Aptasia and pickle juice?

jjlove

New member
okay, at the risk of sounding like a complete moron......Can I use a shot of pickle juice to kill aptasia?
 
i'm sure the vinegar and salt would disrupt the osmotic balance if you injected the mixture...is there anyway you can get any calcium hydroxide or joes juice?
 
well, Ive used joes juice and it worked great. Just a bit pricey for one aptasia at this point. What about straight vinegar with some salt?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15418872#post15418872 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jjlove
well, Ive used joes juice and it worked great. Just a bit pricey for one aptasia at this point. What about straight vinegar with some salt?
Go to walmart , get Mrs. wages pickling lime 2.50 $ a lbs. . Works better then joes juice!;)
 
I've had moderate success with squirting them with boiling water. Very cheap but usually takes 3 or 4 times to eliminate them.
 
Joe's Juice is just a kalkwasser slurry. You can easily make it yourself and save quite a bit of money if you're already using kalkwasser. Mrs. Wage's Pickling lime at WalMart is basically the same thing.
 
The best thing I found for Aptasia is a pickling lime powder. I bought it at Wal-Mart for $3.00, make a paste out of it, put it in a syringe and apply it directly to the Aptasia,
This will burn it out and the pickling lime is good for the tank. You can also add peppermint shrimp, doing both will control Aptasia. Jim
 
ok this is a really stupid question, but where do you get a syringe to do this? I just got some live rock and it has 6 of them on there....I was going to go pick up a couple of peppermint shrimp tomorrow, but would like to give them a shot of boiling hot water or something as well...
 
If you see 1 aiptasia, you are going to see more...they can be sneaky little things that tuck into the rock and hide when you get near them.
 
This raises controversy but truely for no reason. Follow this and bye bye Apstasia:
Here is a a post I copied from another forum. I have use this and it is 110% sure fire. Use in moderation and it is safe.
2004 Post:
OK, here is my sure fire way, 100% success rate, never to return again method.

Use a saturated solution of Sodium Hydroxide (Drain Away, Draino, whatever you like to call it) and water. Using a syringe, squirt about 0.5 mL into the mouth of each aiptasia. This will kill even the stubborn foot tissue.

I initially used kalk paste like pies, by found that the success rate wasn't that great. Sodium Hydroxide is much more soluble than Calcium Hydroxide, and is more alkaline, completely nuking the aiptasia.

Again don't dose too much at one time. It is not harmful to your reef, unless you directly squirt it onto corals. Just a warning that Sodium Hydroxide will cause sever chemical burns if handled, you can tell if you have it on your hands 'cause they will feel "soapy" and slippery. If you feel your hands becoming slippery, wash with a LOT of cold water. Preferably wear gloves when handling.

As dangerous as the chemical sounds, it is really quite safe for your reef.

Draino is surprisingly pure sodium hydroxide, and is really no more dangerous to your tank than calcium hydroxide (kalk). Any tank with a reasonable alkalinity (greater than 2.6) should have no problems adding it. The hydroxide ion reacts relativly quickly with dissolved carbon dioxide producing, there are also other mechanisms for the neutralisation of the free hydroxide. Which reaction is most significant is determined by the pH.

2(OH)- + 2CO2 ---> H20 + 2(CO3)2-

The only difference between this and the kalk method is the spectator ion (Ca2+ as opposed to Na+).
Kalk will do the same thing to your hand as sodium hydroxide, at a much much slower rate.

If anything this method is easier on the fish, I had problems with fish eating, or trying to eat the white kalk paste. I for one wouldn't like a mouth full of kalk. The sodium hydroxide method is much safer in that it is completely soluble, such that any solution which doesn't make it into the aiptasia, is quikly netralised by surrounding water by the above reaction, and no solid remains to be eaten by fish.
I stuck the needle into the base and poof never to be seen again.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15420966#post15420966 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by vickreyreef
ok this is a really stupid question, but where do you get a syringe to do this? I just got some live rock and it has 6 of them on there....I was going to go pick up a couple of peppermint shrimp tomorrow, but would like to give them a shot of boiling hot water or something as well...

I got my syringes from previous purchases of Joe's Juice and Aiptasia-X, both of which only yielded temporary results. The Aiptasia always came back stronger and madder than heck! :eek2:

Boiling water? Think about it...by the time you get boiling water in a syringe, it's no longer boiling...by the time you get it in your tank and apply it to aiptasia, it's probably just a little hot... I guess if you're quick on the draw like Wyatt Earp, you might have success. I wouldn't bank on it...

Try the peppermint shrimp - if that doesn't work, try a copperband butterflyfish. If that doesn't work, get serious and start a colony of Berghia Nudibranchs.

JMHO

LL
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15421257#post15421257 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tspors
You can buy a syringe at the pharmacy, see pharmacist.
Just say you want to use the needle for your drug addiction. On a serious note, The pharmacist will sell you a needle. An actual hypodermic needle with the metal tip however is not ideal. The syringe you would use to give a baby medicine is much better, the kind without the needle, basically an eye dropper.
 
I went to walgreens and told the pharmacist exactly what size syringe and needle I wanted and all I did was sign for it then pay for it so yes you can get them. The needle is better because you can stick it intothe flesh of the Ap.
Yes you can buy them.
 
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