How did you get rid of Aptasia?

[dbdavid]

I didn't vote as I have tried:

Copper band: Keeps them in check until the copper band dies if you can find one that eats them. My copper band lasted just over a year.
Peppermint shrimps: Tried on several occasions with no noticeable change in population.
Kalk Paste: Keeps them in the rocks for a week or 2 then they return.
Injecting vinegar: No effect – the aptasia laugh at you!
Berghia Nudibranch: Put 4 of them in never to be seen again. No effect on the aptasia.
Boiling water injections: No effect. They shrivel and come back with a vengeance.

So now every week or so I cover them and inject the bigger ones with Kalk. They are still there but are not so noticeable.


Dave

If you use boiling water you have to bath them till they turn white they are dead as a door knob then.. I have used Joey's juice that works also they don't came back but you have to get them all and when the second round comes you have to get them when they are really small. peppermint shrimp have to be acclimated slowly or they are out of sorts and don't do much for quite some time up to a week. I had 1 in my kids tank with some rock that had some really large Aptasia on it and some Halimeda algae. the peppermint shrimp eat the Aptasia first and then the Halimeda algae and kept it all in check.

Bill

Originally Posted by dbdavid

I didn't vote as I have tried:

Copper band: Keeps them in check until the copper band dies if you can find one that eats them. My copper band lasted just over a year.
Peppermint shrimps: Tried on several occasions with no noticeable change in population.
Kalk Paste: Keeps them in the rocks for a week or 2 then they return.
Injecting vinegar: No effect – the aptasia laugh at you!
Berghia Nudibranch: Put 4 of them in never to be seen again. No effect on the aptasia.
Boiling water injections: No effect. They shrivel and come back with a vengeance.

So now every week or so I cover them and inject the bigger ones with Kalk. They are still there but are not so noticeable.


Dave

[naesco]

I did not vote because a peppermint shrimp has always been sucessful in controlling aptasia.

[ponokareefer]

All methods you posted above failed at the end of the day for me. The only way that has worked for me is covering them in epoxy. I had probably a dozen of them and I'm down to 2. The final 2 seem to have a way of getting out from under the epoxy after a day or 2! That reminds me, I better cover them again.

[RuGlu6]

peppermint shrimp woked for me.
the trick is to get a true peppermint shrimp, because there shrimps that look like them but not eat apteisia

[Lance]

I wanted to vote twice.
One tank has no Aiptasia as my CBB chows down on them. The other tank does have them because I can't put the CBB in there as he is a clam eater. I can keep the easily accessed Aiptasia at bay with kalk paste but the tough to get at ones are always there.

[PoonTang]

Peppermint shrimp worked for me however once all the aptasia were all gone they started eating my hammer coral so I sent them back to the store. The aptasia never did return tho.

[Wayne]

I have been successful with concentrated lemon juice I think its going to be a long war thou... The big ones were dead instantly... The small ones need to grow up a little before they get their shots

[i have crabs]

raccoon butterfly worked great but started picking at other stuff after

[trilinearmipmap]

In one tank I had a Copperband Butterfly for a couple of years. He eradicated the Aiptasia. After he died the Aiptasia did not come back.

In my other tank I tried Aiptasia-X but it just knocked the Aiptasia back temporarily. Since I got my peppermint shrimp I haven't seen any more Aiptasia.