Aiptasia Removal out of a Nano

[longhorn_20m]

Well I have a 12 gallon JBJ NanoCube and have seen a small patch of aiptasia once started, now I'm seeing another little patch adn a few random ones around. I think now it is gettin out of control and need to do something about it.

Right now I have 2 hermits, few snails, anemome crab, and two Oce. clowns.

I'm not sure if I can add much more to the tank, I wasn't planning on adding anything else, but I need to get rid of this aiptasia. I have read about injecting it with a kalk and boilin RO water mixture, but I don't have a syringe and was wondering if that would be a good idea with such a small tank ( huge swing in calcium)? If so, where can I pick up a syringe with needle?

If I have to add a peppermint shrimp or nudibranch, can my tank handle it, if not can always remove it later.

Any suggestions would be awesome.

[Andrew]

They can be fairly difficult to kill, even with a syringe, etc. Don't try to scrape, or pull them off - they can spread like wildfire.

I would personally use a peppermint shrimp, have had good luck with them in the past, though try not to feed the shrimp anything, so he is forced to eat aiptasia only.

I've also heard that they can be covered with that putty stuff (I think it's used to secure frags, rocks together under water, etc.)

they can be tough,

best of luck
a.k.

[Instar]

Peppermint shrimp are good, but, they are predators of the reef. They will eat tunicates, coral polyps and anemones, not just the aiptasia anemones. They also capture little things in holes in the rocks. People always argue this point with me. I have had many and the time to sit and watch them all day and all night. I have some for cleaning rocks, as well as copperbands, but the peppermint shrimp will never go in any of my reefs again unless I can for sure get them out. By the sound of your nano, peppermints won't hurt anything. Don't even try to inject aiptasia in a small tank. That injection idea might work, but, that stuff can be thick and it has to get thru a needle somehow. It will mess up a little 12 gallon for sure.

[Instar]

A 12 gallon can handle a peppermint or nudibranch with what you have in there. You can always isolate the anemone crab (is that a hermit with anemones on it or crab that lives in anemone you have?) in something to keep the peppermint away from it. You know, like one of those things the stores use for eel cages or a breeder net. If your not talking about a hermit with anemones, not to worry then.

[longhorn_20m]

Thanks for all the replys.

Actually it is a porceilan crab or however you spell it, also called an anemone crab if i'm not mistaken. Yea I have heard a lot of good stuff and bad a stuff with peppermint shrimps. I also have some zoos and heard that they will nip those and sometimes eat them, so I'm kind of worried about the peppermint shrimp. I think I'm going to go to Austin Aquariums today, see what they have as natural predators because I need to turn my attention to these guys soon. Hopefully I can add the shrimp, eat it up and get him out.

Any need ideas on catchin this guy once the aiptasia population is gone?

[longhorn_20m]

Well purchased a peppermint today, acclimating him now. Hopefully he will do his job and leave my zoos alone.

[matt]

I kind of doubt you'll have much luck with the peppermint shrimp, but I hope I'm wrong! If it does eat the evil buggers, I'll buy it from you when it's done with your aiptasias. You can probably catch it by cutting off the top of a plastic coke bottle, putting some food in it, and putting it in your tank. When the shrimp goes in for the food, remove the bottle. They'll naturally go down when you reach for the bottle, rather than up and out. That is, unless yours is a genius. Some people have inverted the conical top of the bottle and set it on top like a funnel, then they suposedly crawl in and can't find there way out. That never worked for me.

But, I nuked aiptasias with kalk paste in my 10 gal nano all the time. The best thing I found to use was an aspirator, which you can get at a science supply house. It's like a syringe but no needle, and has a long, curved plastic tip to direct the kalk right into the aiptasia.

[TexasState]

I left the aitaipsia in my tank growing. It was growing until Joshua laugh at it and Matt commented about it. I just chip out the rock that the aitaipsia are on. I chip the rock out with either a plyer or chisel. I haven't seen an aitaipsia in my tank since about May.

[witecap4u]

I saw a patch start in my old tank, but I already had some peps in the tank, and a couple days later, it was gone. Saw it pop back up once after that, but again, a couple days later it was gone. Haven't seen any since then.

[Tim Marvin]

As long as they are still tiny peppermints can get them, but it seems like when they get big nothing gets them.

[cubera]

Here's what I do...FWIW

1. Make sure Phosphates and Nitrates are not measurable. Aptasia 'blooms' can be a sign of water quality issues.

2. Inject with hot distilled/RO/DI water. Keep lights off for 24 hours after treating.

3. Inject with lemon juice. Very effective. Very safe. Requires multiple treatments. Keep lights off for a day after treating.

4. Pepps and Camelbacks eat Aptasia when they are absent more desirable food. I keep Pepps in every tank but never for Aptasia control.

5. Copperbands will eat them. Find a small Copperband then pass it along when your problem is handled.

6. Bergdorhie (not spelled right) Nudis. These will eradicate Aptasia usually within 24 hours. Won't survive for long without Aptasia. Like all Nudis and slugs can be very hard to keep out of pumps, etc. I think my friend still farms them. Might try his link www.coralsandbar.com His name is Rob.

