Partial tank reset- how best to kill aiptasia?

[SallyWho]

I let my tank go and have nobody to blame but myself. As part of getting it back together, I had to remove a bunch of dead coral, which laid bare some large pieces of my scape. They coincidentally have some of the largest aiptasia in my tank- the peppermint shrimp eat the little ones but the big ones flourish. I've decided to remove those two pieces to kill some of those aiptasia off but want to know the best way to do it. Soak in vinegar? Soak in a bleach solution? Dump boiling water on them? (All of this will occur outside, and to my knowledge no zoas have been within a foot of these rocks.) How would *you* destroy some aiptasia in such a way that I can return the pieces to the tank in a day or two? Thanks!

 

[davidcalgary29]

I'd remove all dead coral and aquascape with aiptasia on it and then spot-apply your preferred method of choice (boiling water applied with a syringe is just as effective as aiptasia-x) and then apply superglue over the applied spot.

The problem with aiptasia is that they can reproduce asexually and it is likely that some microscopic polyps will remain in your tank unless you drain it out and dry it completely. The only permanent solution that I've found is berghia nudibranchs, but you can't have them in a tank with fish that will eat them, and they will starve once their initial food source is gone. You'll have to be vigilant.

Do not boil or bleach your live rock. There's little merit to this and some danger. Yes, you could reintroduce aiptasia into your tank, but you could also do this by putting in macroalgae or frags from other sources. I've done this.