NEED Immediate HELP !!!

[scottjua]

Lately I have had Major problems with Aiptasia and it's stinging my other Corals.

To deal with it I have been trying to get at them with Boiled water and move other corals away from them in an attempt to have the other heal. I can't get a syrainge because everywhere I go people look at me like a nut when I want to buy one without a prescription. SO...I am forced to deal with them SLOWLY by hopefully boiling the hell out of them whne they don't expect it AND trying not to harm other animals in the tank.

Which brings me to my LATEST problem. My red Brain is most harmed by these little bastards and I Just noticed that there is a small Aiptasia anomone growing ON the Coral itself!!! Now my thoguth were I could take out the Whole Coral...Reb brain...out of the tank and while it's in my hands attempt to cut the stupid Aiptasia off of the outer skeleton with an exacto knife. My QUESTION is...is there a better way? AND IF I do this...how can I be sure that the stump (if there is any) will not regenerate?

Boiling is out of the qustion since the problem is right on the animal I wish to save.

PLEASE get back to me ASAP on this one! Thanks everyone in advance.

Scott

 

[mtellin]

go to a farm store, they have all types of syringes and needles and you dont need a prescription

 

[VC]

I would NOT chop them up with a screw driver like mentioned above.
This will only make them multiply even more.

Also insead of boiling water you could try
a mixture of Kalk and water.
If you decide to try peppermint shrimp again
(since they are on the corals ) just make sure they are not camel shrimp
they look almost identical.

 

[tazdevil]

VinceC, thanks for the info-cant remember where I heard the screwdriver thing. Do the peppermint shrimp tend to attack corals or are they usually non-aggressive towards them?

 

[slimy]

A true pepermint srimp should leave most corals alone, though I have heard of them muching Xenia and Yellow polyps. Peppermint shrim will not go after large aiptasiabut should definately stop them from spreading. I used Kalk to destroy the big ones. Mixed it up so it was the consistency of the paste you used in grade school art classes. placed it on the aiptasia and pushed the gunk into its hole. The Kalk can be removed with a baster after a day or so.

As for the one on your brain, I'd just pull it off with your fingernail. If it grows back, do it again. That one shouldn't regenerate more than a couple times.
Make sure you eradicate the remainder.

 

[hurrifan]

Scott, from what I have read and researched, the best solution for Aiptasia is a Berghia Nudi-branch. These nudi-branches eat only Aiptasia and are completely safe for your other tank creatures. You can get them at the link below or post a message looking to buy one. Many people buy them and then sell them when the Aiptasia is under control. Aiptasia is the ONLY thing that they eat and will die once they are all gone. HTH

Berghia Nudi-branch

 

[esmithiii]

Peppermint shrimp work wonders for removing these pests. I have had great luck w/ mine.

Ernie

 

[tazdevil]

aiptasia, the scourge of carpathia, the sorrow,oops thats from a movie. I have tried the peppermint shrimp natural method. It does work at controlling them, but that is key it is control, not irradication. The brain coral is a tough situation, good luck. BTW I have heard, but not seen that those shrimp can damage some corals, but I think that was in regard to sps corals. If you can do this naturally it may be a better idea, as artificial means can disrupt everything. Good luck, Death To All Aiptasia!!!

 

[scottjua]

I did have some Peppermints in the tank at one time but they started to feed on other Corals. I think thought at that particular time there was a mixture of true peppermints and camel back shrimp that the idiot LFS guy gave me. SO...I got rid of them all and my corals were fine. Perhaps I can try a few again, but there's an immediate need to irradicate the few dangerous Aiptasia that I can see are doing damage at this moment.

In fact I just looked a little closer and there is a VERY small one stinging my LArge Leather and it's putting a hole in it's base!!!

F@#$!!! I'm tired of these things...I've only successfully boild one that actually fell off and I was able to syphon him out. I squished it with disgust after I got it out of the tank too! Mean...yes. But if felt good.

 

[tazdevil]

If you liked the squishing, hears another method i have heard but not tried, take a stainless steel screwdriver and grind em to dust (it can be heated for even more pleasure)

cant we all just get along?

