Aptasia Erradication (large scale)

[cdness]

Hi All,

I am picking up a good chunk of live rock to add to my tank. There's only one problem, it has aptasia on it. I figured it would only be one or two pieces but when I looked at the rock it looked like the whole thing was an aptasia breeding ground. It is way more than expected...

The reason for the post is to ask if there is a good way to eradicate the aptasia without killing the rocks other than direct application of joe's juice, lemon juice, boiling water, etc. I am hoping there is something I can dip the rocks in to get the aptasia to die without killing the good bacteria and corraline on the rocks.

I do plan on keeping this rock out of the main display tank and sump until the aptasia is corrected. I don't want to get any into my tank...

Also on second note, will aptasia sting a human hand when the rocks are being taken out of the tank? I will not have an open area of the rock to grab hold of that does not have aptasia on it.

Thanks in advance for all the great information!

Curtis

 

[seapug]

Take the rock and put it in a bucket with a heater, powerhead and lid. Repeatedly nuke the Aptasia with Kalk paste every couple days and let the rock sit there for a good month or so. Between the kalk paste, darkness and starvation you'll get rid of them. It's a lot of work, but if it's a nice piece of rock it *might* be worth it.

 

[Hodori]

If you have A LOT of aptasia one of the best ways to get rid of it is by using a Copperband Butterfly. They will wipe the aptasia out. Only problem is afterwards they have nothing to eat...

Another way to do it is to get a Peppermint shrimp.

They both work pretty well. I prefer to use natural methods over the chemicals...

 

[nikon187]

no there is nothing you can dip the rocks in. Do the above method with kalk paste repeatedly and they will die. If it is in the hundreds i would consider nuking the rock, getting new rock or getting a fish to eat them when cycled ( Most fish that eat them ie: butterflies are not reef safe )

 

[cdness]

ok, thanks for the info! I'll be trying the Kalk paste and see if that will kill it all. If I am not successful I'll let it dry and kill it.

Will Aptasia sting my hand when I try to take the rocks out?

Also what's the cheapest way to make kalk paste? I know there is a generic way to make it but I can't remember off the top of my head.

Thanks all for the info!

 

[Brewman12er]

Lemon juice instead of kalk worked 100times better for me

 

[cdness]

maybe kalk paste made with lemon juice??

 

[jim.l]

lemon = acid; kalk= base; they will nullify each others effect. Either will work to some extent by them selfs.
If it was me and I had the room, I'd get a rubbermaid tub and set it up with power head and put in some peppermint shrimp. I had a 110 with a real plague of aptasia and a dozen baby peppermints cleaned them in about a month. Unless you have aggressive fish, you'll be left with a group of cleaners after.

 

[cdness]

ok, so no mixing...

I'll try the kalk first, then the lemon. If that doesn't work I'll go the peppermint shrimp route... I do have extra heaters and powerheads so that isn't a problem.

Will Aptasia sting my hand when I try to take the rocks out?

Also what's the cheapest way to make kalk paste?

 

[kmf507]

I noticed maybe 10 pieces in my tank (90 g), so I went out and bought 8 or so peppermint shrimp. I know not all shrimp will eat aptaisia, but I was willing to gamble on a few out of 8. It worked, and now I've got some of the shrimp hanging out in the tank (though they mostly hide).