Anemones Run Rampant!

[Bennytheblenny]

Berghias may be a lot cheaper at my local shop in Rochester, NY. Send me a PM and Ill talk to the guys at Caribbean Forrest, they may be able to swing you a deal, and the best part is they are in stock. I think UPS ground may be able to make it up to your area in a day.

To make the Kalk paste, I take about 1 tsp of kalk powder and 1 tsp of RO water and mix in a cup (should be a mud-like). Suck that into a syringe a coat the offending mojano with no water movement, it essentially entombs them. I have a 75% success rate with this method per attempt. I just wouldn't blast too many of them in one sitting. I usually try for 10 or so each session. I took me 6 months to clean up my tank just about completely.

 

[Bennytheblenny]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14749640#post14749640 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mouserusker
And they are bigger, prettier, I have fewer of them, by far, than I do Aiptasia, and they can't pull all the way back into the rocks as well.

I'm glad to hear good news about the Berghias. I've heard, though, that it can take months, sometimes, before a major dent is made in the Aiptasia population. I still think it's my best (only) option. The price is killing me, though. It will be about $130 USD for what I'm considering to be a "starter colony" of 7 young adults (+shipping, etc). That is a major hit to my reefkeeping budget. Times are tough and all...

Also, what do you mean, exactly, by "kalk paste"? I just started dripping kalk to my reef, so I have literally 2 days experience with kalkwasser. Is the paste the sediment at the bottom?

If your infestation is at that level, I would consider checking with your local reef shop to see if they cant place some of your rocks in a tank with a few butterflies. I know that the guys at my store gave me that option, but I had too many corals already attached to go this route.

 

[mouserusker]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14749707#post14749707 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Bennytheblenny
Berghias may be a lot cheaper at my local shop in Rochester, NY. Send me a PM and Ill talk to the guys at Caribbean Forrest, they may be able to swing you a deal, and the best part is they are in stock. I think UPS ground may be able to make it up to your area in a day.

To make the Kalk paste, I take about 1 tsp of kalk powder and 1 tsp of RO water and mix in a cup (should be a mud-like). Suck that into a syringe a coat the offending mojano with no water movement, it essentially entombs them. I have a 75% success rate with this method per attempt. I just wouldn't blast too many of them in one sitting. I usually try for 10 or so each session. I took me 6 months to clean up my tank just about completely.

Thank You! PM sent.

Thanks for the Kalk recipe. It makes sense. I may go for one or two Mojenos at a time. I've got a much smaller tank than you do...

 

[mouserusker]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14749807#post14749807 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Bennytheblenny
If your infestation is at that level, I would consider checking with your local reef shop to see if they cant place some of your rocks in a tank with a few butterflies. I know that the guys at my store gave me that option, but I had too many corals already attached to go this route.

The "local" reef shop is an hour drive, one way.
They didn't have any CBBs last time I was there. Nor do they have system water/conditions I trust. It's a... um... modest store. (I cannot be negative. The guy's doing the best he can, and the next closest store is another 40 minutes further away.)
And finally, the "L"FS is where I got the offending anemones in the first place.

I'm considering moving, and the location of nearby reef stores is a significant criteria in my search for a new home.

 

[Arati]

you should offfer to sell the LFS back some anenome's for store credit!

 

[mouserusker]

He might actually take a piece of LR covered in Mojenos...
They do look pretty cool, and I'm not sure he knows any better.

I just couldn't do it with a straight face and a good conscience. bennytheblenny has shown me how awesome reefkeepers can be to each other; one way I'm goin to pass that on is by trying really hard not to badmouth my "L"FS.

 

[NCSUsalt]

a klein's butterfly will eat majanos

 

[Orin]

Where are the little green anemones in the photo? The smaller anemones just look like small tulips or maybe aiptasia?

 

[mouserusker]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14758355#post14758355 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Orin
Where are the little green anemones in the photo? The smaller anemones just look like small tulips or maybe aiptasia?

In the first pic, they are on top of the rock, behind and to the left to the leather coral's stalk.
In my tank, there are everywhere.

