What is this?

[Sculpin]

I noticed this pop up a little while back, and now it seems to be spreading. Please let me know if it's something aggressive or invasive that I should be concerned about.

And if the recommendation is to remove it, any suggestions on the best way to go about doing so.

Thanks, Sculpin

 

[Octupus]

Aptasia.. kill it before it spreads

 

[sandswhitson]

Yep Aiptasia. There are many different methods that you can try to kill them with, including, Kalk paste injections, vinegar injections, Joe's juice, boiling water injections, some peppermint shrimp, although they are hit or miss. Some peps will not touch Aiptasia some will clean your tank of it overnight. If there are only a few then I would either try Joe's juice or Kalk paste and hit the ones you can see. It is very likely that more will come back later but if you keep them under control they aren't terrible, it is when you do nothing that they can reach plague proportions.

 

[Sculpin]

Thanks for the warning and advice on removal.

Is it possible to just pull them off with tweezers? I tried grabbing one and got most of the stalk that was sticking out of the rock. There appears to be some guts and stuff still floating out of the hole. I don't want to make the mistake of spreading it, or have it simply regrow in a couple weeks.

Also, I found something else I've never noticed before when turning over rocks in my tank looking for the Aiptasia. Check out the attached picture and let me know what you think. It was initially longer and the circumference is a little smaller than a dime. It receeded into the rock some, so I couldn't get a good side profile due to the angle of the tank glass.

 

[sandswhitson]

Pulling them with tweezers isn't a good idea. The part that is left will regrow and any parts that happened to float away may become new aiptasia. I dont know anything about your tank but copperbanded butterfly fish have been known to eat aiptasia as well. Also Berghia Nudibranchs eat aiptasia and that is alll they eat, once the aiptasia is gone they starve to death or must be passed on to another person.

 

[zkirby]

Sculpin

I had a ton of it in my tank when I first started it. Three small peppermint shrimp later and it was gone overnight and I haven't seen it since (Over a year and the shrimp are still in there). I was a bit worried as the shrimp were all smaller than the actual aptasia but they ate it all and in only one night.

zkirby