Unknown tentacle thing on Zoa

[Samppson]

Hey,

I noticed this thing on my zoa the other day. Is it aptasia? What should I do to get rid of it? I could remove the colony and manually removed if people suggest. Thank you!

 

[will25u]

It’s an Aiptasia. Some people say lemon juice. I use Aiptasia-X and it works great for me.

 

[Samppson]

Should I manually remove outside of tank? I heard they will release spores if bothered

 

[BamboozleBean]

Aiptasia for sure, get it quick before it spreads

 

[will25u]

Should I manually remove outside of tank? I heard they will release spores if bothered

I always do it in tank. I’ve never taken anything out of the tank to kill them.

 

[Nathan Milender]

I have had good luck with peppermint shrimp if you want one. My overflows always have aptaisa but I never see it in the tank. The creepy ninjas are good a finding it. You do have to keep feeding them though when aptaisa is gone.

 

[Samppson]

Thanks for the replies! I removed it I think, hard to tell as it retracts when I went at it.

 

[NS Mike D]

I've used aptasia x, kalk paste and lemon juice. All with about the same results. It gets the suckers, but then a few weeks/ months later they show up again. Not the end of the world. I now let them grow bigger so I can get a good injection into the mouths.

Aptasia X is worth it for their needles (one straight and one bent). Once I ran out, I have continued to use the needles with kalk paste or lemon juice.

Be surgical in your strike. Shut off the pumps to stop water flowing and be decisive. If you touch the aptasia before injecting, it will close up and likely not kill it. Your zoas will get mad for a while and close up.

 

[NS Mike D]

Thanks for the replies! I removed it I think, hard to tell as it retracts when I went at it.

I found removal unproductive, unless it was attacked to something i can totally removed from the tank, like some strings of cheato. The invert will break off leaving a tiny stump that will grow back. these things can curl up into a teeny ball.