7. If you just want them gone apply KW paste. Done deal then. This method has the added benefit of raising pH and Calcium at the same time. :o

HTH

[matt]

Somebody, please, start culturing bergia nudibranchs... I've been on the waiting list for a breeding pair from Inland Aquatics for months; maybe they've come and gone and they never contacted me. These tiny nudibranchs' only diet is aiptasia, and from all accounts, they're amazing. But, they're so small and relatively defenseless you can't just put them in a typical reef tank. What you do is culture them in a small tank, no light, feeding them aiptasia pieces. Eventually you can add pieces of aiptasia covered rock to their tank, and they'll TOTALLY clean the rock of aiptasia. I'm not sure if you can eventually put a number of adults in a reef tank; I have to find out their natural predators. You can bet that any large hermit or wrasse would get 'em. But, you could easily remove rocks one at a time, feed the rock to the nudibranchs, replace it in the reef tank, etc...

[longhorn_20m]

Well hopefully my peppermint will eat them. I asked Austin Aquariums about the nudibranchs and they say they get them every once in a while, haven't had them in weeks though.

[Instar]

I am preparing to start culturing the Bergias. Almost there, just give me a little more time.

[Instar]

A small, nano sized copperband will NOT eat aiptasia. May eat the micro ones, someday, but, will definitely NOT eat the larger ones. They don't start consuming aiptasia until they are around 3 inches or more. A nano can't support a copperband's feeding needs anyway, even if it will eat frozen foods. You would have to feed it too much and that would make high demands on a nano. The peppermint may take a few days to get started on a larger aiptasia, but, once its starts, that thing will be gone in couple days. Keep the pep to clean up the little foot lacerations, as once around will not rid the tank. The peppermint will probably not excessively bother your zoos at first. The peppermints hunt a little in the afternoon and are very active at night. Zoos usually close at night, so they are not really at risk there too much. Keep your eyes open and feed the peppermint if necessary to prevent that. It will get the aiptasia for sure, unless you get ripped and get a wurdmani look alike, not true peppermint.

[longhorn_20m]

I was worried about not getting a true peppermint. I did some research and found a site that described both and gave pictures. By lookin at the pictures I'm pretty sure it is a peppermint, by the horizontal lines on its back. I think the false one didn't have th ehorizonal but more like semi vertical lines running up and down.

Hopefully everything will work out, will keep posted. Haven't seen the peppermint yet!

[Instar]

The color patterns and stripes of Wurdmani vary. You have to look at the tail pieces and mouth parts to be absolutely sure.

[longhorn_20m]

Well my peppermint hasn't even touched the aiptasia. I recently added some zoos to my tank and right away he made his way over to them and started picking on one of the polyps. It was too big for him, so he just moved away. I haven't seen him touch anything since, so I'm kinda glad about that, would be a hassle to catch him if he started eating the zoos. So now what, I guess I will try the kalk injection.

I was wondering if anyone had a syringe and kalk I could use for the procedure and return after I'm done. I will definitely pay for what I use. I'm going to nuke one or two every other day so I don't get a huge spike in levels. PM me if you have a syringe/kalk I can use.

Thanks
Justin

[Instar]

You gotta give the peppermint time. He will eat the small foot lacerations at night first. Be patient, those aiptasias aren't going anywhere. The peppermint will eat them. A newly added peppermint is going to be shy for a while. If your acclimation was slow, the pep will do fine. Time is on your side now. Always be patient with a reef and these creatures. Let the peppermint do his job and get those little tiny ones you can't see first. He'll get them in places you can't as well as all the babies from the larger ones and then, its bye bye to them too. If the shrimp is eating good, you can bait him to the aiptasia. Just feed a little brine shrimp to the aiptasia and let the shrimp smell it. He'll rip the guts out of that aiptasia then.

[TexasState]

I have extra syringe kits, but I'm not going to want the used syringe back. LOL
In between, they cost about .25 cents a pop at the drug store (Eckert, Wal-green.)


I was wondering if anyone had a syringe and kalk I could use for the procedure and return after I'm done. I will definitely pay for what I use. I'm going to nuke one or two every other day so I don't get a huge spike in levels. PM me if you have a syringe/kalk I can use.

[longhorn_20m]

Okay koo. I will give him another two weeks, then it is to eckerds to get a syringe.

[Instar]

BTW, are you talking about a baby peppermint? If a zoo was too big, that sounds like a baby to me. If its a baby, you need an adult. It will take some months to grow a baby to size large enough to kill a big aiptasia. He will still eat the little foot lacerations though. An adult is well over 1 inch body size. Juvenille peps are quite lightweights and probably won't be able to hurt much till they get bigger.

[longhorn_20m]

He is definitely over an inch long, I'd say around 1.5 - 2 inches long.

[longhorn_20m]

Awesome, looked at tank today and all my apitasia is gone. So the peppermint finally did its job.