Shrimp for aiptasia control

[Jl330]

Opinions on this method?

My zoa colony has small aiptasia all over I've been battling. Aiptasia x hurts the zoas and hasn't killed off the aiptasia at least not permanently.

Thinking about grabbing some peppermint shrimp to see if they'd help but over heard they can eat lps so that's scary.

What would you do?

 

[shrimped]

I would use berghia Nudibranch instead

 

[dutch27]

I've success with peppermints if the aiptasia are small, I've never had them eat coral. I've also had peppermints not eat the Aiptasia, and just eat what I feed the tank. Seems to be a bit of YMMV on their effectiveness.

 

[Jl330]

I've success with peppermints if the aiptasia are small, I've never had them eat coral. I've also had peppermints not eat the Aiptasia, and just eat what I feed the tank. Seems to be a bit of YMMV on their effectiveness.

yeah that's what I'm afraid of. I know with my luck they'll just eat what I don't want them to and leave everything else alone.

 

[Johniejumbo]

I keep a couple of peppermint shrimp in my tank. I haven’t had any issue with them. I only have an acan and a plate coral for lps though. Bad thing about them is they don’t always get all of the aptasia and any little piece of the base left behind can grow back. Personally I really like the shrimp. They are fun to watch and they clean my hand while i work in the tank lol.

 

[maxwell]

I have over 15 in mine from the start of the build no probs at all

 

[dutch27]

I have over 15 in mine from the start of the build no probs at all

Likely because you had them from the beginning, so they never let them really populate the tank. Adding them after the aiptasia has arrived isn't always successful.

I'd suggest giving berghia a shot as the other poster said. There's no harm in trying peppermints first, there's nothing to lose. My lazy peppermints have resulted in a full blown infestation now that has claimed my red planet as a casualty, so I'm going to bite the bullet and order a bunch of berghia. If your tank is big enough you can also consider a copperband.

 

[Jl330]

I was looking at the peppermint because the lfs has them. If I order anything I'll add the berghias

 

[Jl330]

So where's the best place to get these berghia at? I noticed the aiptasia is spreading.

Also how many do i need in a 55 gallon?

 

[FloodWaters]

The issue with critter based control is the same YMMV as everyone else will say. You may get lucky, but I would work on a backup plan if you end up with shrimp that ignore them.

 

[Jl330]

I blasted everything with more aiptasia x this morning but I see a couple I missed. This tank is wearing me out.

 

[bean2986]

I bought two peppermints to solve my aptasia problem(which they did). Then they ate my frogspawn and it didn’t recover. After that they left everything else alone including softies and some other LPS.

 

[dutch27]

I blasted everything with more aiptasia x this morning but I see a couple I missed. This tank is wearing me out.

I've had mixed results with this. If you don't get it right, they basically panic and spew out more aiptasia, and if they don't die completely they just grow back. If you can get peppermints locally, I'd say toss a few in and see if they get it done, then if not take the plunge to berghia. Mine are coming from reef town. I held out because it gets expensive; there's no shipping deals and it's only overnight FedEx. I'm paying for the hesitation now, as I'm at plague levels, and the options looked like break down or buy berghia.

 

[Jl330]

I've had mixed results with this. If you don't get it right, they basically panic and spew out more aiptasia, and if they don't die completely they just grow back. If you can get peppermints locally, I'd say toss a few in and see if they get it done, then if not take the plunge to berghia. Mine are coming from reef town. I held out because it gets expensive; there's no shipping deals and it's only overnight FedEx. I'm paying for the hesitation now, as I'm at plague levels, and the options looked like break down or buy berghia.

Im not quite at plague level and the shrimp terrify me because I have some really nice lps pieces that I really can't stand to lose.

Looking like I'll have to take the plunge on berghia. 5 or so should do it but they aren't cheap.

I wish some of the sites that offer shipping deals could get them.

 

[Aqua 59]

Opinions on this method?

My zoa colony has small aiptasia all over I've been battling. Aiptasia x hurts the zoas and hasn't killed off the aiptasia at least not permanently.

Thinking about grabbing some peppermint shrimp to see if they'd help but over heard they can eat lps so that's scary.

What would you do?

Berghia sea slugs are excellent for controlling aiptasia-plus they are completely reef-safe.

Good luck!