Some Filefish Questions (Aiptasia)

[DracoKat]

Hey all,

A reef club member lent me a pair of File Fish to help with my aiptasia problem. They will be with me for a while in my sump where most of the problem is.

Question 1.
About how long do you think it would take for them to destroy the aiptasia? So I get an idea of how long I'd have them for.

Question 2.
Should I feed them while they're in the sump, or let them go hungry so they'll be sure to eat the aiptasia?

Question 3.
How hard is it to catch them, if I should decide to move them to my DT for a while after they've cleaned out the sump?
I did see one aiptasia in my DT which I destroyed with Aiptasia X. Or should I not put them in my DT?

any other suggestions in controlling the aiptasia in the DT if I should decide not to put them in there?

Please and thank you!

 

[DracoKat]

bumping up

 

[Dizzirn]

This are interesting questions
I want to hear answers also

 

[leahfiish]

They could probably clear it out within a month, it kind of depends. Some like aiptasia more than others. Some also won't eat the bigger ones since you may have to kill those manually.
I'd feed them small amounts once a day.
They can be fast but usually they aren't too bad to catch. Once they know you are trying to catch them, it's hard, but if you can catch them on the first swoop, before they know what's going on, it's not too bad. Be careful because they do get stuck in nets a lot.

If you have LPS or zoanthids I wouldn't put them in the display. Use kalk, aiptasia, away, aiptasia x, whatever you want but make sure you eliminate the aiptasia as soon as you see it. Look behind your rocks and in your overflow box. You could also do peppermint shrimp but be careful with LPS for them as well.

 

[DracoKat]

thank you, I appreciate the reply! It does help me understand more

 

[mfinn]

Hey all,

A reef club member lent me a pair of File Fish to help with my aiptasia problem. They will be with me for a while in my sump where most of the problem is.

Question 1.
About how long do you think it would take for them to destroy the aiptasia? So I get an idea of how long I'd have them for.

Question 2.
Should I feed them while they're in the sump, or let them go hungry so they'll be sure to eat the aiptasia?

Question 3.
How hard is it to catch them, if I should decide to move them to my DT for a while after they've cleaned out the sump?
I did see one aiptasia in my DT which I destroyed with Aiptasia X. Or should I not put them in my DT?

any other suggestions in controlling the aiptasia in the DT if I should decide not to put them in there?

Please and thank you!

1. Some file fish dig right in and go at them right away. I had one that took a couple months before I noticed any difference in the amount of aiptasia's.
Pretty hard to guess that one.

2. I had one in my refugium for a while and never directly fed it because of the food that made it there from the display tank. But if you make a effort to not let food into the sump, then I would feed it lightly.

3. IMO file fish are one of the easiest fish to catch.


My CCB has been my aiptasia killer for almost 2 years.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Aiptasia filefish can be hit-and-miss on how eager they are to eat aiptasia. Some immediately dig right in, others ignore it for awhile. I've found zapping a few aiptasias gets the filefish going after them.

If the filefish are eager aiptasia eaters, the aiptasia could be gone within a week.

I would feed sparingly, if at all until the aiptasia is gone.

In a dt, they will eat aiptasia first, but often move on to other corals. Fortunately they aren't too difficult to catch.

 

[DracoKat]

thank you all