Aiptasia- leave it alone or eliminate?

[Anonymous]

I've had 2 aiptasia growing in some coral for some time (1+ months). They don't appear to be spreading (or even growing). Should I leave well enough alone or get in there and try to eliminate them?

Thanks for your replies.

Chris

 

[Anonymous]

Left to their own, they will probably eventually be fruitful and multiply, so I would look into getting some peppermint shrimp or something to keep them in check.

 

[vester_72]

Get rid of them ASAP.

I used Kalk and some Peppermint Shrimp and mine have been gone for a month, but I am keeping my fingers crossed.

My brother let his go, now they are EVRYWHERE - in the gravel, on all live rock.

The sooner you can eliminate the better.

 

[Anonymous]

Will peppermints fight with cleaners?

Btw, thanks to Len (or one of the other moderators) for moving my post to the right forum!

Chris

 

[Len]

Hey Chris,

I learned the hard way to not let them be. I had a 26 gallon a long time ago that had a single aiptasisa for the longest time. Then one day, it decided to replicate like the plague, making me wish I had removed it earlier.

Just be careful to extricate it cleanly and completely. Leaving aiptasia bits on the rock, or worse floating about in the water, is definitely a significant risk you're taking. But my previous experiences tell me it's worth the risk

 

[reefsnreptiles1]

Injecting Kalk has always worked for me. I agree with the others. Get rid of them right away.

Best of luck!

Brian

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks very much for the info, guys! I'm going to try to remove the rock and put it in a container with water removed during a water change, then scrub it with a toothbrush. Does this sound alright?

Chris

 

[Len]

Where is the aiptasias located? Embedded in the coral(s) or at their base? Manual removal isn't as safe as chemically burning the little surkers. I'd fear that brushing it with a tooth brush might just leave tiny bits of Aiptasia around.

 

[Anonymous]

It's in between some glove coral...do you think I have to kalk it?

Chris

 

[Anonymous]

Why does this remind me of that one Godzilla movie....what the hell was that creature that he battled? I remember it looked a lot like The Swamp Thing, and they tried to blow it up, but all the little bits grew into more things....

IIRC, Anthony Calfo actually wrote a (rather humurous) article on utilizing Aiptasia in their own refugium for filtration. I'll have to look for that.

 

[Anonymous]

If you find the link, could you post it please? Thanks, sweetie!

Chris

 

[Len]

If it's in between, I'm not sure how to kalk it without hurthing the surrouding polyps. I guess a nice exacto, a toothbrush, and some thorough rinsing may be your only choice :?

 

[Anonymous]

You got it, sweetcheeks! Oops, sorry, I reserve that petname for hiddendragonet and one other very special person only...

Anyway, Chris, here ya be
http://www.efishtank.com/articles/Good% ... ptasia.htm

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks very much, seamaiden!

Chris

 

[brandon4291]

I think aiptasia is scary enough to warrant the immediate removal of any LR chip or specimen it is found on. That item can return after successful experimenting in another tank, but never sacrifice your reef setup to this evil hydra if you can help otherwise. Aiptasia would be incredibly detrimental if it went into a reproductive phase in my nano aquariums--this extreme measure is only reserved for aiptasia and bryopsis contaminated specimens, everything else can be battled through biological and chemical balance. Majano Anemones have recently been added to the Mason's list of Hyperexportable Contaminants--whatever they show up on has to go.

:!:

 

[srbayless]

Howdy,

I too had one aptaisia in my first tank, and I let it grow because I thought it looked cool and it did not reproduce for a long time. Unfortunately it finally sprouted offspring, which immediately took over my tank.

The only method I found to really get rid of them was the Kalk injection. I also added a twist to the procedure. I would boil some water in the microwave, add the Kalk, and inject it directly into the hydra's mouth using a syringe. The double assault of Kalk and boiling water killed those ugly mutha's right quick. Never had a problem after that.

I think if you can get the syringe right into the mouth, you can avoid hurting the corals on either side.

Good luck,

Scott.

 

[quazi]

I agree with the chemical and heat burning of these nasty little critters. :twisted:

If you go with peppermint shrimp instead (my preferred method), they will live fine with a cleaner shrimp (at least from my experience.) I have a cleaner, bcs and ~4 peppermint shrimps in my 55. Everyone is happy, and the aiptasia are down to a dull roar. :wink:

 

[aliendomain]

Chris,
I have one peppermint, one fire and to cleaners shrimps in my 55 and they all get along very well. I had a number of aiptasia growing in my tank after adding one piece of LR from a LFS to the tank, I tried a number of things to get rid of them but the peppermint shrimp did the best job. There are none left in the tank and the shrimps are all doing well eating the same food as the fish.
Tony

 

[Anonymous]

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