Opinions on Peppermint shrimp to rid Aiptasia Anemone

[JezandBel]

Two days ago, we discovered an Aiptasia Anemone on one of our pieces of LR.
After reading back on old posts and searching the web for details, I am getting the idea that these are not an appreciated hitchhiker. I have heard of three ways to eradicat these critters and I am hoping to see what the majority think.
The first was with some chemical you can purchase.

The second was to inject boiling water into it and

The third was to add peppermint shrimp.

I think I like the idea of the peppermint shrimp, but we are into the second week of cycling our new tank and I am not sure if the tank is ready for anything yet. My readings this morning are:
Temp 25.4 deg celcius (approx 76deg F)
PH - 7.5 (way down from 8.4 yesterday!)
Nitrate - Nil
Ammonia - between 0.1 - 0.5ppm

Also, would you introduce these shrimp straight into the tank, or would I put them in my quarantine tank first and is there any type of fish that they do not cohabitat with ?

TIA
JezandBel

 

[Rob Top]

Get the shrimp. Acclimate the shrimp slowly, I use a drip method for inverts. They do a great job with the aptasia. As for a Q-tank, that is your choice, I wouldn't as I wouldn't buy on that I was worried about. Most inverts are on small central systems at the LFS if anyone in that system looks unhealthy don't buy. You don't mention who else is in the tank, if it is empty throw the shrimp right in for sure. There are tons of fish that will not work with the shrimp. Too many to list, anything that can fit it into it's mouth is a good rule. Yes there are some large fish that will leave it alone, but as a starting point, if it fits in the mounth it will end up there.

 

[dodo99]

Are you sure your PH reading is correct? That's a big swing from 8.4 down to 7.5. What are your Nitrite, CA, ALK or dKH levels? How long has your tank been running?

 

[Anonymous]

If you are in your second week of cycling then DONT add the shrimp. You can try injecting them with a Kalk paste,

If the tank is established then yes the pepermint shrimp usually eat the aiptasia.
_________________
Honda Jazz

 

[zear0]

Aiptasia will multiply if they are provided with enough nutrients. They also release offspring if you nuke them with kalk, joe's juice, boiling water or whatever. If you are going to nuke, turn off your pumps, do the nuking and then syphon the areas you nuke to remove any remnants...

I do my nuking during water changes. Syphon water into a bucket. Move the rock into the bucket and do the injections in there. This helps to prevent the offspring from spreading.

The peppermints are generally liked and pretty much "reef safe." Some people report that they will pick at some coral polyps. However, I think there is quite a bit of misinformation surrounding peppermints due to the fact that there are two species of shrimp that look very much like a peppermint. You need to be sure that you are getting a Lysmata Wurdemani and not a Lysmata Rathbunae.

The Rathbunae are reported to NOT feed on aiptasia at all.

The Wurdemani WILL feed on aiptasia, but will eat other more easily found food first. They are also only able to handle small aiptasia. If you have big aiptasia, you may need to nuke the big ones because the shrimp won't take them on. I've also read that the Wurd will not cover much more than a square foot of territory, so you may need a few depending on your tank size.

The shrimp may not be a cure-all for aiptasia, but you won't know until you try it.

This site provides some info on removing aiptasia as well as the difference between rath and wurd... Only problem is its in french.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl= ... D%26sa%3DN

Copperband butterfly fish will feed on aiptasia, but these fish are not hardy enough to survive the cycle. They are tough to keep healthy in general.

The Berghia Verrucicornis nudbranch (sea slug) feeds exclusively on aiptasia. Its effective, but will die once it finishes all of the aiptasia off. It is not ethical to purchase livestock that you aren't planning to keep healthy for their entire lifespan.

If you don't have any fish yet you can probably hold off for a few more weeks on adding the shrimp. The aiptasia probably won't multiply much if you aren't feeding the tank.

sorry for rambling... I just did this research for myself and figured it's better to pass as much on as I can.

-Jeff

 

[Azrile]

I would not even worry about the aptasia until your tank has cycled completely. It is an invertabrete, and as such, it will have a very hard time dealing with the amonia and nitrites. There's a decent chance it will die because of this, and even if it doens't die, it will be in no shape to reproduce anytime soon. Let the tank cycle, then add the shrimp.

 

[rubiconman]

I just went through the same situation that you are and I waited after the cycling to add the shrimp. During the cycling I had 2 that I could see that popped up and grew to about an inch in size. After the cycle I added the shrimp the Aptaisia are no longer there and don't see any coming up. However, it did drive me crazy to know that they were there after hearing all the bad things about them. I did find out that you should not try to pull them off or scrape. This can cause an outbreak in your tank.

 

[Anonymous]

You got some good advice and some bad....

Do not add anything to your tank yet. You still have ammonia, so your tank is NOT done cycling. You will most likely kill whatever you add.

NOW is the time to get rid of the aptasia, not later when you want stable water parameters and after you have livestock in there. Joe's juice works the best and since you dont have anything live in there yet, no harm could come of it. Do vacuum the dead aptasia asap.
Since again, you dont have any livestock, people sometimes take the rock out that has the aptasia, and burn it off. That works good too.

Aptasia is a tough MF, and live through many things, so it will not just dissapear-usually-unless you intervene.

I suggest NOT adding any creature for any reason to eradicate a problem. Problem gone=introduced critter chance of being gone. Pepermints will at least eat other things, so that one isnt bad, but dont get into a habit of fixing things with livestock.

Your pH swing is very large. You need to get your alkalinity under control. Alk and calcium are a buffer system that helps maintain pH steadily. I always suggest using the 2 part b-ionic as I found it to be the best product for it.
I suggest getting an alk test kit and learn that relationship soon. This is why you have the pH swing-low alkalinity, and probably low calcium.
Another usual cause of low alk is improper mixing of changeout water. Let it circulate for at least 24 hrs, then test it's pH. Adding top off water is also a big cause of large swings...most wate ris at the 7.2 range or thereabouts. Thi sis why a buffer is so important.

Your temp is n the low end, but that is up for grabs. Typically we like to keep reefs in the 80 range, but keeping it constant is way more important.

What is your salinity? Make sure you are at 1.025.

Enjoy!

 

[Anonymous]

JezandBel,

If you do not have kalkwasser, and I can see why you may not since you are just starting, go to your grocery store and see if they have something called "pickleing lime." It will be in the canning section, usually near the vinegar. It will most likely be sold under the name "Balls" or "Mrs Wages" and only cost a few bucks. I can usually find it at most grocery stores.

Make a thin paste with the lime and some fresh water, (I use a coffee cup for this, you only need about a tablespoon of the lime and enough water to make a paste, I usually end up makeing way more than I need) and suck it up into a small syringe. You could ask a pharmacist for a small syringe with no needle, or if one of your test kits had a dosing syringe that is what I use.

Turn off your pumps and slowly squeeze out enough paste to cover the anemone. Turn the pumps back on in 15 minutes or so, don't forget!!! The reason for turning the pumps off is to be sure the paste doesn't immediatly blow away.

I agree you need to get that pH swing under control.