Another Aiptasia Thread :)

Okay, there are going to be two no-nos in this post.

1) Yes, I know there are several threads about aiptasia and I can use the search function. But! I want to explain my situation and see if I can get some responses tailored just for me.

2) I know aiptasia are bad, and I should have killed the first one I saw. But, I felt bad killing a living thing, so now, of course, I have an aiptasia problem. I've come to grips with the murderer in me and I'm ready to say goodbye to these buggers.

I'm wondering what is the best approach to killing the aiptasia in my tank. I have 8 that I know of and all are ginormous. I'm sure there are many more small ones lurking. The biggest is the size of my fist. I'm worried it will eat my scooter! So they all must go.

Should I try aiptasia eating nudibranches? I worry about the starvation aspect, but how long is their life span anyways? Would they have enough to gorge on in my tank and then pass away from being old?

Has anyone tried any of the products out there to kill them? Any of these? aiptasia | Marine Depot

Is there a best method for killing huge ones?

Any tips and ideas are greatly appreciated! Thank you!!

 

killing them yoursef for the big ones. the size of your fist? you may need dynamite but even that might not be enough . if you are worried about babies, pep shrimp have never failed me. i personally used lime juice in a syringe and just stabbed away and injected my venom of choice. from what i've read most of the retail products do work just follow instructions.

 

im waiting to receive a racoon butterfly but for now while they are still white and tiny i remove them by hand and let them grow back for my butterfly
nudi's will die off after aiptasia is eliminated

 

I've had mixed results with Aiptasia-x. It seems the Aiptasia need to ingest it. Getting the larger upright Aiptasia to ingest the Aiptasia-x is much easier than small ones or the ones that are growing horizontally and under ledges.

I've also been using Kalk paste. It works better, but can still be awkward to apply depending on where the Aiptasia are growing.

I've had zero luck getting peppermint shrimp to eat the Aiptasia.

 

Id say your best bet is joes juice or aiptasia x. The benefit of these is they seal the nems mouth shut and don't allow them to spread. Hot water and lemon juice work also, Ive just had them show right back up using those from my personal experience. One the size of your fist...you are small but still lol..id stick a carrot in that suckers mouth and start stabbin

 

I transferred my old 75g recently to a relative. Shortly after I came to find there were aptaisia everywhere. I mean every square inch of rock had at least 1 aptaisia. She hadn't been proactive in their elimination. I really thought the tank was done for. She used Joes Juice Aptaisia X a bit, for a few months and seemed to help, but then they would come back. So, after much debate, we bought 10 peppermint shrimp. I had tried them in the past with no luck, but I read that they seem to work best if there are a lot of them and don't work if there are just a few. Hence 10. We continued to use the juice and quickly they all went away. Within a month they were gone and there is still no sign of them

For just 8 though the juice should be fine by itself. Seems to work better than Aptaisa X too IME.

 

I used Aipitasia X. Things looked up for a bit then had little ones popping up everywhere.

I then used kalk paste. Things looked up for a bit and then double the little ones everywhere.

I've used lemon juice and boiling water with the same results.

It's totally obvious to me that in all cases planulae were released by the thousands. They are so bad in my system now that I am beginning to look over which rocks with corals attached can be cleaned of aip's and moved into the 90, scrapping the rest and starting over.

My next attempt will be by electrocution. Berghia would be a waste for me because bristleworms will defend nests.

Good luck with what ever method you choose.

 

I have had a few tiny ones pop up every now and then and I just smother them with limewater paste. Only do one or two at a time to avoid your ph shooting up. I have a large syringe and using a ratio of 1:1 water to lime I suck it up then squirt it over the aiptasia mouth. You can vacuum it up over 24 hours or just let it sit and coralline will start to grow over it. Keep in mind I have only done this on very small ones. Has worked so far.

 

have you seen the thread with that aiptasia zapper thing?

 

Thanks for all the great and quick responses!!!

Well, definitely won't be getting a shrimp. I am terrified of shrimp. LOL

I think I'll give Joe's Juice a try!! I'll make my dude do it so I don't have to watch the killings

And Joe's Juice will work fine for the huge ones? There is no way I'm stabbing it LOL