Best solution to aiptasia

[ksicard]

I have a problem with aiptasia and I need some advice on how to control/rid them in my tank. I've been using red sea's aiptasia x but they seem to come back in larger numbers every time I treat them with the product. So I'm thinking I want to add something to eat them, but from what I've read there is multiple things I can add to the tank to eat them. So what is best for me to add to my tank with my SPS coral health being the highest priority (only want to add reef safe critters). I have a 75g DT and I also have a royal pencil wrasse, I think the pencil wrasse might eat some inverts?

Please let me know our advice for what's best to add to help control/rid my tank of the aiptasia.

 

[Allmost]

anything that eats Aiptasia, will be called NOT reef safe ....

Id get a copperband, and QT it and feed it aiptasia.

 

[jg93]

I've had great success with a combination of "Joe's Juice" and peppermint shrimp.

You need to be very aggressive with these, killing as many as you can with the "Juice" - which works great. Need to get at least 3 or more shrimp depending on tank size. Make sure you don't release them during the photoperiod in your tank or they'll get eaten. The shrimp do a great job killing the smaller aiptasia that will continue to spawn in your tank after you've killed off the larger ones.

 

[Nathan4Wvu]

Super glue gel! I just agitate them to make them retract then cover them in gel. Never to be seen again!

 

[WayneL333]

My 300 was filled with aptaisia. I bought 6 Peppermint shrimp and all the aptaisia were gone in a couple of weeks. IMO this is the best solution for an SPS tank.

 

[ksicard]

I have a pencil wrasse, will the shrimp get eaten by the wrasse?

 

[lanshark]

I have major outbreak in frag tank. Worth noting, there are look a like peppermint shrimp being sold in LFS's as peppermint shrimp that do NOT eat aptasia, BUYER BEWARE....

 

[Nightwar]

I have major outbreak in frag tank. Worth noting, there are look a like peppermint shrimp being sold in LFS's as peppermint shrimp that do NOT eat aptasia, BUYER BEWARE....

good to no. I just spot a few aiptasia growing in my tank...

 

[Prochef176]

Peppermint shrimp

 

[screamingibis]

I've always had excellent luck with peppermints, that is until I got a melanarus wrasse that loves peppermints. I may give the super glue gel a whirl.

 

[trinity1012]

what about burghia nudibranchs?

 

[Harriscli]

what about burghia nudibranchs?

They are amazing but can starve easily. Used to have one we passed around.

 

[JP SPS]

Won't peppermint shrimp also eat polyps off of SPS corals?

 

[reeflover62]

Peppermint shrimp worked for me but not until I got rid of my wrasse. He would eat all my shrimp.

 

[tom g]

aptaisia

aptaisia

we got a file fish and he is taking care of it for us ....

 

[Epicreefer]

Bergias work but you need to I'd your pest anemones correctly. If you have majanos they won't be eaten. I added several bergia to a clients tank about a month ago, saw a lot disappear in a few weeks but then kind of tapered off. Not sure if they died, were eaten by a wrass or what. Guess I'll find out in another month.

I have found joes juice to work, had probably 30-40 of various size in my 40g. I have treated 3 times a week apart and now only have 4 or 5 tiny ones left. If you do several treatments in a row it works better because only about 1/2 of the large ones die in a treatment, small ones rarely survive. But yes they do seem to send out a lot of smaller ones after the first treatment so just stay on top of it.

 

[stk731]

where can you get joes juice never heard of it

 

[Savoie83]

Do a paste with kalwasser and put in a syringe.

 

[MammothReefer]

I've tried pretty much every method except for laser at this point. It just depends on where it is, how much and how hard it is to get to them. Best thing to do is catch it before it gets out of hand. At that point Kalk or Joes Juice works great. I had poor results with aiptasia X. Peppermint shrimp are hit or miss and then you end up with a bunch of shrimp you don't want in your tank. I added some Bergias about a month ago but I haven't seen them since so I have no idea what is going on. I finally broke down and bought a CBB from DD. It eats is healthy appears to be picking on the aps but at some point I'm going to have go in and start rotating rocks or kalking stuff as well. I am also running into an issue (...and I know should have looked it up first I don't know how I've never had a CBB in all these years) with my yellow tang picking on the CBB. I'm going to have to catch him and move him to the frag tank for a couple weeks/month

 

[jda]

Make sure that your peppermint shrimp are from the Florida Keys. I have never had one from there that would not crush the Aips. Sometimes, they will not eat the super huge ones, so you have to knock them back a bit with some kalk. You can get them from reeftopia, if you are so inclined.

FWIW - if you have a animal that eats the aips, then don't ever get rid of it. Chances are that there are some leftover aips in the rocks and stuff that will establish again if you get rid of your butterfly or shrimp.