While there are some small tulips, the vast majority of these "little green anemones" are different. They are a paler green, sometimes appearing almost yellow. Also, they never get bigger than a half-inch across (the tulips are at least two or three times bigger), and have no pink tips. I had some of the brownish Aiptasias, and I seem to have successfully eradicated them. I've been told that the "little green anemones" are a different species of Aiptasia, which I didn't realize until it was too late.

I really hope the little green ones are an Aiptasia species, or I'm about to waste a good chunk of change on Berghia nudibranchs.

 

[Klownfish]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14753125#post14753125 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NCSUsalt
a klein's butterfly will eat majanos

^^^^^^^^^^^^Yes, they sure will^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I've had the Majano's, just as bad as you have...

I've tried all of the usual methods, vinigar, boiling water, kalk, boiling kalk, Joe's Juice, etc....

I then added a Klein's Butterfly and a Green Filefish.

The Klein's worked, hands down, and left my clams, LPS and SPS alone.
The Filefish nipped at my 12" Derasa clam, and didn't touch any pest anemones... at all.

The Klein's are very hardy, nice looking, and do a fantastic job of eating ALL types of pest anemones.

Good Luck, I do understand how frustrating those nasty pests are!

 

[mouserusker]

I've read mixed reports about Klein's. Hardy if you get a good specimen; not so hardy when it comes to shipping.
Eats pest anemones and maybe leathers and soft corals.

It sounds like it varies from one specimen to the next. And given my geographical location, marine life selection is quite limited.

A C. kleini is also a little big for my 20H mixed reef.

Thanks for the info, though.

 

[DGAF]

Hey... I had a couple of those nasty anenomes that you have and i was advised to get some pepermint shimp. The LFS and many of the new books say thay are good for aptasia and mangos. Like you I was afraid so i went the less envasive route and bought 3 shrimp. My problems were solved and no new problem anenomes are back. Hope the best for your tank!

 

[mouserusker]

Salty Underground is Awesome.

Salty Underground is Awesome.

I decided to go with 5 Berghia nudibranchs from saltyunderground.com to attempt to control my Aiptasia.
The nudis just went in my tank a couple of days ago (5-15-09), so I'll have to wait a while before I can comment on their effectiveness in my reef.
As for Salty Underground, they get at least three thumbs way up. The price was fair, the service was excellent, and the nudi's were larger than I expected. They were clearly visible happily crawling around the shipping bag, each at least 1/2" long and showing some darker coloration on the cerata (I've read that this means they have recently fed well). The shipping packaging took me almost five minutes to open: a bag of water inside a clear plastic dish/cup with a lid (good for acclimation) inside several inches worth of bubble wrap inside several more inches of shipping paper inside a cardboard box. My five, half-inch nudis with a total mass probably measured in milligrams arrived in a basketball-sized package!
Lisa, the proprietor at SU, was easy to contact via phone or email, and handled my questions and my order kindly and proficiently. She seemed most interested in my reefkeeping success; I never felt any pressure to buy, buy, buy.

The tulip anemones are pretty much under control through a multi-week-long regimen of applying Aiptasia Control to 5 - 10 tulip 'nems every 2 or 3 days. I don't want to totally eradicate the tulips. They are not really any more prolific than my Kenya Tree Coral.

 

[Canarygirl]

I know this is an old thread but I am looking for info on this topic....

your tank has been overtaken its only a matter of time until they kill all your corals and take over completely.

This quote by GSMguy...I have a related question. What is the effect of having a large amount of majanos/aptaisia on the sps sharing the same water, even if the corals are not close to the anenomes? I have an infested tank and in a different tank sharing the same water, my sps get brown tips that will grow algae on them. I'm wondering if it could be alleopathy from the aptaisia/majanos, or if these anenomies might be consuming a trace element that the sps need...like, could this species be a "sink" for magnesium, potassium or some other element that sps need to stay healthy. I have ruled out too-high-of alk as a cause of the tips problem, after weeks of monitoring.