New zoa frag with aptasia!

[CudaScott]

Pic up a zoa frag this past weekend and once in the tank I see it has aptasia in it. I have no other aptasia in my tank so how to do I get rid of it from my frag?

 

[Deniss]

Aiptasia-x from red sea. They sell small botles with a liquid you take up with a syringe and spray on the aiptasia.

 

[Bryson.bobby]

Aiptasia-x from red sea. They sell small botles with a liquid you take up with a syringe and spray on the aiptasia.

Either that or f-aiptasia. I’ve seen many success stories with both

 

[ScottR]

Either that or f-aiptasia. I’ve seen many success stories with both

+1 f-aiptasia. I saw a BRS video that said that aiptasia-x actually spreads aiptasia. Also, did that feather duster come with it? Pretty wild piece. Also, can look into peppermint shrimp. Need to get the right type. Some eat aiptasia. But some may eat corals too.

 

[Bryson.bobby]

Also, did that feather duster come with it? Pretty wild piece.

Was thinking the same thing lol

 

[CudaScott]

thanks for the help everyone i will purchase some F aptasia asap and yes the feather duster
came with the frag,

 

[ScottR]

thanks for the help everyone i will purchase some F aptasia asap and yes the feather duster
came with the frag,

That's a good sized FD actually. If only they ate aiptasia.

 

[Jared's Little Reef]

Depending on how much that frag is worth and how much your other corals are worth its sometimes easier just to get rid of the frag before it can spread.

 

[Breadman03]

I just rebooted my 150 thanks to aptasia that got out of control. I'd be tempted to chuck the whole thing, but that's magnified by lots of PVC glue. I would, however, suggest removing the entire frag and plug and placing them into a small container for hitting with kalk paste, Aptasia X, or one of the many other solid options out there. This will help reduce the likelihood of it spreading in your tank when you treat it.

 

[CudaScott]

breadman,
that’s an excellent idea on using a separate container thanks!

 

[TooTall]

Another option that I’ve been successful with....hold frag under a running kitchen faucet, scrap aptasia off....wear eye protection....

 

[CudaScott]

Another option that I’ve been successful with....hold frag under a running kitchen faucet, scrap aptasia off....wear eye protection....

Will the chlorine harm the coral?

 

[A. grandis]

Pic up a zoa frag this past weekend and once in the tank I see it has aptasia in it. I have no other aptasia in my tank so how to do I get rid of it from my frag?

Your tank looks very new and the light is probably deficient because we can see the green polyps on the right of that picture suffering and gasping for light. They should look huge and very happy if the light was good. make sure you keep those green one separated from the other colonies because they tent to overtake other species.
In regards to the aiptasia you need to remove the frag from the tank immediately and cut those anemones off with a fine sharp knife sideways from it's base to avoid the anemone to be smashed or cut in pieces. Would be great if you had a quarantine system for new species to be observed prior to introducing them to the display tank.
I don't recommend any chemicals! Waste of time! if you don't have another system and don't feel confident in removing the anemone from that plug return that frag to the source!!! It's better to return than have to deal with aiptasia in your system. Think fast!
Good luck!

 

[CudaScott]

thanks so much for the guidance i did pull the coral from the tank and removed the aptasia
at the base. The tank is new and been doing
weekly water changes as for light i don’t have a par meter I do have plenty of light available.
Kessil A80 tuna blue that is currently on the lowest intensity it has so ill go up a little at a time over the course of a few weeks.

 

[RandyC]

Wouldn’t risk it, I’d chuck the frag. Or if absolutely necessary, cut the zoa off the frag plug/rock and QT for a while.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

 

[landlubber]

I'm with the guys that say toss the frag. one nice frag isn't worth a tank shutdown 2 years from now when one aiptasia becomes 100. pest issues are easily a beginners biggest obstacle once they iron out general maintenance.
if that doesn't sound like the right course of action you could try basically just decapitating a couple of polyps and starting them on a new plug in hopes that they survive and continue on pest free.

 

[Flynsqwirl]

Dont use aptasia x or super glue, I started off with one and had about 1000 in my tank in a year. I'd cut my losses and get rid of it

 

[blasterman]

I've had excellent luck with vinegar and an insulin syringe. Aptasia - X can take a hike along with kalk paste. Just more over priced commercial offerings for chemicals you already have in your cupboard.

I totally agree that aptasia can destroy tanks and had the crap wipe out paly tanks with over $1000 worth of live stock. Once aptasia gets a hold in a high nutrient softie tank it's bad news. I have zero tolerance for it and will never get a frag with aptasia visible.

However, vinegar and an insulin syringe and a direct injection has a fatality rate of near 100% in my experience. If there are any free aptasia polyps swimming around tossing the plug won't help anything. Destroying the main aptasia stalk physically or even with a multi watt blue laser will just result in it growing back. You need chemical warfare.

For the really small aptasia buds you typically can't get a needle in them because they are too small and too quick. I've found that squirting a bit of ammonia on them before they retract kills them with suprising consistency.