Killing Aiptasia with solutions...

[WBrian]

Hi All,
I've found what I believe to be Aiptasia on a piece of LR I purchased wioth some mushrooms not too far back. Anyway, I want to kill them (It was one, now it's 3 of them minus the one large one I scraped off it). I've been reading and the mixing of thekalk and water into a paste seems like an appealing way to try for me. I just want to review and ask a Q or 2:

First, is "Kalk" any calcium mix? (When I see 'Kalk" written on these boards, is it a reference to calcium?) I recently picked up a jar of Tropic Marin's Bio-Calcium. Can I mix that into a paste and have the same effect? Is it better to apply it to the aiptasia, or inject it into it? I'm a nurse and can get a hold of syringes and needles (is the metal of the needle going into the water a concern?)

Next, I have a few mushrooms really close to the offending critter. Will this paste have any untoward effect of the 'shrooms?

How much of this paste would I need to make to kill these 3 critters? They are fairly small and I'd like to get rid of them before there is an issue.

Does the calc paste have any effect on the tank's calcium level? I am in the process of raising my calcium from 360 up to a gaol of 400, and was spreading the task over a few days.

Thanks a bunch!
Brian
Death to the Aiptasias!

 

[WBrian]

Well,
I tried the calcium I have. It didn't work very well. The aiptasia didn't care for it, and probably would have died, but I had trouble getting it on them well. The "paste" quicly turned to liquid and went all over. SO I'd say, don't try it that way.

So after reading some more, I went with the vinegar. I decided on boiling it first, and drew it up into a syringe right from the pot. I'd taken the rock with the aiptasia and put it in one of those isolation containers that they catch fish with at the pet stores. Injected them and their holes and saw immediate results. Dead on contact. Still dead this AM. No signs of any others in the tank...

later,
Brian

 

[Anonymous]

First, is "Kalk" any calcium mix?

Sorry you didn't get an answer to this, holiday weekend and all I guess, ,

Anyway. No. Kalk is not any calcium, it is a specific supplement. You can buy kalkwasser made for fish tanks, many fish supply brands like "two little fishies" make it) or you can buy "pickling lime" from the canning section of your local grocery store, which is what I do. The brands are "Mrs, Wages" or "Balls", They are very cheap to pick up and have on hand.

Mix a spoonfull with enough water to make a loose paste, then apply.

I would like to go into more detail but am on vacation on terrible dial up connection!

 

[Anonymous]

First, is "Kalk" any calcium mix?

Sorry you didn't get an answer to this, holiday weekend and all I guess, ,

Anyway. No. Kalk is not any calcium, it is a specific supplement. You can buy kalkwasser made for fish tanks, many fish supply brands like "two little fishies" make it) or you can buy "pickling lime" from the canning section of your local grocery store, which is what I do. The brands are "Mrs, Wages" or "Balls", They are very cheap to pick up and have on hand.

Mix a spoonfull with enough water to make a loose paste, then apply.

I would like to go into more detail but am on vacation on terrible dial up connection!

Yep, long weekend and travel with bad connections!

When I use kalk to nuke aptasia, I add some sel con to the mix and then squirt a little bit onto the mouth and/or feeding tentacles so the beast ingests it. If you just cover it up, you may not kill it.

 

[fungia]

brian, congrats on getting rid of the aiptasia. i use kalkwasser (calcium hydroxide) paste. i mix up a thick paste and boil it. it works great. to be sure, i sometimes use some underwater epoxy in the hole where the aiptasia used to be.

 

[Anonymous]

First, is "Kalk" any calcium mix?

Sorry you didn't get an answer to this, holiday weekend and all I guess, ,

Anyway. No. Kalk is not any calcium, it is a specific supplement. You can buy kalkwasser made for fish tanks, many fish supply brands like "two little fishies" make it) or you can buy "pickling lime" from the canning section of your local grocery store, which is what I do. The brands are "Mrs, Wages" or "Balls", They are very cheap to pick up and have on hand.

Mix a spoonfull with enough water to make a loose paste, then apply.

I would like to go into more detail but am on vacation on terrible dial up connection!

Yep, long weekend and travel with bad connections!

When I use kalk to nuke aptasia, I add some sel con to the mix and then squirt a little bit onto the mouth and/or feeding tentacles so the beast ingests it. If you just cover it up, you may not kill it.

Righty, what does the sel con do for the mixture?

~wings~

 

[reefland]

I use selcon in the mix as well. I use that instead of water. It tends to give the kalk a good taste to the anemone. It doesn't even close up as it tries to eat it.

I'd also suggest turning off your pumps when you dose it. You want the kalk paste to sit for a while and not get blown off. Siphon up the remains before turning the pumps back on.