Replacing 100% rock work to remove aiptasia

[JimmyV]

It is a hit or miss with Matted file fish. I had one completely clean the tank. The present file fish seems to not be helping at all. I am going to introduce Nudi's when I can get my hands on some.

Gotcha , I am just wondering. So just like peppermint shrimp, And cooperbands, it's hit or miss. I've tried those and they never worked.

 

[JCOLE]

Gotcha , I am just wondering. So just like peppermint shrimp, And cooperbands, it's hit or miss. I've tried those and they never worked.

Yes it can be hit or miss. However, your chances will be greater if you get the Filefish and Peppermints that specifically eat Aiptasia. I have seen places including my LFS try and sell these to me and others that do not eat Aiptasia and claim they do.

Also, with a Copperband your chances are MUCH better if it is wild caught. Mine currently in my DT was wild and it went to town on the Aiptasia. I purchased a smaller Copperband for my FT that was living in the LFS for over a year and being fed clams, etc. It never touched any Aiptasia and unfortunately died.

 

[Tortuga1]

I had luck with a Bristle-tail file fish in my first tank. The only problem was when the aptasia was gone it started eating zoa frags. Took him back to lfs. lol

 

[jsker]

Gotcha , I am just wondering. So just like peppermint shrimp, And cooperbands, it's hit or miss. I've tried those and they never worked.

Yes it can be hit or miss. However, your chances will be greater if you get the Filefish and Peppermints that specifically eat Aiptasia. I have seen places including my LFS try and sell these to me and others that do not eat Aiptasia and claim they do.

Also, with a Copperband your chances are MUCH better if it is wild caught. Mine currently in my DT was wild and it went to town on the Aiptasia. I purchased a smaller Copperband for my FT that was living in the LFS for over a year and being fed clams, etc. It never touched any Aiptasia and unfortunately died.

+1 I was think about a Copperband butterfly. when I catch my sail fin and re-home her I think I will add a Copperband and long with the nudi's. One of the 3 should work.

 

[Dennis Cartier]

I looked at your build thread. I would just get in there with an aiptasia removal product and nuke the aiptasia. You mention you have about 10, so lets assume you have 20, the more you look the more you will find Removing 20 of them by hand will only take a couple of weeks and be less disruptive to the balance of your tank than replacing rock.

Sure some will come back, but the little ones usually get nuked with 1 application. So any babies that grow back will usually only take a single application to be history. They key to manual removal is to be regimented and structured. Do a removal every X days and don't skip any removal days. After awhile, you will start struggling to find a single one to remove on a removal day. Then you can switch to a nuke on first sighting approach. Every time you see one you nuke it. At that point, they are basically controlled.

Dennis

 

[Seamore2001]

Over the years I've managed aptasia via peppermint shrimp, CBB, filefish and kalk paste. Each of these methods have worked well for me.

Peppermints = hit or miss whether they will eat aptasia, but if you get several shrimp they'll likely resolve the problem. I've never seen my peppermints damage any other coral and find them a useful member of my tanks maintenance crew.

CBB = supposedly hit or miss - mine have always had an appetite for aptasia, though they also like the small feather dusters that come in on LR. Can supposedly be difficult to feed after the aptasia and feather dusters are gone, but I've had no problem feeding them my standard frozen fare. Requires a larger tank as an adult.

Filefish = I used one about 20 years ago and it devoured the aptasia. The species I used IIRC was a Chaetodermis penicilligerus (tassleated filefish). I found him to be a model citizen and didn't bother my other corals, but requires a large tank.

Kalk paste = easy to mix up, inexpensive and works. You fill a syringe with kalk paste, squirt it into the mouth of the aptasia, and boom, it's dead. A good method if you have a small infestation, but obviously only works for the aptasia you can see.

If you buy corals, you will almost inevitably get aptasia from time to time. You can minimize the chances by looking at coral plugs during your dip. Learning to deal with aptasia is just part of the reefer learning curve.

I currently employ three or four peppermint shrimp in each of my tanks and they do a good job of removing the aptasia and are generally useful and interesting to watch.

To the OP, since you're already considering a massive LR change, I'd recommend instead that you pull the wrasse temporarily and go with 3 or 4 peppermint shrimp to clear your problem. Alternatively, look to a CBB or Filefish if they're available and you have room (or can rehome them after the problem is sorted).

Good luck.

 

[mike550]

F-Aiptasa works very well if you have access to your rocks and can see the aiptasia. There is really no fear of "missing" and causing a mass of babies because you essentially cover them all in this stuff. I took out about 70 aiptasia in my large display in less than 15 mins using two bottles of the stuff...have not see one in weeks and when I eventually do, I will wipe it out.

I just bought some F Aiptasia. Any suggestions on how to use it?

My understanding is that it coats stuff. So I’m guessing I need to be careful near corals?

 

[Aqua Man]

I just bought some F Aiptasia. Any suggestions on how to use it?

Turn off flow. Move slowly with applicator, they can sense their doom! Important to get it in their mouth. Some say if you miss the mouth, they have a stress response and spit out gametes. Which is what makes them spread

 

[canadianeh]

I only have 10 gallons spare tank. It can fit one melanarus wrasse I think.

One guy here said that his wrasses never bothered his nudibranch. Anyone else have different experience?

How about royal flasher wrasse? Will it kill nudibranch and peppermint shrimp? I have never seen it bother any snails in my tank.

Also, how about flame hawkfish? Will he be a threat to nudibranch and peppermint shrimp?



I was thinking out loud about removing all the rocks. Deep down I believe this is too much of work and won’t guarantee 100% removal. I am frustrated seeing the aiptasia.

