Light bulb nem

[Joeylm]

Still looking for info on these from other people who have them in their system. I have a decent sized one (to me anyways) I know it looks very similar to aiptasia, but I like it. It'll also eat anything I throw at it and I haven't seen any other in my tank other than this one. I've had him probably a month. He came on live rock I got from the gulf. Also whats coming out of his mouth? I've never seen that before.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Aptasia anemone and a known pest that can multiply quickly
Using a syringe, inject either lemon juice or kalkwasser powder mixed into a thin paste the consistency of toothpaste and inject into the center core of aptasia and it will melt away

 

[BiggestE222]

Still looking for info on these from other people who have them in their system. I have a decent sized one (to me anyways) I know it looks very similar to aiptasia, but I like it. It'll also eat anything I throw at it and I haven't seen any other in my tank other than this one. I've had him probably a month. He came on live rock I got from the gulf. Also whats coming out of his mouth? I've never seen that before.

It looks like aptapsis because it is. If you like it and feed if you will get plenty more. They are ok if you don’t want any other corals.

 

[Joeylm]

It looks like aptapsis because it is. If you like it and feed if you will get plenty more. They are ok if you don’t want any other corals.

From my understanding, there is no aiptasia in gulf waters. This is where I'm confused.

 

[Joeylm]

From the looks of it, it's a curly cue..judging by it's bands..a form of aptasia, although apparently won't spread like pest aptasia..but just as aggressive.

 

[tehmadreefer]

Def not an aiptasia and most def a curly which is pretty much the same thing lol

 

[BiggestE222]

From my understanding, there is no aiptasia in gulf waters. This is where I'm confused.

The gulf in connected to the Atlantic. No reason they would not be in the Gulf of Mexico.

 

[Joeylm]

Def not an aiptasia and most def a curly which is pretty much the same thing lol

Yeah..So they are in the aiptasia family. But wont spread like reg. Aiptasia so some people keep them. But they also have a very lethal sting (coming from the same family) not sure if I should keep it or not..because then I have to stress over it killing fish. Corals isn't an issue it seems because it hasn't moved once the entire time I've had it. Also they get up to eight inches..what the heck that's massive!

 

[dedragon]

aiptasia is just a genus not a species though. IMO kill it now because it will most likely start to spread at some point and become a much harder problem to fix.

 

[Joeylm]

aiptasia is just a genus not a species though. IMO kill it now because it will most likely start to spread at some point and become a much harder problem to fix.

True. And im thinking im leaning more towards this. Do you think a peppermint shrimp would eat one this big? Hes maybe 1 1/2 inches

 

[dedragon]

wish you lived in ny im trying to gift a peppermint to anyone that wants it, just steals too much food from corals. Mine also is a guaranteed aiptasia eater but ive only seen it eat small, sub one inch anemones

 

[Joeylm]

wish you lived in ny im trying to gift a peppermint to anyone that wants it, just steals too much food from corals. Mine also is a guaranteed aiptasia eater but ive only seen it eat small, sub one inch anemones

Yea im in san diego theres peppermints at lfs out here but I've been reading you have to get the correct one. My tank is only a month old so I don't have much other than the incredible life that came on the live rock.

 

[TnFishwater98]

Ive got a light bulb nem.
It doesn’t multiply out of control...I would not consider it a pest.

 

[Tamberav]

From my understanding, there is no aiptasia in gulf waters. This is where I'm confused.

This is correct, at least not the super invasive ones we think about. There is a relative that doesn't reproduce as fast.

I didn't kill the ones that came on my gulf rock and they never became a problem. Don't let others instill fear. They don't seem to have experience with your gulf type. Watch it, enjoy it, if you see it starting to spread then you can take action.

I mean you have been feeding it and it's been a month and it has yet to spread!! and you enjoy it

 

[Joeylm]

Ive got a light bulb nem.
It doesn’t multiply out of control...I would not consider it a pest.

So I got a little confused. The pic I posted above is a curly cue. I HAD a light bulb nem, a small one, but it's gone. I don't know where it went or what happened to it. It was extremely tiny and I kind of forgot about it and when I did remember about it, I looked for it and couldn't find it.

 

[Joeylm]

This is correct, at least not the super invasive ones we think about. There is a relative that doesn't reproduce as fast.

I didn't kill the ones that came on my gulf rock and they never became a problem. Don't let others instill fear. They don't seem to have experience with your gulf type. Watch it, enjoy it, if you see it starting to spread then you can take action.

I mean you have been feeding it and it's been a month and it has yet to spread!! and you enjoy it

I have been feeding it lol. Are fish smart enough not to touch it? I guess that's my biggest worry. Oh, and it getting massive. I can't believe how big these things can get. I hear peppermint eat them. If thats the case getting one may not be a horrible idea as it will eat the small ones that will inevitably pop up over time.

 

[hawk82]

I have about 3 of these im my tank, they came in on gulf live rock. They have been in the tank over a year now, and they dont seem to multiply. So I just leave em be, adds to the diversity of the tank, my leather corals and gsp are not bothered by them.

 

[Joeylm]

I have about 3 of these im my tank, they came in on gulf live rock. They have been in the tank over a year now, and they dont seem to multiply. So I just leave em be, adds to the diversity of the tank, my leather corals and gsp are not bothered by them.

The curly cues?

 

[Tamberav]

I have been feeding it lol. Are fish smart enough not to touch it? I guess that's my biggest worry. Oh, and it getting massive. I can't believe how big these things can get. I hear peppermint eat them. If thats the case getting one may not be a horrible idea as it will eat the small ones that will inevitably pop up over time.

Peppermint shrimp are obnoxious and sometimes also eat/bother corals. I'd rather have the nem

Many nems are capable of eating fish and yet people still keep them!

I would probably just stick to faster fish that don't randomly sit on hot potato nem's. You could also put the nem in a spot in the tank, like a corner and say... not centered where fish may travel a lot.

They have a symbiotic pistol shrimp you can buy to make it even cooler. Perhaps the shrimp would keep fish away?

That is the fun about these lesser kept animals, it is a bit of an experiment and you can learn and share with us

When I bought a copperband, he ate all mine They never caught a fish though... I didn't target feed them and they weren't huge or anything at the time.

 

[Tamberav]

I found this online, so it may be that they host small nem shrimps as well and not just a snapping shrimp:

However, they do live in association with some species of cleaner shrimps, including the Spotted Cleaner Shrimp Periclimenes yucatanicus and Pederson Cleaner Shrimp Ancylomenes pedersoni, as well as the opossum shrimp species Heteromysis actiniae. They stay close to the Curlique Anemone or among its tentacles where they are protected from other predators, and will nibble on any external parasites residing on the anemone.

It also says they are not prone to moving around so you could try and find a good spot for it.