Aiptasia too big for shrimp?

[God of thunder]

Hi there.

I just bought a pair of peppermint shrimps to get rid od my aiptasia. The litle ones are gone but the 2 biggest one remain, are they just to big for them or what?

 

[rssjsb]

Two little peppermints aren't much for a big tank. Give them some time. They'll eventually tackle the big ones too, IME. Meanwhile, they'll keep it from spreading.

 

[Ellie N]

As far as I know peppermints are great for smaller aiptasia but they wont go for the bigger ones. You might want to try Kalk injections for the bigger ones.

 

[kydsexy]

i heard that they only eat aipstasia when they're not being properly fed. is this true?

 

[Reefynewby]

kyd, peppermint shrimps aren't natural predators of aiptasia, and therefore, like you said, will go after them most when they are underfed (although you shouldn't try this on purpose to get them). Oftentimes, unless you have ginormous groups, even when somewhat underfed, peppermint shrimps will not eat the aiptasia. theres about a 15% chance if i remember correctly. Peppermints should be kept in groups of at least 5 for aiptasia removal and happiness, as they are very social and often share caves.

 

[rssjsb]

I've had great experiences with peppermints. They've always eventually gotten around to all of the aiptaisa in my tanks, even the really big ones. They've also always had plenty of other things to eat. Maybe my experience is unusual, though. I agree you'd have better luck if you added 4-6 more, though.

 

[Hogfish77]

3 did the job in my 90g. Getting more they can be pests later on...such as stealing anemone's foods, etc.

 

[yiliyang]

Use a rigid airline tubing to stab the aptasia first, it may also help if you twist the tubing over the aptasia, the point is to really mess it up good. If a large aptasia is too intimidating for a tiny pep shrimp, a severely weakened aptasia will be easier to tackle.

 

[spscrackhead]

be careful with this bc if you break it into pieces, these pices will turn into new ones

 

[Jay1204]

wow... I'm surprised that noone had mentioned Berghia Nudis.
When Kalk treatment, Joes juice, peppermint shrimp dont work, try Berghia Nudibranch. they will wipe aiptasia out for good.

check these guys
http://www.inlandaquatics.com
http://www.berghia.net
http://www.saltyunderground.com

 

[petoonia]

I just bought two small peppermint shrimp for my refuge. A few aiptasia popped up in the rubble pile. The aiptasia is almost gone, and its only been about a week. Once the shrimp get big enough I will probably move them up to my display.

Give it some time, they will eventually get to it. I do agree that you should probably get a few more.