Mystery hitchhiker

[Dave Forrester]

Hi all, picked up a secondhand Resun AIO last week (intend on starting a new thread with my progress ) with live rock/sand and noticed this little guy poking his head out of one of the rocks earlier , anyone point me in the right direction as to what it is ?

 

[ihavecrabs]

Aiptasia or a pest anemone. 99% positive on the first.

Best to get rid of him with a srynge or boiling water, vinegar, or using a product like Aiptasia X. You could also cover them with kalk paste.

Be aware that they can release spores so you are best to inject right into their mouths or completely cover them in kalk paste to ensure eradication.

 

[Dave Forrester]

Hi all, picked up a secondhand Resun AIO last week (intend on starting a new thread with my progress ) with live rock/sand and noticed this little guy poking his head out of one of the rocks earlier , anyone point me in the right direction as to what it is ?

Slightly clearer pic

 

[Oldsalt01]

No doubt. Aptasia. Not good. Peppermint Shrimp will take it out. Course they took out my Acans too. Banished from my system.

 

[Nburg's Reef]

Injecting lime or lemon juice works. Do not smash or scrape it off!

 

[Dave Forrester]

Thanks all, think I’m either going to go the peppermint shrimp way to start as no other corals etc in my tank yet anyway or just give it a nice refreshing drink of lemon juice for breakfast

 

[ihavecrabs]

Thanks all, think I’m either going to go the peppermint shrimp way to start as no other corals etc in my tank yet anyway or just give it a nice refreshing drink of lemon juice for breakfast

I'd recommend the latter. No guarantee the shrimp will do the job and if it does you'll likely release spores and see more pop up.

 

[Dave Forrester]

I'd recommend the latter. No guarantee the shrimp will do the job and if it does you'll likely release spores and see more pop up.

Lemon juice it is

 

[Jl330]

No doubt. Aptasia. Not good. Peppermint Shrimp will take it out. Course they took out my Acans too. Banished from my system.

I have never heard of a peppermint shrimp taking out acans.

 

[Best Fish-Jake]

I have never heard of a peppermint shrimp taking out acans.

Look around enough and I’m sure you’ll find quite a few horror stories about peppermints taking out LPS.. I used to have 2 in my 30g before they ganged up on my elegance coral.

‘Ph down’ is another good way to kill of those aptasia.. just inject a bit into their mouths (similar to using lemon juice) <— although this is actually the first time I’ve seen that suggested

 

[Oldsalt01]

They ate the centers right out of both Acans the night after I got the corals. Found them there, happily munching away the next morning. Multiple heads too. None survived. NEVER trust a crustacean.

 

[Jl330]

I'm so glad I saw this thread. I have some nice acans I'm really proud of ans I was going to get a peppermint shrimp to clean up a patch of aptasia.

 

[Best Fish-Jake]

I'm so glad I saw this thread. I have some nice acans I'm really proud of ans I was going to get a peppermint shrimp to clean up a patch of aptasia.

I still don’t hesitate to keep/ recommend peppermints.. just be aware that certain individuals, if not fed enough, will go after some LPS

 

[kashman100]

I use super glue gel. They dont spread that way.

 

[Oldsalt01]

I still don’t hesitate to keep/ recommend peppermints.. just be aware that certain individuals, if not fed enough, will go after some LPS

Trust me. The little buggers were getting fed plenty. I would intentionally target feed them just to be sure nothing like what happened, would happen. So I have banished crustaceans from my tank and when my Blue-legged and Scarlet hermits expire, they will not be replaced. It's too bad, because I'm a big fan of biodiversity and I understand animals do what they're programmed to do by nature. Just not a big fan of throwing money at shrimp.

 

[Katrina71]

Slightly clearer pic

That's a really good pic! Btw, I agree with lemon juice.