Matted Filefish or Copperband Butterfly?
 

I have been having aiptasia issues for quite some time and tried numerous different things. Some of these things include, multiple times using kalk, lemon juice, aiptasia-x, and 3 times I've tried peppermint shrimp. My next experiment to get rid of aiptasia is to try a filefish or copperband. Which is a better choice? This is in a reef tank, so I'm aware that the filefish may eat some of my coral. The copperband, on the other hand, should be better with my corals, but doesn't have a very good survival rate. I am only interested in getting rid of my aiptasia here, so once it is gone, the fish could be sold as well if it is not working out.

I'm aware berghi's may be a different option, but price and availability are their downfall compared to the fish, so I wish to try the fish first.

with either fish the aptasia will come back. id bite the bullet and find some bergia

I would go with a copperband.

I got one from a fellow reefer here, and in a few days all the aiptasia disappear. And he even delivery it to me.:smile:

The filefish can go after corals as well but the copper band is a tougher specimen to keep. If you're up for the challenge, I say copperband (like, seriously try your best) otherwise go with berghia.

I currently have two matted filefish in the same tank and neither have touched corals. I have Kenya tree, brain, zoas and acans and my aiptasia is quickly dissapearing :)

I've had both Copperband and Pearlscale Butterfly fish. The Pearlscale were the best at ridding my tank from a severe aiptaisia infestation. When I first got them (about 2 years ago) they would nip at some corals, but now don't touch them. I feed them well, and they seem to have changed their tastes. However, they still constantly scour the rocks looking for a bite. Not sure what they are finding, but haven't seen an aiptaisia for a long, long time.

The other advantage with Pearlscales, is that you can have more than one in a tank, unlike Copperbands.

Has anyone had problems with yellow tangs and copperbands?

Yup, Yellow Tangs really go after Copperbands when first introduced. Good news is that after a couple weeks, they settle down. However, during that time, you need to do what you can to protect the Copperband and distract the Yellow Tang. Mirrors and pics taped to the glass help.

Only for the first week or so my yellow tang chase the copperband. All get along now.

Thank you for everyone's input. I was going to go with a copperband, but the place I went to only had a healthy looking filefish available, so I grabbed it. It was in a tank with all types of corals and the staff told me that it wasn't picking on any of them, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.