Aptista Help Please!

[idgy]

My 30 gallon tank is overrun with these buggers! They have invaded the rocks, the sand and are creeping up in the oddest of places. I want to start over and rid the tank of the sand and rock, but I have 3 fish that I want to keep and only one tank. Is there a safe way to get rid of the rocks and sand and replace with new or are these buugers invading the water as well?

Please any help is appreciated.

 

[user 26995]

What kind of filtration are you using?
Do you have a qt tank you can set up?

 

[idgy]

I have a ton of rock in the tank, using it as the filtration. No QT tank, I just have the main tank with just 3 fish.

 

[user 26995]

If you have a sponge filter in your filtration on the tank and you have another tank you can set up, all you need to do is move the sponge filter into the bare tank with half of your tank water, move the fish over and then slowly fill the tank with new water so as not to shock the fish too bad. The sponge filter will have the bacteria in it needed so you dont have to cycle a tank again. You will need to do water changes a little more often though.
Then what Mightymouse did was kalkwasser his entire tank to kill everything. That way you can keep your rock and substrate. He could tell you how he did that and how to clean up afterwards.

 

[idgy]

Thanks, is there a way to rid the tank of aptista that are in the tank with a predator or medicine?

 

[user 26995]

No meds
you can try hitting them one at a time with Aiptasia X
Manually removing them. I think what I would do, is do a water change. Keep the water from the tank and pull the rock out one at a time. Put it in the container of water that you can see the whole rock in and aiptasia X everyone you can see. Let it sit for half an hour, rinse it off in ro/di water and put it back in the tank. Do that to each rock. You may have to do it every week for a while, but you just might get them all over time.

Oh, there is a fish, copper band butterfly that eats them. Your tank is too small for them as adults, but if you get a juvinile, it should be okay for long enough. Then sell the fish or return it to the LFS

Peppermint shrimp supposedly eat them but you would need way to many sounds like to get rid of the aiptasia. And you cant trust that they would eat them.

 

[idgy]

Thanks for all the advice. arty:

 

[user 26995]

Are you keeping coral? It didnt sound like you were but just in case, I think copperband butterflies might nip at coral too so you will want to check on that if you are keeping coral.

 

[idgy]

HMMMMM I could transfer the fish to a temporary tank with half the water from the tank and a infested rock or two, clean the main tank leaving half the water and add new rock and sand ( of course cure rock and sand). Would that be a bad thing?

 

[user 26995]

You can do that, but you will start a new cycle on the tank with new rock and sand. Even with cured rock. Unless the rock is out of a tank that has been established long enough to have built up the bacteria needed to manage the bioload you will have in your tank. Which with 3 fish is not much.