 

[Chasing_Nemo]

My battle with aiptasia history.
1. Peppermints - ate corals not aiptasia.
2. Aiptasia juices - dead today alive tomorrow.
3. Filefish - ate euphylia not aiptasia.
4. Nudis - ate some aiptasia, got eaten my something.
5. Peppermints again - ate nothing.
6. Filefish again - ate aiptasia only, eradicated completely. Success!

It's not a guarantee, but next time if I have to, I will go with Filefish.

 

[ApoIsland]

I started to see aiptasia on multiple places on rocks. I have been using aiptasia x, but it seems that after I killed l one and two popped up somewhere else. It is getting frustrating and I am worried that it will get worst.

I can’t get peppermint shrimp or nudibranch because I have melanarus wrasse, royal flasher wrasse, and flamehawk fish on the tank.

My tank has been set up for about a year now and coraline algae just started to grow in the tank.

I am currently using caribsea purple liferock and Fiji pink live sand. In the sump, I have good amount of marinepure balls and refugium.

is it okay to replace 100% rock work with twolittlefishes stax? Do I need to cure them first? Will it cause cycle if I remove all of the rocks?

I feel your pain. Please don't waste time and money replacing your rock. It is a futile effort that will not solve the problem as the aiptasia grow everywhere in the tank. You will inevitably get them again someday unless you never buy another coral.

I doubt your wrasse are big enough to eat an adult peppermint shrimp. I have had melanarus and coris wrasses about 4-5" that did not bother cleaner of coral banded shrimp.

Be aware though that most vendors and hobbyists are absolutely clueless as to what an actual reef safe aiptasia eating peppermint shrimp is. There are multiple shrimp that look almost identical and are not reef safe nor do they eat aiptasia. I think this is where the confusion comes in as to their effectiveness.

I would avoid the file fish unless you are an sps only tank. They may take a month before actually eating an aiptasia but they usually get them eventually.

I believe nudis are the best bet but right aftet that is the Copperbanded butterfly fish as long as you don't have other anemone that you actually like. I have rock flower nems and have tried multiple CBB. They were all good for the first 6-9 months but eventually every CBB eventualy went for them.

Good luck to you on your battle. I was able to win mine with the CBB.

Also please note that F-aiptasia is a far superior product than aiptasia X in my view. It really worked great for me on the aiptasia I could easily get to. was just too time consuming and labor intensive for me as I had hundreds in my display and sump that had been ignored and left to multiply for 8+ years.

 

[Dkmoo]

+1 on F-Aipt if you don't want to go with biological control

where AiptX fails is with the application method of their instruction - high chance that when they explode they release spawns back into water unless you do it exactly right. F-Aipt key is to approach it slowly as to not spook it causing it to release spawns, then once you get close enough squirt a large blob to cover it completely as quickly as possible.

my first battle with them is using F-Aipt, still took a few rounds but each time it was less than the previous round and took longer to resurface.

 

[Aqua Man]

I like to use this if you can find one.

 

[rwreef]

Filefish ate my acan colony. Imo avoid file fish. Aptasia x and peppermint shrimp worked for me. And no removing the rock will not work. Aptasia goes everywhere, not just on rocks.

 

[Uncle99]

I only have 10 gallons spare tank. It can fit one melanarus wrasse I think.

One guy here said that his wrasses never bothered his nudibranch. Anyone else have different experience?

How about royal flasher wrasse? Will it kill nudibranch and peppermint shrimp? I have never seen it bother any snails in my tank.

Also, how about flame hawkfish? Will he be a threat to nudibranch and peppermint shrimp?



I was thinking out loud about removing all the rocks. Deep down I believe this is too much of work and won’t guarantee 100% removal. I am frustrated seeing the aiptasia.

Place several nudis in rock work together with the modified Pipette 2 hours after lights out, low flow for 1 hour.

He might try one, but likely NOT like the taste of Aptasia.

So far only my YT and Fire Shrimp have not showed any interest....took a long look....but decided not to bite.

They only seem active at night. My fish all “sleep” during this time and are not actively hunting.

it’s a bit of leap of faith.....but at least they don’t ever damage anything.

I use both Nudis and Aptasia X (with puddy).

I use the Aptasia X for any spot I can see and get to.

 

[S.Pepper]

I had a melanurus wrasse with peppermint shrimp and he never bothered the shrimp. My hermit crabs were another story. Using a small industrial syringe with lemon juice worked well, too... but you had to hit them perfectly with the needle.

I am able to manage aiptasia, but doubt i will ever get rid of them. Keeping a few peppermint shrimp in my system keeps them at bay. I thought at one point I was rid of them for good. The last of my peppermint shrimp died and I didn't see any aiptasia for 3 or 4 months; also, during this time i didn't introduce anything to my system. They came back.

If I ever start another system, keeping aiptasia from my system will be the number one priority. With the 150-200 hours of research i did before ordering one piece of equipment for my reef system, I never read anything stressing the importance of keeping them out of my system--I'm not saying it wasn't there, I just never saw anyone stress how important it was. Much of what you read is about how to get rid of them and not keeping them out of your system to begin with.

Ehh, you live and learn.

 

[animatedcorals]

Why don’t you try nudi’s?? In the beginning of my journey years ago I had a minor battle with aiptasia and tried the wand, aiptasia X, etc - I added 7 nudi’s in my 65 gallon system and completely eliminated them within a month!

 

[canadianeh]

Ok! I made up my mind and will try nudibranch and hope my wrasses will leave them alone.
I will try peppermint shrimp as second option if I can find one that is reef safe.

 

[dieselkeeper]

Don't forget there probably in your overflow too. You will never eradicate them if they in the over flow or sump.

 

[canadianeh]

Don't forget there probably in your overflow too. You will never eradicate them if they in the over flow or sump.

So put nudibranch in sump and overflow too?