Aiptasia question

[badlands25]

What is my best bet for removal of these little bastards? Been using aiptasia x for a while but I am still getting them. I was thinking either pistol shrimp or nudibranches. What do my fellow reefers recommend ?

 

[iSwaizy]

I take a tooth brush to them. I take the live rock out if i can, then i scrub hard at it.

 

[The River Reef]

I don't know about pistols, but I had them and bought 2 peppermint shrimp. Gone in a week never seen one since...

 

[Matt W]

1ml syringe with 20 gauge needle filled with 0.1N NaOH Sln injected directly over aiptasia with flow turned down. just a little does it. you will see a milky white precipate and you would like this to reside on the aiptasias mouth

Can mail you some 0.1n naoh if you like.

 

[livewire]

I had really good luck with a small herd of peppermints....FWIW

 

[badlands25]

Oops I meant to type peppermint shrimp not pistol . NaCl = sodium chloride?

 

[Matt W]

Sodium hydroxide = NaOH

 

[afboundguy]

Also concentrated kalk paste works pretty well. That's basically what stuff like "Joe's Juice" and other commercialy available products are. Biggest difference is that you can buy a ton of kalk for the same money as "Joe's Juice" but be able to make a ton more...

One problem with peppermint shrimp is that they can't always get all the aiptasia and they can pick on/eat LPS. Another option is berghia nudis. They start eating the aiptasia from inside the rocks first and finish up with the ones on the outside. Downsize is all they eat is aiptasia so once they clean out the tank they'll die eventually unless you want to pass them along to another reefer friend...

 

[Chuck239]

I tried 3 different batches of peppermint shrimp over the years and they never touched the aiptasia. I also tried Bergia a few times and they just went into the rocks never to heard from again, probably eaten by something. I recently got a Copperbanded Butterfly Fish and my aiptasia are completely gone. I think with anything you try you need a little luck, not every alledged predator actually likes aiptasia.

 

[badlands25]

Does anyone know if any of the lfs' have bergi nudibranches?

 

[Andy V]

Does anyone know if any of the lfs' have bergi nudibranches?

No they don't. you would have to order from Salty Underground which seems to be the only place that sells them consistently. I just ordered from them not too long ago. They are good.

 

[jtma508]

+1 on berghia's. They are a bit pricey but they can get to aiptasia that are in inaccesible places (like your overflows) and will even travel all the way to your sump/fuge to hunt them out. But as afboundguy said, they will starve to death once they run out of aiptasia and are really hard to find to relocate.