Aptasia Sucks

[Keith A]

Does anyone keep Peppermint Shrimp in a reef system with a dottyback? I've been waging war against the little aptasia buggers, which has costs the lives of about 4 Copperband Butterflies.. The injection of kalwasser paste works, but I just can't keep up with them, so I figured I'd try the other common cure, peppermints.

I've had a snowflake moray in the system since before it was a reef, and am planning on getting him out of there soon. Just worried that the dottyback will bother the Peppermint Shrimp, who I hope will munch some aptasia.

It's a 75 gallon reef with a 20 gallon refugium.

Any thoughts would be appreciated..

Thanks..

 

[Anonymous]

I don't think the dotty back will give you any trouble.

 

[Len]

Pseudochromis will unlikely consume Peppermints. Some of the larger, more aggressive Pseudochromids like L.cyclophthalmus and P.steenei might cause some problems, but the majority will not.

Good luck .... i know how frustrating Aiptasia can be, and I'm sure many sympathize (or are in the same predicament as yours).

 

[Anonymous]

i've got 2 peps in my tank but they did not (unfortunately) take care of the few aiptasia i have had. i just used pickling lime and a syringe - which is the same as kalk.

 

[danmhippo]

Coral, you sure you have aiptasia, not majano? You sure you have peppermint shrimp, not camel shrimp?

 

[Anonymous]

yes, dan - i'm sure. but thanks for asking. :wink:

 

[Enzo]

How can you tell if you have aipstasia. I think I might have it. It looks like feather dusters but they are a poopy brownish reddish color. It also has a poopy brownish reddish stem which is about half an inch long. I might get peppermints but will a humu humu trigger eat them. I would guess they would, but my trigger hasn't touched my snails, calapura and my anmone, so why not. I think I could get away with one. IS there any other way of treating aipstasia that is natural. Thanks
John(aka. ENZO)

 

[danmhippo]

Enzo, most of known aiptasia natural enemy will become your trigger snack in a jiffy. Keep up with kalk paste trick.

 

[Palmetto]

I have kept peppermints with Orchid Dottybacks with no problems at all.

I am sorry your CBands have not been healthy. They are the ultimate Aiptasia munchers if you get a healthy, confirmed eater.

 

[investigator1]

Here's my two cents:

I had alot of aiptasia in my tank. I also had a strawberry psuedochomis. So I bought a peppermint shrimp for combat. THe peppermint shrimp ate and destroyed all of my aiptasia in ONE NIGHT! Well three days later the shrimp molted. THe psuedo always was a jerk to him. The psuedo went after him right after he molted and BLAM! dead peppermint shrimp. May his memory live on for his truly heroic aiptasia attack in the face of death.

 

[Anonymous]

peps are cheap. I put 4 in my 75 and all aipts were gone in a day or two. I wouldn't just get one, they don't all always eat what you want them too!

Louey

 

[Enzo]

Do aipstasia suck in like a feather duster when you poke at it with a stick? They don't look like feather dusters but they could be a form a of feather dusters. I mean are feather dusters a brown poopy color?

 

[Sidewinder]

Mine "suck in" but I think mine are Majano, and Peps will not touch them.

 

[Palmetto]

Yes, Sidewinder, that is a Majano.

Aiptasia, Majanos and other anemones do "suck in" but not into a little tube like featherdusters. Aiptasia can shrink into themselves so far that they can seem to disappear into the tiniest crevice.

 

[t-byrd]

well, i have some in my tank too, but from the pic it looks like aiptasia
have a greenish hue to them. my little anenomes are perfectly
clear colored. would these be the majano?
they are only on one rock, on one side of it. i think im going to take the rock out and scrap them off, and soak that portion of it in freshwater for a while. this should take care of them right? tried the kalkpaster injection,
but alot are so small and suck right up its hard to inject them.

 

[Palmetto]

Aiptasia do not have a green tint, they are brown when under full lighting for awhile. Majanos actually get a green tint sometimes. Majanos are the little chubby looking ones- Aiptasia have long, tapering tentacles.

Aiptasia will lose their symbiotic algae if they are in the dark, turning almost completely transparent. They can survive very long periods of time without light, and with very little food.

This sounds like what you are describing T-bird, although it is impossible to be sure without a pic.

 

[t-byrd]

yea i need to get a digital camera.
mine are completely transparent, i found them when i rearranged some rock last weekend. they were completely in the dark for a long time.
they are completely transparent, long tapered tentacles. the big one
has a close to 2-1/2-3" diameter disc. i'm missing my small yellow watchman
goby he was about 2" long, think this big aiptasia may have ate him?
there is absolutely no sign of him in the tank anymore, and he was nice
and plump, good colors and eating great so i think he was the picture of good health. my favorite fish, now he is gone.
will soaking the portion of rock in freshwater get rid of the aiptasia?
i want to make sure i get every little one out of there so they dont get big
like the one i have in there now.

 

[Ocyurus]

Welcome to my hell... :x They are everywhere! This is the stuff true nightmares are made of!

We tried Peppermint shrimp, the vanished that night .. Aliens?

We tried Kalkwasser, this did nothing! Not against these vile creatures! We are getting a sharper needle next week maybe it will help.

Are there any other predators for these awful things that y'all may know of?

 

[Palmetto]

Trained attack Copperband Butterfly. Agent CB007- licensed to kill.

The recipe has worked every time I have tried it.

1) Get a healthy Copperband Butterfly that you have confirmed is eating something you can provide. This is the hardest part.

2) Feed that sucker several times a day, until he is fat, happy, and hungry all the time.

3) Stop feeding completely until he figures out what Aiptasia taste like! (If he goes a week without any Aips disappearing, go back to #2. They will find enough worms and pods in a healthy tank not to starve in this time.)

I have cleaned MANY tanks of Aiptasia this way.

They love the taste of them once they get started- it may take awhile before they eat the first one, but once they eat a couple the tank is usually clear of them in a few days!

Good luck!