Aiptasia !!!!

[S-B]

I've got an aiptasia problem that is driving me nuts ! :cry:
I've used joes juice and chem-marin's Stop Aiptasia but it seems that everytime I do .........I end up with more growing then I had the last time .
( like shaving...they grow in thicker the next time ) .
I was thinking of getting afew Peppermint shrimp but I'd need a whole store full just to get this under control ! lol

What's the best way you've found to deal with this problem ?

thanks

[Snappy]

I would get the peppermint shrimp's ASAP and in the mean I've heard a turkey baster with hot water help's for temporary control and might help untill the PS can kill them.

[G1GY]

I alway's use a syringe with boiling water injected right in the centre of it with exellent results. :smile:

[S-B]

Thanks !
I'll give the boiling water a try and look around for some shrimp to help control this problem .

[G1GY]

Thanks !
I'll give the boiling water a try and look around for some shrimp to help control this problem .

I find a larger Syringe(The insullin ones are a little small) is best and I keep it sitting full in a container of boiling water untill I put it in the tank water.

[Azilla]

I use the boiling water method and works they never returned. But noted after i blasted mine my cleaner shrimp ran over to where i boiled them and Picked them out of the hole and ate them. Yes i said cleaner shrimp

[S-B]

G1GY
I just started with the boiling water and a larger Syringe.....and they are dying off . I wonder if it's the fact that the water is boiling , that has help in both your cases that that haven't come back ?


Azilla
I guess those cleaner shrimp are good for more then we know ?
I have a family member picking me up some cleaner shrimp from J&L (hopefuly)
I'll save on the cost of shipping since he'll be bring them back here to me
by air .

The price out here is double for one

[whaase]

Disreguard this message, I didn't read close enough :razz:
Walter

[BCWolfen]

Until about a week ago I had anywhere from 10-20 aiptasia at any given time. I was blasting them with a turkey baster of boiled RO water but it seemed there was always more. Last Saturday I picked up 3 Peppermint, an Emerald Crab, Custodian PKG 4 and 10 extra Nassarius snails from J&L along as my cleaner crew. I counted 15 Aiptasia when I dropped everyone in and opted not to turkey baste for 1 week to see what happened. The PS were quite small compared to pics I'd seen and I was concerned that they would not be able to handle the bigger Aiptasia's. As of today I can see 2 Aiptasia in my tank on the rock right out front. The PS have been reluctant to come out into the open, but I am leaving those 2 as a control to see if they will be removed as well.

In my books the PS's rock!! :biggrin:

[G1GY]

G1GY
I just started with the boiling water and a larger Syringe.....and they are dying off . I wonder if it's the fact that the water is boiling , that has help in both your cases that that haven't come back ?


The water has to be boiling(Or very close to it.). It's the heat cooking them that kills them. I've also used this method on small hairy crabs that seem to find a hole every time you try to grab them. :mrgreen:

My cleaner shrimp also come out for the cook off. :lol:

[Willow]

when the aiptasia get to big the ps will not go near them. ive also heard of people taking mounting putty and filling in the hole that the aiptsia lives in. i have used concentrated kalk before, bit of a mess but works ok, the boiling water seems to work for big ones i can see and the ps works on the little guys that are hard the reach.

[Vagabond]

I had a huge aiptasia infestation when I first set up my tank, came as a bonus with the live rock I started with :evil: :lol: .

I started with Joes Juice and found that it would erradicate them on application, but, IME within a couple of weeks they would return in the same place. Also, regardless of how careful you are, I find it messy.

Boiling water worked better for me but it had to be boiling hot to be most effective. Problem here was lots of them I couldn't reach in my rockwork and so they would quickly multiply again.

Finally enlisted help and purchased a peppermint shrimp. He had the problem wiped out within 2 weeks, and I probably had 50-60 large and small ones that I could see to count. I've never seen a shrimp grow so fast :eek: :cool:

Now he is one of my favourite critters, he is out all the time, very active, and there has not been one aiptasia in months :mrgreen:

[Chin_Lee]

another vote for peppermint shrimp. i threw five in my tank, haven't seen one aiptasia since. don't expect to see your ps either, they hide....... very very well. U can see them lurking in the darkness in the rocks once in a while or you will notice your mysis suddenly disappered when it floated by a rock and when you look closer, theres one lurking in there. but u rarely see them.

[BCWolfen]

[quote="chin_lee"] don't expect to see your ps either, they hide....... very very well. quote]

I agree. I'm still trying to figure if all 3 survived the acclimation. I see one everyday. But don't know if its the same one or always a different one....lol

[hockey nut]

When I first started this hobby I read about those little pests so when I bought my rock a week or two later I bought a couple PS and never did see any aptasia.

Maybe I was just lucky. But anytime I recommend buying LR from a store at some point they should also buy a PS just in case and get those anemones while they are small or before an outbreak occurs.

JMO

[rusty]

Peppermint shrimp all the way :exclaim: :exclaim: All gone even the big ones :exclaim: :evil: :biggrin:

[S-B]

Thank You All for your input on this problem .
I'm going today to see if I can get a couple Peppermint shrimp .

[danny zubot]

But anytime I recommend buying LR from a store at some point they should also buy a PS just in case and get those anemones while they are small or before an outbreak occurs.
It would also benifit anyone buying new live rock to check it over for aptasia before putting it in their tank. Its a lot easier to boil them before they are placed, murphy's law dictates that aptasia will grow in the most inconvienient places.

[bailey7424]

I used Joe's Juice on the big ap's and it mad them disappear magically - you do have to get right in close to feed the pesky things though. I also placed a small peppermint shrimp in my 33 gallon tank - it took care of all of the smaller ap's, but did leave a couple around the tank for about a month before those disappeared, too.

My money is on a joint Joe's Juice and jiving Peppermint Shrimp attack!