Aiptasia removal

fernalfer

New member
I believe this is Aiptasia in between my zoas. I can tell 1 is irritated. What is the best way to remove that 1 head of Aiptasia? It is the only 1 in my tank and it has to be smack in the middle of my zoas....

i can take the rock out the aiptasia is on. Just wondering the best way to remove it. Their is just 1.

 
I would use a syringe and boiling water. You will be able to easily target just the aiptasia. That is the only method I have ever used. It will cook it right where it sits so that any pieces that do escape are dead dead dead.
 
I would use a syringe and boiling water. You will be able to easily target just the aiptasia. That is the only method I have ever used. It will cook it right where it sits so that any pieces that do escape are dead dead dead.

I can take the rock out of the water it is a smaller rock. Or should i use the hot water in tank. The only problem i see is targeting it directly seeing the rock is 20 inches down in my tank. Will be hard to see exactly where i'm squirting the hot water.

But if i do it in a container with little tank water will the boiling water also kill my zoas?
 
I would leave the rock in the tank - no sense disturbing everything if you don't have to. It will also help to dissipate the heat better.

Just 20" down? Stick your arm in and look through the side. The closer you can get the syringe to the anemone the better off you will be - both to increase the chance of getting it the first time and to minimize the possibility of damage to the zoas. I would use a 10 or 20cc syringe with a fine tip - you can get them at HD/Lowes in the paint department or from a friendly pharmacy if you ask nicely and tell them what it's for.
 
I have had some luck with aiptasia X but not lemon juice. Never tried boiling water. Maybe I'm just bad at using the aiptasia X but it always seems to come back. You could always go the peppermint shrimp route. Depending on how big your tank is you could get a few. I got two peppermint shrimp and they demolished my aiptasia pretty good in a couple days


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If that was the only aiptasia in my tank, I'd remove the rock/frag and throw it out. Not worth missing part of it or unseen others too small or under the zoas to risk contaminating the rest of the tank. That's assuming the aiptasia came in on that rock/frag and you just recently put it in your tank instead of quarantining it. Aiptasia is no fun, can spread to plague proportions, and once you have it you can usually never get rid of it but just keep it in check through biological or chemical maintenance.
 
I recently bought a filefish, Acreichthys tomentosus, for a tank infested with Aiptasia. Two weeks later there is not a single Aiptasia that I can find in the tank.
 
Having managed aiptasia my entire time in this hobby, I can definitely say the only thing that has worked for me is kalk paste. I seem to have a couple huge ones hiding behind the rocks where I cannot reach them, which means once in a blue moon I'll spot a baby aiptasia pop up on the visible rocks. Kalk paste destroys them as well as their clones they spit out of their mouth. Works like a charm every time. Aiptasia x, peppermint shrimp, lemon juice, vinegar, hot water....none work as well as good ol kalk paste. I just cover them with it. Seems to kill on contact and they actually don't retreat into their holes. Just burns them like magma


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When you say Kalk paste is there a certain amount or fórmula of Kalk? I use saturated Kalk in my ATO. Can i use that?

Thanks in advance.
 
No you make it really thick. I use a tablespoon of kalk to like 2 tablespoons of water and draw it up in a pipette. Turn off all flow. Smother the aiptasia. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes. Then turn the flow back on. I try to blow off or suck up any kalk paste that falls or gets on anything else. I also use it to control run away nuisance discosoma mushrooms, encrusting montipora growth, etc. it's a wonderful tool. Just limit its use to once a week or so as to not risk spiking your alkalinity through excessive use


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If just one use any of the aiptasia killers on the market. If it is small and recedes into a crevice, I use the super glue method to seal them into their tomb on the rock frag.
 
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