Will aptasia grow directly on zoas

[SoggyNW]

Just what the title says, will aptasia grow directly on the skin of a zoa? I got 4 zoa frags from an LFS last week. And although I couldn't spot any initially,after a week one zoa frag had a half dozen tiny aptasia growing off of it.

Instead of trying to kill the aptasia I decided to attempt to remove only the zoa from it's bit of rock. I used the pick end of a floss stick to gently work the zoa loose and then glued it to a bit if rubble from the tank. As I was doing this I scrapped off small spots that might have been retracted aptasia.

Gonna keep a close eye on it for a while. Crossing my fingers that the operation was a success.

 

[Uncle99]

Don’t grow on healthy corals, only hard surfaces

 

[SoggyNW]

Don’t grow on healthy corals, only hard surfaces

Perfect, that's what I thought I had read at some point, but I couldn't find the info now when I needed it. Now I just need the zoas to survive the teams I inflicted on them.

 

[tripdad]

Yes, they will grow directly on the stalk of zoanthids. I know this through firsthand experience. I just carefully scrape them off with a knife blade while holding them underwater so they can't squirt me. I also use a magnifier to aid in seeing them.

 

[lapin]

It can but prob not on the top.
Some stinging corals might be able to kill it off if it comes too close. It would be the battle of who has the most potent sting

 

[SoggyNW]

Yes, they will grow directly on the stalk of zoanthids. I know this through firsthand experience. I just carefully scrape them off with a knife blade while holding them underwater so they can't squirt me. I also use a magnifier to aid in seeing them.

Booo, Not what I wanted to read. Thanks for the first hand onsite though. I'm gonna leave the frag in the rack close to the glass for a few weeks to keep an eye on it.

 

[SoggyNW]

Woohoo they live. I wasn't sure they would make it, the removal from the rock was a little rough.

 

[anthonygf]

After 5 years started to get aiptasia, tried everything to eradicate them but eventually multiplied faster than I can kill them. I had large colonies of zoa's and they were growing between the polyps. So I removed all live rock from my 75 gallon and started fragging all my coral and cleaning off the aiptasia. All rocks soaking in vinegar bath for several days while I clean the sand bed, overflows, sump, replaced all hoses. Boil the rocks and started to put the rocks back in. I purchased 16 peppermint shrimp, have a file fish, they could not keep up. I guess you can say I've restarted my tank. So far no aiptasia and I have a dozen shrimps, large number of frags, still have 13 head Duncan and 2 large hammers I need to reattach to rocks. WOW, so much work.
No ammonia spike yet from removing rock,

 

[tripdad]

DO NOT BOIL ROCKS! This is an unsafe practice, please do not advise this.

 

[mfinn]

I have seen aiptasias growing on the sides of zoanthids myself.

 

[PicassoClown04]

It’s true. Aptasia can grow directly on the sides of a zoa. But how can we remove it? Will an H2O2 dip work since I doubt the anemone has slime coat protection like the zoa? There are a couple teeny tiny ones growing on one of my large palys that need to go, but every time I try to manually remove them they retract and I can’t see them anymore so I’m thinking I may need to test a few different dips to see if anything kills them.

ps- interesting fragging tool! Next time, a razor may be easier but zoas can survive a pretty brutal fragging process. I’m glad they made it!

 

[hsn izd]

yes it can
the best way to not harm your zoa is using shrimp
i used it didnt killed my zoa but I'm not sure how can the shrimp you buy act
but it worked for me

 

[anthonygf]

DO NOT BOIL ROCKS! This is an unsafe practice, please do not advise this.

I did not advise this, just mentioned what I had done. Why is this unsafe? You may be right, would like to know your reason.

 

[anthonygf]

It’s true. Aptasia can grow directly on the sides of a zoa. But how can we remove it? Will an H2O2 dip work since I doubt the anemone has slime coat protection like the zoa? There are a couple teeny tiny ones growing on one of my large palys that need to go, but every time I try to manually remove them they retract and I can’t see them anymore so I’m thinking I may need to test a few different dips to see if anything kills them.

ps- interesting fragging tool! Next time, a razor may be easier but zoas can survive a pretty brutal fragging process. I’m glad they made it!

H2O2 dip did nothing for me. You can see a little dark speck where the aiptasia is attached and just scrape it off, outside in a small tub of tank water.

 

[anthonygf]

I did not advise this, just mentioned what I had done. Why is this unsafe? You may be right, would like to know your reason.

If it is unsafe I will not do this anymore. I thoroughly cleaned and scrubbed my rocks in vinegar bath and fresh water bath for several days before boiling.

 

[SoggyNW]

If it is unsafe I will not do this anymore. I thoroughly cleaned and scrubbed my rocks in vinegar bath and fresh water bath for several days before boiling.

It is unsafe because it can airosol palytoxin found in some zoas and palys. Very effective way to send everyone in the house to the hospital or worse. It is truly dangerous.

 

[TriggerFinger]

It is unsafe because it can airosol palytoxin found in some zoas and palys. Very effective way to send everyone in the house to the hospital or worse. It is truly dangerous.

If it is unsafe I will not do this anymore. I thoroughly cleaned and scrubbed my rocks in vinegar bath and fresh water bath for several days before boiling.

If you mean literal boil, as in boiling water; yes that’s very dangerous. As @SoggyNW mentioned about the toxins; you can also get air trapped in crevices deep in the rocks and as the temp rises, the rock can explode. Please reef safely!!

 

[anthonygf]

It is unsafe because it can airosol palytoxin found in some zoas and palys. Very effective way to send everyone in the house to the hospital or worse. It is truly dangerous.

I understand and know about the palytoxin, but I removed all traces of the polyps and algae before I boil them. Still a problem?

 

[anthonygf]

If you mean literal boil, as in boiling water; yes that’s very dangerous. As @SoggyNW mentioned about the toxins; you can also get air trapped in crevices deep in the rocks and as the temp rises, the rock can explode. Please reef safely!!

When it just starts to boil I turn off the burner.

 

[tripdad]

I did not advise this, just mentioned what I had done. Why is this unsafe? You may be right, would like to know your reason.

I know you did not expressly "advise" it , however sometimes "noobs" read these threads and not always thoroughly so all they see is "boil the rock" and fail to read "I scrubbed them clean first". In any event, there are numerous things in our tanks that we do not want to aerosolize(sp) and yes palys and zoas can be deadly. There are several reports each decade of people getting very sick from boiling rocks. Therefore best practice is just don't do it.