Aiptasia

[carlrix]

I have had my tank for 3 months and have recently had an outbreak of Aiptasia after adding some live rock to my sump about three weeks ago. I bought a File Fish two weeks ago, on advice from LFS, to counter the problem but appears the File fish enjoys the other food more and is not tucking into the Aiptasia. I introduced a second File Fish this weekend as the outbreak is getting extensive. Not sure if I should stop feeding all the fish in the tank for a couple of days to force the File Fish to eat the Aiptasia. The other fish in the 100 gallon tank is as follows:

4 x Clowns
3 x Chromis
2 x Blenny
1x Sandperch

 

[459b]

Give it time, they seldom eat aiptasia right away

 

[Momo]

Yeah took mine 2-3 months before i noticed a decline in Aiptasia. But they will get there

 

[Rors]

You dont have to feed your fish daily, we really do spoil our lil guys in the tanks, keep in mind that in the wild they have to go looking for a meal and work for it and sometimes they dont come right. I personally would not feed them for a day or two, then on the third, give them a lil something to nibble but feed a reduced amount. Let them look for their food and just maybe they will click and munch on a aiptasia or two eventually, if its a really big aiptasia they probably wont chow it. Other alternative is too grab a bottle of Aiptasia X and carpet bomb the heavily infested areas. Make sure all pumps are off and there is no water movement and leave for 20min to make sure you do max damage, then do a big water change to remove as many aiptasia gametes(spores) as possible, after that any stragglers that rear their heads should be targeted on a regular basis. This is something that will need to be done on a regular basis until you get a handle on the issue.

 

[TaahirS]

I also had a huge problem. I tried the filefish and it died. So manual removal it was.

I just used vinegar on all of them. Just inject every one in site. Then the next day do the same. I did this for a week and all is gone.

Just he sure to only use 1ml of vinegar per 100l every day.

 

[ziguri]

My filefish eats aiptasia too but I have also seen it nipping at certain corals . I have used lemon juice with success in he past as well but you have to make sure you hit it in the "stem" when injecting. I have never used aiptasia x as a solution, but I have heard conflicting reports regarding it. A friend of mine has bee using it recently and he claims that it is working and that you don't even have to inject when using it

 

[Ghaydeen]

I got a Copperband for my aiptasia problem. Took him a couple of weeks to start but then it was all gone is a week.

Struggling to feed him now ...

 

[sandersc]

Best experience that I have had with aptaisia removal, and believe me through the years I have tried everything, is with real peppermint shrimps (Lysmata Wunderbarri). A file fish also work execptionally well, once it starts eating aptaisia, but the problem is you normally need to remove him, when he finished all aptaisia, because usually he will then start nipping your coral.

Aptaisia is however one of those "wondeful things" that will almaost always re-appear. Either one has been missed or small ones left that you dont see, but they do come back and now the filefish is gone.

However peppermint shrimps stay in your tank, you may not see them , but they do their work. Just make sure that you get the real MacKoy!

All other methods for aptaisia removal takes time and lots of effort and aren't that successfull.

My 1cents worth from experience over many, many years of marine keeping.

Sanders

 

[carlrix]

Thanks for all the advice. Do the shrimps sort out the bigger Aptaisia as well?

 

[sandersc]

@carlrix I had quite a few big one left in the tank that also disappeared, must have been the shrimps

 

[carlrix]

Would the Aptaisia affect the Star polyps in the tank as the star polyps appear to be regressing as the Aptaisia has increased.

 

[Filthy Mcnasty]

my weapon of choice has been..... my solder gun

simply removed the pieces of LR, targeted every aiptasia i could find, after burning the suckers off, cover the site with a drop of super glue (gel) and back into the tank the rocks went.

aiptasias to date.... Zero

 

[SterlingAce]

I have to agree with the peppermint shrimp,they work wonders.

 

[greenie]

I did have the same problem. First I tried a File Fish. However after 4 months I decided to get rid of him. Never touched any Aiptasia. There after I bought a Peppermint Shrimp followed by a Copperband. Fortunately the Copperband immediately started eating frozen brine shrimp. Now about 4 months later all my Aiptasia is gone. (Aiptasia X never worked for me).