Aiptasia driving me crazy

The aiptasia problem in my tank is getting really bad...almost out of control. It's spread to pretty much every piece of rock / liverock that's in there. Mostly only small ones...should be treatable...

I bought a small Peppermint shrimp...and hes done nothing. I got him 2 days ago and have only seen him once. Doesn't seem to be getting rid of it.

Should I get a few more, perhaps some larger ones?

I am thinking of putting corals in there at some stage so need to get rid of this pest. Any good treatments that don't get absorbed too badly into the liverock?

I know that it's a bad idea to cut the stuff out...but what if I were to use my suction tube thing (which I use to take the water out when doing water changes) and cut away the aiptasia and suck it all up and get rid of it?

 

Here's the thing about peppermint shrimp - you need several for them to be effective. Also, if they are tank-raised, they may not know what to do with aiptasia.

So you have a few choices. You could buy/borrow 3-5 more peppermint shrimp. Or you could try to nuke the aiptasia chemically with Joes Juice (or similar product). Or you could boil/bleach your liverock.

If the problem is totally out of control, and you have no livestock, I'd bleach the rock (although it will mean your cycle will take MUCH longer). Otherwise, I'd try a combo of the peppermints and chemicals.

I would not try to cut/suck it. Just my 2 cents.

 

If they're almost out of control, 1 shrimp isn't going to make much of a difference especially if it's small. I'd get a couple more larger peppermints. Make sure they're peppermints. There is another shrimp that looks like it that is mistakenly sold as a peppermint. Could also try a copperband butterfly or Berghia nudibranch.

 

+1 on the make sure they're real peppermints. a lot of places sell these that aren't really peppermints. they worked for me and were the only natural way of doing it. the ones that got big i did cut them out, but i knew they would reproduce. thing is the shrimp can't tackle the big ones so i cut them out knowing they would eat the small offspring. and definitely get a couple more.

 

Ok i'l buy 2 more bigger ones and see how they get on.

 

If you can take the rocks out another thing that works is to torch them with a propane torch.

 

Second the suggestion to make sure you are getting real peppermints - Peppermint Shrimp Imposters: Lysmata wurdemanni is the Real Aiptasia-Eater for the Reef Tank | Suite101.com

Berghia Nudibranchs are very effective but once they eat the aiptasia, they will starve. So it's good if you can hook up with some people who have aiptasia too and pass them off when they've cleaned up your tank.

kalk paste works well. mix it up thick and use a syringe from an old test kit. cement them in. Just be careful that you don't drip on your corals.

super glue also works. just fill them over. takes a little getting used to how to work with the stuff under water.

keep after it as soon as you see them if you are using kalk or super glue. I've used peppermints plus kalk paste in the past to completely eliminate them from infested tanks.

 

I had some in my tank. I used a syringe with a large needle and some picking lime from the grocery store.I costs about 4 dollars. just mix it up with r/o water into a paste and draw it up into the needle and inject it into the aptasia bodies until it squirts out the top.

this will kill the stuff stone cold dead with the first treatment. and raise your calcium too.

 

copperband butterfly worked freakin awesome for me. That was after all other methods besides kalk paste.

 

Hmmm I might try some syringing if the perppermint shrimps don't work.

@pancake - What's picking lime? How much will it raise the calcium? Would I also need a treatment to keep it down?