Aiptasia, again

[Anonymous]

Shrimp won't touch the big ones. Take the rock out, scrape off the anemone, and then blast what remains on the rock with one of those butane pocket blowtorches than Matt Wandell flicks at people. If the rock has nothing important on it, a quick emmersion in boiling water will do the trick, and the bacteria will survive enough to repopulate it pretty quickly. It won't help your coraline algae.

 

[ChrisRD]

Personally I've never had to resort to anything crazy to control aptasia. I've always kalk pasted the large ones and let the Peppermint Shrimp do the rest. That's always worked for me...

 

[Anonymous]

Peppermint shrimp always worked for me too. But once the aptasia were gone the shrimp would die.

Same experience here.

 

[Anonymous]

Personally I've never had to resort to anything crazy to control aptasia. I've always kalk pasted the large ones and let the Peppermint Shrimp do the rest. That's always worked for me...

I find peppermint shrimp work about as well as prayer.

 

[mr_X]

hmm..i had a few aptasia, until i injected them with vinegar. never seen any since. i just used a syringe and squirted them as close as possible. they immediatey shriveled and the next day they were gone. :?

 

[Anonymous]

will a peppermint shrimp eat host anemones?

Although joe's juice seems to be working for me right now.

 

[Anonymous]

They ate my green zooanthids a few years ago.

 

[ChrisRD]

I find peppermint shrimp work about as well as prayer.

Maybe you should try both. :wink:

I mix up a batch of kalk+water to about a heavy cream consistency and then boil it in the microwave. I then slowly squirt it on/around the aptasia with a plastic syringe and let it sit on the area for a few minutes (turn off all pumps). I generally get about a 99% kill rate with that method.

 

[cmm1970austin]

I just got to the other side of this very problem and the answer was the second copper band butterfly. The first was not very hardy and would not eat anything. I let the fellas at my local fish shop know that I wanted a hardy big eater when they got one. Well some months later as my aptasia continued to take over the tank, and I mean they were everywhere, the fellas got a big hardy butterfly in. Three weeks after I put it in the tank, no more aptasia. Truly miraculous. So far, not deleterious effects on my SPS or LPS. We'll see if he continues to leave them alone. For now, that fish is truly a hero around our tank.

I realize that most of the butterfly fish do not end up doing the job. I got lucky I guess, but who can say that you can't find a good one too.

Mike

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah, the main problem is the chelmon is fragile. If yours adapted, that is great. Make sure the guy gets plenty of other food to eat. You might have to grow some aiptasia for it.

 

[Anonymous]

I find peppermint shrimp work about as well as prayer.

Maybe you should try both. :wink:

I mix up a batch of kalk+water to about a heavy cream consistency and then boil it in the microwave. I then slowly squirt it on/around the aptasia with a plastic syringe and let it sit on the area for a few minutes (turn off all pumps). I generally get about a 99% kill rate with that method.

Me too. I have also tried the Stop Aptasia from blue vet that I think is much more effective than Joes Juice -it came with a nice long needle for the plastic syringe that makes it easier to direct the flow.

 

[Lepchitz]

where the hell can I get a syringe? I had one but the needle got clogged

I just use Kalk or liquid calcite, but you have to inject about 2-3 times before they die. This is my first post by the way...

 

[Anonymous]

where the hell can I get a syringe? I had one but the needle got clogged

I just use Kalk or liquid calcite, but you have to inject about 2-3 times before they die. This is my first post by the way...

:welcome:

Your local Veterinarian, ask for a large bore irrigation syringe (tell them what you want it for).

 

[ChrisRD]

I don't try to inject - I just squirt the kalk slurry on the aptasia. When they retract I smother the area and let the blob sit there for a few minutes (pumps off). Any method that delivers the slurry to the right location should work - doesn't necessarily have to be a syringe IMO.

 

[Lepchitz]

Thanks, I will go pick one up today. I have a 150watt Aqualight Pro HQI in the mail, and I want my tank to be spick and span for when I get it.

 

[Ben1]

ChrisRD is right on.

I have never lost when using kalkpaste. It will work 100% if you do it right. When the paste is thick enough it will pile up on the anemone thick. I use a syringe from an old test kit, it just needs to pile on top and fill the hole the anemone is in if it is in one. I just leave it on there, even with some pumps on if the paste is thick enough it will stick where you put it.

Peps will work on the smaller anemones. I think they get a bad rep b/c people and LFS consistantly mislabel camels as peps.

Copperband butterfly is a good bet also.