Aptasia outbreak. help!

[jynx1693]

I have aptasia everywhere. Over the course of 3 weeks it has went from a 3 or 4 heads to over 30 heads. I have a 150g tank. I was using aptasia-x but it isnt doing the tricj especially now. dkh-10, calc-430, mag-1250, nitrates-less than 1, salinity-1.024 w/refract. it is invading my coral and starting to affect the lps's.

I have been told to get some bergia nudibranch's. Is this the direction to go?

Any help woill ne appreciated!

thx,
Scott

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

Berghias will eat it but once the aiptasia is gone they'll starve since aiptasia is the only thing they eat. You could try some peppermint shrimp but they are hit or miss. I've had some that eat it and others that didn't.

 

[mvazz425@yahoo.]

PEPPERMINT SHRIMP FTW my friend. I had quite a bit, purchased one peppermint shrimp and that guy demolished them.

 

[cakemanPA]

Berghia are great dependent on what fish you have. My wrasses decimated my berghias. Peppermint work on smaller aiptasia. Bristletailed Filefish are great but can nip at other corals. I have had luck with Copperband Butterflies.

 

[goreef170]

Copper band butterfly.....

 

[lrs183]

You can get a berghia for about 15-20 dollars. But you could also do pinpoint kalkwasser. Yeah you have 30 heads, just don't dose all at once. It'll be instant gratification in just a couple days. But the slug will do the same thing you just risk it dieing at the end.

 

[GroktheCube]

Aiptasia X spreads aiptasia. Joe's Juice is the only chemical control I've tried that works.

Berghias should work, but it's a slow process, lots of stuff likes to eat them, and they don't seem to do well under heavy flow.

I think calling peppermints hit or miss is generous. I purchased 2 dozen for my 120 from live aquaria and blue zoo, and they only eat aips I've already injured or killed with Joe's Juice. Either I'm comically unlucky, or aiptasia eating peps are very rare.

For me, weekly use of a full bottle of Joe's Juice plus peppermints to finish off any the juice didn't totally kill has been a recipe that's yielded slow but steady progress for me.

 

[ttboys]

Aiptasia is something you will what to get after quickly,
example, a friend of mine went from about 30 aiptasia to a 100 in just a week

 

[Froggy]

I have never had success with chemical treatments. The best natural control I have used is a matted filefish. They will completely eliminate aiptasia and eat other food also. Mine eats flake, pellet, mysis etc now that the aiptasia are gone.
The only negative I have found with filefish are that they may or may not eat zoas as well. Mine ate all my zoas. I was willing to accept the trade to get rid of hundreds and hundreds of aiptasia.
Joe

 

[wrott]

I have never had success with chemical treatments. The best natural control I have used is a matted filefish. They will completely eliminate aiptasia and eat other food also. Mine eats flake, pellet, mysis etc now that the aiptasia are gone.
The only negative I have found with filefish are that they may or may not eat zoas as well. Mine ate all my zoas. I was willing to accept the trade to get rid of hundreds and hundreds of aiptasia.
Joe

Do you know if a file will eat large manjangos?

 

[johnike]

My Filefish ate the Aips, then the Mojanos, then started on zoas.
Very efficient, but I gave him away.

I use pickling lime sludge and a carpet syringe now.
http://www.jondon.com/carpet-syringe.html

 

[McGarnicle]

My old 75g had a huge outbreak in the beginning and I tried almost everything.

Joe's Juice worked great but they would still keep coming, so it was a pain to always have to kill them individually.

I tried a copper band and peppermint shrimp and they also would eat a few here and there but still couldn't keep up.

Finally I went to my LFS and asked what the next suggestion was cause I was debating just replacing all my rock and starting over. So the owner gave me a medium size angel (I can't think of the specific kind right now to save my life it was 5 years ago) and told me to bring it back when it was all gone. I thought to myself no way is this going to work but to my surprise that was the trick. I had the angel in the tank for about 3 weeks and he got rid of all my aiptasia and never had any come back either.

 

[Froggy]

Do you know if a file will eat large manjangos?

I have not had majanos in my tank so I do not have direct experience with this. I have heard from others that they will also eat majanos.
As far as the size of aiptasia file fish can eat, I was pretty amazed. I only actually witnessed mine eating 2 of the hundreds I had but one was HUGE. Not sure when it chowed on the rest but large, small, it didn't matter when it came to aiptasia. I am assuming but I believe the large majanos would be the same.
Joe

 

[Cyclingwolfe]

I had a bunch I just took an ice pick and stabbed the heck out of them one at a time while I held the water change hose right next to it to suck up all the bits. I am free of these ugly things for a year now.

 

[Epicreefer]

I just started useing aiptasia away and it seems to do a great job. Of the 25 or so I hit only one has started to grow back and it was hanging upside down. Never had luck with joes juice, red sea or peppermints. Sometimes the copper band will work but they don't always adjust to captivity well. I found feeding them black worms for a week gives them a good start and adjustment to aquarium foods.

I've talked to Jeff the bergia grower and trying to kill them with the the solutions can cause a defensive reaction where they send out planula larve, hence why it seems like it's getting worse sometimes. Also the bergia work best in groups... At $20 a piece I would suggest trying other means before you get a bunch of them. They also don't touch majanos or curly q anemones(look like aiptasia with curly tentacles).

 

[dmh41532]

I found the most effective way is to inject the aiptasia with very hot freshwater. I've tried the aiptasia x and similar products and found it ineffective. I used berghia berghia nudibranchs which were little eating machines but if you cannt keep aiptasia they will starve.

 

[Bsudar]

I took the rock out of the tank, and sealed each aiptasia in a little supper glue tomb. Had to be sealed all the way around the bugger though or they just squeezed their way out.

 

[Morganfbs]

My peppermint shrimp mowed through my aiptasia.

 

[bronson]

for me bought a peppermint shrimp and in like 2 or 3 days aiptasia was gone

 

[reefsurfer777]

I'm having the same problem with aptasia, thinking of injecting them with lemon juice, heard it works. have to inject inside its mouth though to vaporize it.