt he have the same view regarding them at this time.

 

[DSC reef]

Next time remove the clam from the tank and just scrape it off in a separate bucket of tank water. I normally did this during a water change so I had multiple buckets to rinse the clam before returning to the display. Ive battled aptaisia for years and if just a little is left or they release spores in the display you'll be shocked and how fast they take over.

 

[shorty2545]

I use Kalk for aptasia. Just mix some in water and inject it into its mouth. I rarely have aptasia in my system, but the few times they have reared their ugly little heads the kalk treatment has nocked them right out.

 

[1Clown]

Well look what's back guys. This time on Sunday during the water change, I'll put some tank water in a container and put the clam in it and take off the aiptasia with my sharp scissors again and then give the entire clam a once over with a tooth brush for good measure, hopefully it doesn't stress the clam out, that's my greatest fear.

 

[OrionN]

Your clam will be fine. The important thing is know exact place where the aptasia is so you can treat and remove it when you have the clam out of the tank.

On other note, check your clam for parasitic snails. You will be very sorry if you don't