Aiptasia infestation

[219mem]

Hi there,

I have, in my new 100 gallon tank an Aiptasia infestation. It started out to be just one, that came with LR (no idea it could spread so fast!!), and now they are at least 10, and growing.

I got here in this forum the advice to kill it with kalk or lemon juice. But that was in the beginning... Now, its not possible to do so. There are some very small and I think that there are more than I can see...

What should I do?
My tank has yet no fish and I just bought 2 clowns that arrive tomorrow...

Thinking of controlling it with a Chelmon rostratus. Friend of mine did it and after the Aiptasia was gone he fed it with small frozen shrimps... Still does.

Nevertheless, it's not a very easy fish to keep, is it?

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[Tackett]

no copperbands are definitley not easy fish. You could try a herd of peppermint shrimp.

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod ... pCatId=701

 

[Anonymous]

Why is it not possible to Kalk or Joes Juice them?

 

[Tackett]

Joes juice is scary stuff man.

And Im assuming that he has like millions of the buggers and it would take nine years to inject them all.

And in places he cant see or get to.

 

[Juck]

Peppermints worked great for me,,, I put 6 in my 75g and the Aips were gone in a week,,, not seen one for months. The peps are always spawning too,,, my PJ cardinals like that a lot.

 

[starfish 1]

Why is Joes Juice scary stuff? I have just used it to get rid of a lot Majano anemones, it worked good. No adverse affect niticed so far.

 

[ChrisRD]

A combination of Peppermint Shrimp and the boiling kalk thing have always worked for me (I just squirt it on, I don't inject). The kalk is good for the big ones the shrimp don't seem to bother with, and the shrimp seem good at taking out the little ones and eliminating regrowth. JME...

 

[Anonymous]

Yar - injections are not necessary. A nice thick kalk paste can lock them into their holes, or a slurry can be squirted right on their bastard mouths!

I like to use a bulb syringe (for baby's buggers!) to squirt stuff because it gives way more control than a plunger.

 

[Tackett]

Why is Joes Juice scary stuff?

IIRC, if you guestimate wrongly on the actual amount of water in your tank (a 60 gallon reef tank, does not hold 60 gallons of water, sumps, skimmers and other things can make the actual size of your tank a fictional number) you could be in a world of hurt. It is easy to overdose with things like that.

However, if you knew exactly how many gallons are in your tank, it should not be an issue.

 

[Anonymous]

Why is Joes Juice scary stuff?

IIRC, if you guestimate wrongly on the actual amount of water in your tank (a 60 gallon reef tank, does not hold 60 gallons of water, sumps, skimmers and other things can make the actual size of your tank a fictional number) you could be in a world of hurt. It is easy to overdose with things like that.

However, if you knew exactly how many gallons are in your tank, it should not be an issue.

I think you are think of something else. Joes Juice is applied to the appy, not the entire tank.
You may be thinking of flatworm exit, but that would be incorrect as well. It isn't the FE that causes the problems, but the juice from the FW's.

 

[Anonymous]

Pepermint shrimp worked like a charm for me (4 in a 90g). They are fun reef inhabitants too, although it is always a bit of a surprise when they come to clean your arm/hand when it is in the tank.

 

[Anonymous]

Oh, I ditched my pep's because they would steal food from all the corals.

 

[219mem]

I think I'll try the Peps.

Have a nice week end

 

[Tackett]

Why is Joes Juice scary stuff?

IIRC, if you guestimate wrongly on the actual amount of water in your tank (a 60 gallon reef tank, does not hold 60 gallons of water, sumps, skimmers and other things can make the actual size of your tank a fictional number) you could be in a world of hurt. It is easy to overdose with things like that.

However, if you knew exactly how many gallons are in your tank, it should not be an issue.

I think you are think of something else. Joes Juice is applied to the appy, not the entire tank.
You may be thinking of flatworm exit, but that would be incorrect as well. It isn't the FE that causes the problems, but the juice from the FW's.

Strike that comment. Sorry about that, had a brain infarct at that moment. I was thinking of chemiclean, the stuff to help clean up cyano. It did not dawn on me until righty wrote that response.

I apologize greatly for the misinformation.

 

[Ricordia]

Hello all,
I also have a bad aiptasia infestation, literraly hundreds of the buggers in my 150 reef. Peppermint shrimp do not last more than a few weeks in my tank, I suspect my very large brittle star is eating them like candy.
I've heard that CBB's are fragile, difficult fish to keep, but I was very successful keeping an Achilles Tang for several years (he was squished by my large squamosa, got too cocky while nibbling the mantle) which I hear is supposed to be almost impossible to keep. With that in mind, should I try to aquire a CBB for aiptasia control? Is there anything else (other than chemicals and Peppermint Shrimp) I should try? I'm getting desperate, I haven't updated my website with current tank pictures in a long time because of the ugly aiptasia disease it has.

Ricordia