Rainbow welso with aptasia help

[thatrugbydude]

I purchased a beautiful rainbow welso about six weeks ago now, and recently noticed a huge piece of aptasia must have survived through the dip. I do not have aptasia anywhere else in my system and run a pretty tight ship when it comes to qt and such. I first noticed it at night and ended up turning the welso so the aptasia is facing towards the front of the display. It seems to really **** off the welso as it gets closer to my night setting.

My biggest concern is last time I injected aptasia on my previous rainbow welso it ended up retracting the welsos tissue, in turn after many wet saw cuts as to try and save it from rot... it died.

I purchased a pair of peppermint shrimp who so far have attacked it (once that I actually saw at night) but not completely diminished it.

I'm looking for advice strictly from someone who has had aptasia on the skeleton of LPS where as it's close to the skeletons teeth. Obviously injecting kalk, lemon juice, vinegar is easy to do when the aptasia is hitchhiked on live rock, but this is of a big concern due to it being a recently add/pricy purchase.

 

[mrcoffee2]

Maybe a natural solution. Perhaps a peppermint shrimp? Make sure it is the kind that doesnt eat wellso first. (something to do with where it was imported in from)

That would be my plan of attack on something so precious. Start with the natural way first and then perhaps go more aggresive if things don't clear up.

Pretty coral, I bet it was not cheap!

 

[KKsMomo]

Beautiful Welso. I have a copperband butterfly that keeps my tank clean of these nasty things. I wish it ate majanos. I have an abundance of those in another tank. It doesn't pay to get depressed and put your tanks on auto pilot for 2 years although I didn't lose anything. (They got fed by me and a water change once every 2 to 3 weeks by the "fish lady") Majanos multiply like white rabbits (fish lady wouldn't kill them, only water change)! I'm thinking about getting a file fish for them. Haven't decided. The 2 tangs (scopas and hippo) are mean devils. They don't like anything in THEIR tank but them and the 2 clowns.

 

[thatrugbydude]

Maybe a natural solution. Perhaps a peppermint shrimp? Make sure it is the kind that doesnt eat wellso first. (something to do with where it was imported in from)

That would be my plan of attack on something so precious. Start with the natural way first and then perhaps go more aggresive if things don't clear up.

Pretty coral, I bet it was not cheap!

Ya thanks I already am having minimal luck with my peppermint as I stated. Any invert or fish can eat coral if starved so the statement about the peppermint you made is partially true but making that statement applies to all of our clean up crew then too.

I'm going to just frag it out as if it were a zoa, and then dip it followed by qt

 

[mrcoffee2]

In my experience it depends on where the shrimp is from.

 

[b_rad_G]

I would use tweezers and try to pull as much as I could off then use a very small amount of kalk paste over any piece that was left. It would be pretty risky on something that expensive but its gotta go!

 

[db7080]

Beautiful Welso. I have a copperband butterfly that keeps my tank clean of these nasty things. I wish it ate majanos. I have an abundance of those in another tank. It doesn't pay to get depressed and put your tanks on auto pilot for 2 years although I didn't lose anything. (They got fed by me and a water change once every 2 to 3 weeks by the "fish lady") Majanos multiply like white rabbits (fish lady wouldn't kill them, only water change)! I'm thinking about getting a file fish for them. Haven't decided. The 2 tangs (scopas and hippo) are mean devils. They don't like anything in THEIR tank but them and the 2 clowns.

I had a filefish that took care of all my majanos, and when they were home, he feasted on all my high end zoas.

 

[db7080]

I would use tweezers and try to pull as much as I could off then use a very small amount of kalk paste over any piece that was left. It would be pretty risky on something that expensive but its gotta go!

+1

Exactly what I was thinking

 

[reeffirstaid]

The best aiptasia eater, IMHO, is the Blotched Filefish, Acreichthys tomentosu. The main issue with this species, yes it normally will consume aiptasia, but it also may pick at your coral as well. Injecting an aiptasia on a coral will be impossible without damaging the coral tissue, as you described. There is an electronic device for controlling aiptasia, that would likely work well in your situation.

Majano Wand Aiptasia and Majano Eliminator

I purchased one a while back and no longer need it. I would be willing to sell it for a reasonable price. PM me if you are interested.

 

[thatrugbydude]

I have way too many high end zoas, last file fish ate a really rare morph I have yet to see anywhere else, a bunch of my devils armor, and my tubs. I just added 8 new high end zoas I won't risk another attack like that, nothing like coming home and seeing colonies milled down.

The tweezers seems like a feasible idea; I am going to elaborate further and use a scalpel instead, no kalk paste. After I plan on dipping in revive and lugols mix. I've moved the welso a bit and the aptasias foot is on the bottom of the calcium body, not intertwined with any of the actual "teeth" so I'm hoping it's as easy as fragging a zoa except with an extremely potent follow up dip

 

[reepher]

Also have some aptasia that came with liverock. I herd direct injection to the stalk with lemon juice with an insulin needle does the trick. Also vinigar. I havent tried but am taking it into consideration if my new peppermint shrimp dont do the job... Hoping to hear good results on your end thats a fancy coral

 

[thatrugbydude]

The peppermint shrimp have taken care of the aptasia, just have patience