Aiptasia: Here and then gone...

[Falconeer]

Hi, about a month after I setup and had my tank running, I noticed my first little aiptasia. It was so cute and innocent Maybe 3mm across (including tentacles), and I tried plucking it straight of the rock, but anytime I got near it it would withdraw and become smaller than I could see.

The last time I saw it open, it had grown to maybe 6mm across (8mm at the most). Recently though, I'll look at the spot where it was, and all I see is a small, white rocky subtance. There's no movement at all and absolutely no signs of life. It's not that this white spot looks out of place, as I have some white spots on my rocks elsewhere, but they came with the rocks.

Is it possible that all I had was a single aiptasia and that it just died? I hadn't gotten around to fixing anything like GFO or chaeto into the tank, so I don't think I did anything different other than maybe adjust the flow.

I'm sorry if this seems like i'm being vague or rambling, but my mom and sister have one of their movies playing and I find myself being drawn to the television screen as well as the computer monitor, haha.

Thanks,
Falc.

 

[Amici316]

Do you have any peppermint shrimp, raccoon butterfly or CBB? They all eat them but if not its possible it released from that spot and went elsewhere.

 

[Falconeer]

Nope. My only inhabitants are a single clown, a gold CB shrimp, and some (hermit) crabs

 

[kwpgrooming]

Maybe it decided to move.

 

[Falconeer]

Maybe, if it has its found a very good hiding spot. I've searched my tank every other day for a while to counter any aiptasia outbreak should I see it start and I havent seen anything. I also didn't realize, and i'm not sure why because I knew anemones could move, that aiptasia could move, haha.

 

[Playa-1]

I suspect it just relocated to a different spot. I'm sure you have not seen the last of the Aiptasia.

 

[fishybudguy]

get some pepermint shrimps and put them in if you can stop the infestation of these guys it will be great in the long run.....add at least a few pepermints to get started

 

[lordofthereef]

I suspect it just relocated to a different spot. I'm sure you have not seen the last of the Aiptasia.

Same here. Never heard of them just dieing like that. Those suckers seem to be able to live in conditions that nothing else can.

 

[Lightsluvr]

Same here. Never heard of them just dieing like that. Those suckers seem to be able to live in conditions that nothing else can.

Absolutely...including in your overflows, inside tubing, filter socks and in the deepest darkest cave of your aquascaping...places often inaccessible to CBB, peppermint shrimp and Joe's Juice.

They are the Demon spawn, IMO.

LL

 

[Metal Man 1221]

Same here. Never heard of them just dieing like that. Those suckers seem to be able to live in conditions that nothing else can.

no kidding i noticed one a about a week ago, so i boiled some fresh water and took the siringe to it, and squited it very liberally with boiling water, well just a few days later sucker came back.... looks like ill have to figure somthing else out

 

[red13miller]

I had atleast 25 of them in my 55 gallon tank for about two months, I tried everything and they wouldn't go away. Then I tried a matted filefish, and in the next several hours the 25 pest anenomes went to 0! The Filefish is a thing of magic!

 

[Amici316]

no kidding i noticed one a about a week ago, so i boiled some fresh water and took the siringe to it, and squited it very liberally with boiling water, well just a few days later sucker came back.... looks like ill have to figure somthing else out

Best course of action against them is Sodium Hydroxide. Here is a good read about it with good directions.

http://www.reefscapes.net/articles/breefcase/aiptasia_control.html

PLEASE REALIZE NaOH is highly caustic and has a pH of about 13. It can hurt other corals near the aiptasia but if you are careful with it you can completely nuke the aptasia and IME they have not returned. Best part is that NaOH is available at most any hardware store and is dirt cheap.