Transplanting Xenia

[Salty]

I have a couple of rocks with some great Xenia on them that I would like to save, BUT they also have a ton of Aiptasia. Is there a safe way to get the Xenia off? I may try Kalkwasser(sp?) to kill the Aiptasia but I am a bit concerned since there are so many...

[RobertG]

Joes Juice has worked well for me . If there is that many I would take the rock zap the ones I can, rinse the rock in SW then take it back to the tank. Repeat as needed, If you have to repeat to many times disregard my comments. LOL

Good Luck !

[Alamo]

Ive heard that peppermint shrimp will eat the aiptasia

[Salty]

So far my peppermints have not helped. Where can you get Joes Juice? Maybe I will give that a try...

[matt]

I suggest you cut off the xenia you want with a razor blade and attach it to another rock with a rubber band. It'll grow, believe me! Then you can toss the rocks that are aiptasia infested, or give them to Larry (Instar) who is probably still raising berghia nudibranchs. I'd do this BEFORE the aiptasia spread to other rocks. If you really don't want to lose those rocks, you should still do the xenia transplanting; it's very easy and most people end up with more xenia than they want; just ask Troy. Anyhow, when you have the xenia off, you can carefully inspect the rocks for any signs whatsoever of aiptasia and liberally coat all areas that even look like they might have some with kalk paste. I'd also keep those rocks well away from any other rocks in your system. It's almost impossible to totally eradicate the pests once they've taken hold of a system. Copperband butterflys will eat the aiptasia, but also lots of other things you may want to keep in your system. The berghias will also eat all of your aiptasia, but then they tend to die of starvation and then the aiptasia is likely to come back. Plus, I believe there are lots of things in a typical reef that would eat the berghias; they're very small. Best to get rid of the stuff before it spreads.

[Salty]

Thanks Matt, I will try 'harvesting' my xenia first thing in the morning!

[Gator]

i useto have aptasia in my tank. i have tried the pepermint shrimp and joes juice and every other remedy the only thing that did the trick was instars little aptasia killers i can not find one in my tank if i try so call instar he should be able to help

[GaryP]

I'm having some luck killing Aiptasia by injecting them with vinegar using a syringe. Sometimes I have to do it more than once. The problem is that I'm only killing the ones that I can see, which may only be a drop in the bucket.

Gary

[cailan]

i'm just getting over a huge apatasia invasion in my tank. i got needle syringe like gary said and i injected them with lemon juice from heb. i haven't seen any of them a in few days so i think it worked.

[GaryP]

Salty,

If you end up needing some Xenia, let me know. I'll give you a bucket full.

Peppermints are pretty much hit ot miss when it comes to Aiptasia. Sometimes they can cause more problems than they solve. You are better off getting some Berghias from Larry.

Gary

[Salty]

I have removed 20 or so pounds of rock with Aptaisia and am going after a couple of stragglers with vinegar/lemon juice...This should be fun...Thanks for all the help!

Daniel