aiptasia out break
- Thread starter ping29
- Start date
starting over doesnt really help, unless you totally trash all your rock, and you probably dont want to do all that. A few things come to mind. 1 nuke the ones you can with Joe's Juice. 2 purchase 2 or 3 peppermint shrimp. 3 introduce a butterly fish. These are the most effective ways of getting rid of the pests without doing somthing drastic. Just keep in mind that if you introduce natural preditors they will need a place to stay after your aps are gone.
BTW,... what are you tank specifications???
B
BTW,... what are you tank specifications???
B
must not lose the war, must not. will do whatever it takes.iam getting the hang of everthing slowly but surely even f it has only been 2.5 months. o did i mention that i have a nasty outbreak of hair alge to boot. everything checks out perfect except phoshate is 0.5 not sure how high it was before i got phoshate remover but its going down now i hear sea slugs are good for aiptasia but will get butterfly fish for now
I recently tried peppermints but my resident cleaner shrimps decided they made good snacks 
I might have to remove my cleaner shrimps for a while to let the peppermints do their thing. Let me know what butterfly fish works for you. That may be my other option as well. I've tried Joe's Juice and NaOH on what aiptasia I could get at, but some are in awkward spots that I can't effectively kill them with these chemicals.
I might have to remove my cleaner shrimps for a while to let the peppermints do their thing. Let me know what butterfly fish works for you. That may be my other option as well. I've tried Joe's Juice and NaOH on what aiptasia I could get at, but some are in awkward spots that I can't effectively kill them with these chemicals.I bought peppermint shrimp. They ate my xooanthids. Then they ate my bristleworms.
I bought a chelmon. It croaked.
I bought Joe's juice, I injected concentrated HCl, or NaOH. They kept coming back, reproducing, metastasizing.
I bought the nudibranches and tried to breed them. They laid eggs, and then died 1 by 1.
Meanwhile I went from about 100 aiptasia to about 100,000. Doubtless there were many other problems.
I threw everything into the fire a month ago. Now I doubled the size of my tank and am about to start again.
I now have what can only be described as a phobia of these things.
I bought a chelmon. It croaked.
I bought Joe's juice, I injected concentrated HCl, or NaOH. They kept coming back, reproducing, metastasizing.
I bought the nudibranches and tried to breed them. They laid eggs, and then died 1 by 1.
Meanwhile I went from about 100 aiptasia to about 100,000. Doubtless there were many other problems.
I threw everything into the fire a month ago. Now I doubled the size of my tank and am about to start again.
I now have what can only be described as a phobia of these things.
well have been reading up a little and iam not sure if copperband butterfly fish are the way 2 go but still a option,when all the Plague is gone well start 2 eat coral and inverts thinking of using consedtrated lemon juice with needle 2 the heart in small dose go( i will be screwed if i dont anyway so)sure would like to post pixs but its not looking up to par yet
items
* 1 Bottle or squeeze dispenser of Lemon Juice From Concentrate.
* One 3ml Latex Free Syringe with a 0.5mm x 16mm needle. Your local pharmacist can provide you with the syringe and needle for about a half a dollar. Don't be surprised if your pharmacist asks you a few questions as to what you plan to use the syringe/needle for.
Procedure:
1. Remove the syringe and attached needle from the wrapper.
2. Twist the needle cover to tighten on the syringe.
3. Remove the needle cover. Shake the bottle (or dispenser) of lemon juice.
4. Fill the syringe with 3ml lemon juice by inserting the needle into the lemon juice and pulling back on the syringe plunger.
5. Insert the needle into (not through) the base (not the top) of the anemone.
6. Inject about .5ml of the lemon juice into the anemone. Withdraw the needle and proceed to the next one.
7. When you are finished, disassemble the syringe/needle, rinse in clean freshwater, dry, reassemble and store for future use.
Tips:
* As with any sharp instrument, use caution when handling it and keep it out of the reach of children.
* When you insert the needle into the anemone, it will normally withdraw, making the lemon juice still quite concentrated in the anemone tube. It is not unusual to see a white puff or string of white material emit from the anemone when you inject the juice.
* 1 Bottle or squeeze dispenser of Lemon Juice From Concentrate.
* One 3ml Latex Free Syringe with a 0.5mm x 16mm needle. Your local pharmacist can provide you with the syringe and needle for about a half a dollar. Don't be surprised if your pharmacist asks you a few questions as to what you plan to use the syringe/needle for.
Procedure:
1. Remove the syringe and attached needle from the wrapper.
2. Twist the needle cover to tighten on the syringe.
3. Remove the needle cover. Shake the bottle (or dispenser) of lemon juice.
4. Fill the syringe with 3ml lemon juice by inserting the needle into the lemon juice and pulling back on the syringe plunger.
5. Insert the needle into (not through) the base (not the top) of the anemone.
6. Inject about .5ml of the lemon juice into the anemone. Withdraw the needle and proceed to the next one.
7. When you are finished, disassemble the syringe/needle, rinse in clean freshwater, dry, reassemble and store for future use.
Tips:
* As with any sharp instrument, use caution when handling it and keep it out of the reach of children.
* When you insert the needle into the anemone, it will normally withdraw, making the lemon juice still quite concentrated in the anemone tube. It is not unusual to see a white puff or string of white material emit from the anemone when you inject the juice.
I have just two in my mostly empty 30 gallon tank right now. I grabbed them with a long pair of tweezers before they had a chance to recoil and they grew right back in a week (they were in crags though). I only have a few pieces of live rock in this tank now, so I will try a few of these experimental methods (lemon juice for starters).
I remember being told how to cut down on ick by changing salinity and temperature. Anyone know if these parameters could be slightly modified to cut down on the spread of aiptasia? Do they grow in dark places too?
After trying non predator methods, I will introduce 2 or 3 peppermint shrimp and let them have at the growth. If they don't do the trick, I can try a butterfly fish. Maybe the local fish store will take it back if I take good care of it. Liveaquaria.com says about Copperband Butterfly Fish: "They may pick on invertebrates, especially anemones and feather dusters. They are an excellent fish when used to control aiptasia, or glass anemones, in the reef aquarium."
For thousands I don't know what I'd do...probably I'd go swim with a stingray 8O (hopefully that wasn't too tasteless of a joke :roll: ).
I remember being told how to cut down on ick by changing salinity and temperature. Anyone know if these parameters could be slightly modified to cut down on the spread of aiptasia? Do they grow in dark places too?
After trying non predator methods, I will introduce 2 or 3 peppermint shrimp and let them have at the growth. If they don't do the trick, I can try a butterfly fish. Maybe the local fish store will take it back if I take good care of it. Liveaquaria.com says about Copperband Butterfly Fish: "They may pick on invertebrates, especially anemones and feather dusters. They are an excellent fish when used to control aiptasia, or glass anemones, in the reef aquarium."
For thousands I don't know what I'd do...probably I'd go swim with a stingray 8O (hopefully that wasn't too tasteless of a joke :roll: ).
ping29":1pjjgysu said:
I injected them with hydrochloric acid. Lemon juice contains acetic acid, which is fairly week. The trick is to inject it into the tissue of the anemone, not just jam it down its mouth. Unfortunately what happens is the anemone immediately retracts, you blast the hole it goes into with acid, but if any survives, it propagates as new anemones. I'm not saying don't try it, but don't think it will solve all of your problems. If you can get at them, you can kill them, but in my experience they are all over the place, not just where you can conveniently kill them.
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