Aptasia

[Edward Smith]

I have an outbreak of aptasia in my tank. Can't do the copper butterfly trick, I have fan worms. I'm planning on getting several peppermint shrimps to eliminate them, then keeping them in a refugium like setup when I'm done for future use. Don't really like them in the main display.

Any suggestions or any success with the use of peppermint shrimps?

 

[RRafael]

Just pee on them and they will go away

 

[Sullyman]

Peppermints will eat aptasia, I have one I only see if I look after lights out.

 

[NewSchool04]

If the peppermints don't work, they are hit and miss you can get some Joe's juice and inject them or even make your own with Kalk and water.

 

[schmoeger6]

Had the same problem a while ago, after adding some new frags. By the time I saw it they were poping up all over the tank. I added 2 peppermints, and although I never saw them feeding on them, within a couple of weeks I was Aiptasi free.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

my peppermints did nothing. I am getting in some Nudi today that is supposed to help take care of the problem.

 

[Rod Buehler]

I have always had good success with peppermints, but they seem to work best in groups. The larger the tank, the larger the group of peppermints.

 

[softbal4]

i have had no luck with peppermints...how do you do the kalk mix?

 

[ostrow]

Similar situation here.

Rod, you found peppermints to eat even large ones? My hunch was when I had them that the shrimp kept the aiptasia from spreading too much but never touched the big ones.

Unfortunately, I have it sprouting up all over the place too. I hate injecting because you are constantly having to do it, it is not a cure because of all the little ones and the ones you can't reach.

As I posted elsewhere, my dilemma involves my fish (1 radiant, 1 6-line). I worry the peppermint shrimp won't survive the wrasses, and don't know if the radiant would eat the berghia or not, seeing as it does eat the monti nudis I worry and that is an expensive experiment. So far, no real replies in the other thread.

I don't want to spend $50 getting half a dozen or more peppermint shrimp who turn into dinner for the wrasses, or $100 on berghias that the radiant wrasse finishes off in a half hour.

 

[softbal4]

i whole heartedly agree ostrow. i had 12 peppermints in my tank and 3 cleaners and all became dinner for my hawk that is now pleasantly plump. i hate these unsightly things and now i am noticing some type of little green anemones everywhere. will joe's juice work on these as well? the injecting part is the killer, how inconvenient. isn't there something you can just add to the tank for this? someone out there should be working on this.

 

[jcm1229]

I've never gotten Joes Juice to work for me. I've gotten my peppermints from LivingSea and they've always worked like champs!

 

[ostrow]

You mean my flame hawk will also eat the shrimp? That I'd never heard before. Anyone else confirm this?

The green things are majanos I bet.

What a drag... No getting the fish out either.

 

[schmoeger6]

The little green anemones sound like Majanos. If that's the case my peppermints wouldn't touch them. I only had 2 in my tank, and was able to get to them easily. I just mixed up a little underwater epoxy (for attaching frags) and covered them up with it, a couple weeks later chipped it off, and no more Majanos.

When I first put the shrimp in they started with the smallest aiptasia, and slowly worked there way onto the bigger ones. The biggest one (and last to disappear) was about an inch across, but it did get eaten.

HTH

 

[Victoly]

Joe's Juice + Peppermints ... worked for me.

 

[softbal4]

when i bought the flame hawk...i was told to use caution with having shrimps in my tank...now i lost 15 shrimps! so that leads me to believe caution meant do not add a flame hawk with shrimp. everthing else in my tank is clowns and tangs, oh and one basslet.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

I just put 2 berghias in my tank. I'm gonna cross my fingers.

 

[Rod Buehler]

Hawks pose much more of a threat (IMO/IME) to peppermints than the radiant. I keep shrimp with my radiant and ornate wrasse.

With the super large aptasia, I usually squish them with my thumb, and then watch the peppermints come out to clean up the mess.

 

[softbal4]

rod,
any suggestions on majanos? i looked it up and ostrow was right on. i hate these things.

 

[ostrow]

I gotta look tonight to see if my cleaner shrimp are still around. Didn't do my research on the flame hawk when I got him from Highlander. Hmmmmm.....