 

[Goldmoon]

You could try to put some epoxy on it. The type sold in LFS to hold corals. (not the glue type). We have a red open brain that had an aiptasia on the side. We put some epoxy on it and it never showed back. Ours was in a small hole so we filled the hole with epoxy, if yours is plain on the side, you might try to cut it off and put the epoxy after to be sure what could have been left on the coral won't grow back.
HTH

 

[GMH320]

I added a peppermint shrimp to my tank and it eliminated all the small aiptasia. They won't go after the larger ones though, they need to be handled another way. These shrimp, like any others, are scavengers and need to be fed. They may start crawling on corals searching for trapped food, but I have not seen them actually eat the corals themselves. Like some other posts have said, make sure they are peppermint shrimp you add and not camel backs, they look almost identical except for the hump. Belive it or not I ordered 3 peppermint shrimp MO and recieved 3 fire shrimp...these are as different as night and day.

 

[NaH2Ofreak]

Scott,

I could mail you a suitable syringe and needle if you would like. Generally, this method only works for the "here and there" aptaisia problem. For the ones that are "all over" you really need to use a predator.

Dennis
[email protected]

 

[pathos]

i'm suprised nobody has mentioned the raccoon butterfly fish yet. worked like a champ for me, and my LFS took the fish back when they were all gone. Haven't seen another aiptasia in my tank since. HTH

 

[64Ivy]

Now maybe my experience was atypical but I tried the Breghia and all they did was vanish. I followed the instructions that came with them to the letter and I don't (to my knowledge) have a predator who would've taken them out so quickly. After waiting a couple months, I took other action and used the kalk paste/syringe combo to great success. I would NOT recommend you try this with the red brain though.

 

[jdeets]

Where exactly on the red brain is it attached? On the underside, peeking its head out?

If it's on the underside stony part, peeking its head out, then I'd go after it aggressively, whether you use kalk, boiling water or a dremel tool. As long as you only mess with the stony structure and don't damage the flesh of the coral, it should tolerate treatment well.

 

[scottjua]

Actually it sits right in the crevice where the brains stony structure curves onto itself. Think of it as a figure 8 and it sits in the hip of the 8. Right on the side right next to the flesh of the brain.

I did get some product from the LFS that was sold witha syringe called STOP AIPTASIA, and so far it's made them shrink up pretty well. But I think I may have to find a Berghia Nudibranch if this doesn't work. Because I'm sure that there are more that I can't even see that will become a nuisance later on.

I'm worried that the treatment of the aiptasia will ahrm the corals but...I guess we'll see in a day or so.

OH! I also noticed some very small starfish that are white and resemble my serpent star in shape. Are these babies? Is a Starfish Asexual? If not what are they and are they good or bad?

 

[b.crabby]

no one has yet mentioned a product that i have had marginal success with and that is this stuff called stop aitasia. i get it at my lfs. it comes with a syringe and works best on the big ones that are easy to reach. you might try this with the one on your brain coral because it is reef safe. i ultimately had to get a pep to get small aps and others in hard to reach places, but everything i could reach easily with the syringe died quickly with no apparent side effects to any of my sps or lps.

 

[JRM]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by scottjua:
<STRONG>
I did get some product from the LFS that was sold witha syringe called STOP AIPTASIA, and so far it's made them shrink up pretty well. But I think I may have to find a Berghia Nudibranch if this doesn't work. Because I'm sure that there are more that I can't even see that will become a nuisance later on.

I'm worried that the treatment of the aiptasia will ahrm the corals but...I guess we'll see in a day or so.
</STRONG><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

A word of warning about "Stop Aptasia" When they say "watch your pH" when using it they aren't kidding. Be ***VERY*** carefull about dropping your pH. I used the Stop Aptasia in combination with Peppermint shrimp during the last Great Aptasia War. I had previously tried everything from boiling to kalk to vacuuming them out (btw, that's a *really* bad idea, don't know what I was thinking).

Just be sure to test your pH a couple of times a day if you're going to use the Stop Aptasia. Have plenty of buffer ready, and I generally ended up doing water changes in the times after I had used it. Also, move you power heads around so that there isn't any water flow in your target area. That way, if you miss sticking the Aptasia directly, you can just push a gob of Stop over the hole, and that pretty much whacks them. Some of the bigger ones will take multiple treatments.

I got a bunch of Peppermints from a place in Florida that collects them for like $4 a piece. I think I dumped about 15 in there total. I fished a bunch out to help a friend who was also fighting this evil scourge, and I think he may have passed a few on to a third person.

Good luck. And for the record, try not to maim the Aptasia in any way. If you chop them up you'll only create more. Trust me, I tried it. And the whole, "burn them with a cigarette lighter" thing is an excellent way to end up sleeping on the couch when your wife comes home and smells what you've done!