Aiptasia control

[Reef Pilot]

Originally Posted by brotherd

I put in 2 butterfly fish. They decimated the aiptasia. And 2 brains. And 2 birdnest corals. Can't catch them yet. I strongly urge caution. They pick at everything

Yes, that is true for most butterfly fish, but these are Pearlscales, and none of them have bothered my corals.

[freeze]

I have two peppermint shrimp and they go mad for the stuff. Have zero issues with it.

[hillbillyreefer]

I picked up a filefish yesterday to deal with an aiptasia problem. Haven't had much luck with peppermints or nudibranchs.

[monocus]

berghia are the only ones that are totally reef safe.they take time,but are effective

[ocean diver]

I have tried the filefish....eat my acans and zoas and NO aiptasia, sold him. Tried a couple peppermint shrimp...never seen them since putting them in...no change to aiptasia. Tried injecting with vinegar...seem to have more now!! So still looking for a solution..............

[Slyguy00]

I had 2 peppermint shrimp. They didn't touch my aptasia but sure ate a lot of my acans. I know most people don't seem to have luck with aptasia x but it works for me every time.

[Doug]

Originally Posted by Reef Pilot

Yes, that is true for most butterfly fish, but these are Pearlscales, and none of them have bothered my corals.

Clams also?

[Reef Pilot]

Originally Posted by Doug

Clams also?

Never had any clams, so can't speak to that. And I should also mention that I just didn't plunk the Pearlscales directly into my display tank, and say have at it...

I always put new fish through QT with the hypo routine, which can take up to 3 months. During that time, I trained the Pearlscales onto first frozen mysis, then dried foods incl various freeze dried, pellets, and even flake. But also, I put in a rock with some aiptasia on it, first to see if they would go for it. They did, and when one figured it out, the others would join in. So I kept doing that, giving them an aiptasia rock every once in a while, and in the mean time fattening them up on dried food, with the occasional frozen mysis treat (can't give them too much of that or they won't eat the dry stuff).

Then I added them to the display tank, where they first had to deal with my bully yellow tang. But they are pretty quick, and he could never corner one, and eventually gave up. But they immediately recognized the aiptasia, and didn't hesitate to rip them out of their holes. And since they were used to the dried foods, took to that right away in the display tank as well.

But they never went after my corals. Initially I only had LPS (frogspawn, bubble coral, etc) and softies (mushrooms, leathers, etc). Later I added SPS frags, and I was a little nervous at first, because they really looked over a new frag initially, and would sometimes nip off the slime filaments. But they never went after the polyps. I have softies, LPS and lots of SPS in my tank now, and they don't bother any of them. But the good news, is they continue to keep my tanks free of aiptasia (for 3 years now).

I would not be surprised if they left clams alone as well. I really think what made it work for me, was first training them on other foods and aiptasia in the QT tank. I may not have been so lucky, if they went straight into the display tank.

[mark]

Originally Posted by Reef Pilot

Never had any clams, so can't speak to that. And I should also mention that I just didn't plunk the Pearlscales directly into my display tank, and say have at it...

I always put new fish through QT with the hypo routine, which can take up to 3 months.

don't think most would have that commitment to train a fish labelled "not reef safe" when there's other methods of aptasia control. Know I don't.

[Reef Pilot]

Originally Posted by mark

don't think most would have that commitment to train a fish labelled "not reef safe" when there's other methods of aptasia control. Know I don't.

People will believe what they want on the internet and are free to make their own choices. I am just offering my direct experience with these fish, because I know they are not well known. I found out about them after my own research on the internet and other people's experiences as well.

I am also a strong believer in the hypo QT routine, and if people are not willing to make that commitment, then they should not buy these fish (or any other for that matter).

I will say, though, that I have had a total of 5 Pearlscales over time, and all of them were the same, so it was not a one-off. I have also tried many of the other popular control methods, and this is the only one that worked long term for me. Plus I have a couple of peaceful, beautiful fish additions to my tanks.