Dreaded Aiptasia

[jezzeaepi]

For the last year now I have been fighting a losing battle against Aptasia. There are literally hundreds, if not thousands of them in my tank, and I am out of ideas.

Things I have tried:
CBB: never ate any, died.
25 Berghia nudis: Haven't seen any of them in months. Did nothing.
5 peppermint shrimp: They are there, but again, nothing.
I tried injecting them with kalkwasser multiple times a week, but I just can't keep up with them.


Anything else I can try before I tear the tank down in disgust?

 

[tike]

First...are you sure you have Aiptasia and not majanos.

Here are a couple of pics first the aiptasia

 

[76Frags]

I've tried several things over the years, I can't tell you how many peppermint shrimp I have purchased only to be disappointed by their performance. I've been told that if you get the pepperment shrimp and place him in a separate tank with a rock that has aptasia he will eventually eat it. Normally in a regular environment they are supplimented with your normal feeding. I think by forcing them to only eat the aptasia it changes their eating habits.

Have I actually tried this - no, but it's about the only thing I haven't tried. I've had pretty good luck with Joe's Juice, and I have also tried the Kalk - but had less success. You really need to stay on top of it though with a great deal of discipline, otherwise it doesn't work.

I believe that everything you buy that is "supposed" to eat aptasia will most likely 80% NOT eat it. The rare times that it actually works is few and far between. I have significantly lowered the amount in my tank manually, but it is a very tedious process.
Joe's Juice (unfortunately) is about all that has worked for me. I'm sure you'll get many other ideas on here though....Good Luck!

 

[ac7av]

That’s all the berghia nudis eat. If they dissipeared with out a trace that kind of leaves me to believe they may not be aiptasia. If they are aiptasia then maybe they were not really berghia nudis.

 

[NC2WA]

fwiw, the second pic posted looks like manjo not aptasia...manjos can take over a tank quickly; they are more aggressive than aptasia...I had it on one rock and it spread quickly..since it was on one rock i just took the rock out and removed the leather it was on and disgarded the rock.

 

[thatguy559]

nc2wa i think the pictures that were posted by tike666 was to show the difference between the 2. a reference if you will.

get a copperband butterfly my buddy in cali had the same issue borrowed a copperband butterfly from out lfs and destroyed them all

 

[NC2WA]

thatguy559,

ahh..ok, misinterpret those pics..got it..

CBB can be hit or miss..having one does not guarantee a CBB *will* eat aptasia..

 

[jezzeaepi]

As a reefer of 6 years I can tell you with 100% certainty that they are aptasia =)

 

[thatguy559]

thatguy559,

ahh..ok, misinterpret those pics..got it..

CBB can be hit or miss..having one does not guarantee a CBB *will* eat aptasia..

true statement thats why the key is to find one that is already eating them or just try them out he has tried everything else

 

[Chichas01]

pull out all the rock and boil it and/or give it a mild acid bath. Can't remember where I saw a post on the mix for the acid bath but I think you use muriatic acid and water solution to do it.

 

[tat2z_21]

25 berghia sounds like a pretty expensive treat for 5 peppermint shrimp. Could be the reason for aptaisia still in the tank. Why would peppermint shrimp eat the aptasia if they are getting another source of food.

 

[ac7av]

As usual
Your right on top of things tat
Didn’t know peppermints ate them but I guess they eat just about anythgin.

 

[trido]

Jesse, Check out my aptasia burner here

You can kill off 20-30 daily without getting your hands wet. Let your skimmer pull out some gunk, keep up on WC's and you'll be fine.

 

[tike]

fwiw, the second pic posted looks like manjo not aptasia...manjos can take over a tank quickly; they are more aggressive than aptasia...I had it on one rock and it spread quickly..since it was on one rock i just took the rock out and removed the leather it was on and disgarded the rock.

Yep it is! I posted the two so they can see the difference in them. I am thinking he has majanos and that is why the berghia didn't work.

 

[NWDiver]

I think the burner idea is best, that way you get some revenge while cleaning your tank!

 

[jezzeaepi]

Yep it is! I posted the two so they can see the difference in them. I am thinking he has majanos and that is why the berghia didn't work.

Again, I have been in the hobby for many years. They are not Majanos.

Also, I didn't add the peppermint shrimp till long after the berghia had disappeared.

 

[jezzeaepi]

Jesse, Check out my aptasia burner here

You can kill off 20-30 daily without getting your hands wet. Let your skimmer pull out some gunk, keep up on WC's and you'll be fine.

I'm just nervous about the amount of copper that would end up in the tank since I have sooooo many =\

 

[tasha6]

The other problem with the burner is that it will only kill the ones you can reach and if you can't get to the foot buried in the holes they come right back. This is from personal experience.

We have had very good luck with the berghia. I don't know what type of fish you have but wrasses and certain butterflies will take them out along with certain types of shrimp, including peppermints. Also if you have a large population of bristleworms they have been known to kill berghia if they get to close to their nests. Amphipods will eat berghia eggs. HTH

 

[jezzeaepi]

The other problem with the burner is that it will only kill the ones you can reach and if you can't get to the foot buried in the holes they come right back. This is from personal experience.

We have had very good luck with the berghia. I don't know what type of fish you have but wrasses and certain butterflies will take them out along with certain types of shrimp, including peppermints. Also if you have a large population of bristleworms they have been known to kill berghia if they get to close to their nests. Amphipods will eat berghia eggs. HTH

Well I have a ton of amphipods and bristleworms. I also have a leopard wrasse. I guess they got a real expensive meal I could theoretically catch the wrasse, but if birstleworms and amphipods cause big problems as well, I don't know if it would do much good. I feed a lot, so I have a large clean up crew of little critters. This is also why my aptasia multiply so fast.

 

[mcdonaldjosh7]

2 things:

First of all you do realize it can take up to 5 months to notice any difference from Berghia right?

And second of all, Do what I am doing. Boil + bleach + freshwater. Then re seed the live rock with another clean piece