Who's this little guy?

[KSean]

Looks like Aiptasia to me. Is it a pest?
If so, how can I get rid of it ? They seem to have hitchhiked along with the macro algae I bought online.. :-/

 

[Reeferguy365]

Looks like aiptasia I would get rid of it

 

[KSean]

Thanks @Reefguy420 ! Will do. It's currently isolated from the main tank (no flow to the refugium). How do I get rid of them? Are there any dips that can help? Or should I just throw away the entire thing?

 

[40B Knasty]

If there is no corals with a palytoxin on it like zoanthids or palyathoas. Boil it! Then let it dry for a few days. Stick it in a bucket of saltwater and "cook it." It is a term they use (which is stupid), but it is basically getting the die off out of the rock. Return it to the area you had it in and let it get bacteria on it again and drop some beneficial starter bacteria on it. Or just toss it and save yourself the headache and time if it is not a major loss for your tank. People will say use peppermint shrimp, nudibrachs, aipatsia x, lemon juice, or boiling hot water injection. You have about a 5% chance of it working. You don't want that crap in your tank at all. I have had it. Tried all the methods. None worked. The reason why. When you go to do anything to it or something starts to eat it. It goes into protect and repopulate mode. Get it out. Drop a nuke on it. Problem solved. Or toss it.

 

[samnaz]

you are correct, aiptasia. yes, considered a pest.

only way to keep them out of your tank is diligently examine anything and everything you add to your tank with a magnifying glass. if I didn't do that, my tank would have aiptasia by now for sure. my most recent coral purchase had a TINY 1mm aptasia, hidden between the coral and the frag plug... tanks still stinging-pest-anemone free, thank you magnifying glass

 

[Reeferguy365]

Is it just on the macro algae? If so just get rid of the macro algae.

 

[40B Knasty]

Is it just on the macro algae? If so just get rid of the macro algae.

I thought that was live rock. Yeah forget what I said and toss the macro algae if that's what it is on.

 

[Maritimer]

You don't have to toss _all_ of the macro, of course ... just tear off the bits with Aiptasia on 'em.

~Bruce

 

[Reeferguy365]

You don't have to toss _all_ of the macro, of course ... just tear off the bits with Aiptasia on 'em.

~Bruce

Yeah that's what I was going to suggest but then I thought about how aiptasia releases spores and throwing out a little macroalgae will be cheaper than releasing spores throughout the whole tank

 

[KSean]

Thanks for the help everyone! I threw the Macros out and the sand bed I had them in. Luckily they were all in the small hang-on-the-back refugium (10 bucks. not worth getting aiptasia in my tank! )