Is a Raccoon Butterfly the answer??

[newreefer2]

Is a Raccoon Butterfly the answer??One of my tanks has a terrible majano problem, there is more than 300 lbs of live rock. I am considering taking all the live rock out but over the years I have fostered four or five types of sponges on them and I hate to lose them. I also have 4 8 inch clams in the tank..
A LFS is recommending a raccoon butterfly. Suggestions? Warnings??

 

[DopeCantWin]

Is a Raccoon Butterfly the answer??One of my tanks has a terrible majano problem, there is more than 300 lbs of live rock. I am considering taking all the live rock out but over the years I have fostered four or five types of sponges on them and I hate to lose them. I also have 4 8 inch clams in the tank..
A LFS is recommending a raccoon butterfly. Suggestions? Warnings??

Quick google search said they're hit or miss, mostly miss. Don't forget, the problem isn't just the Butterfly Eating the clam, there are pictures of clams catching the butterflies. How about a filefish? What else is in the tank?

 

[newreefer2]

I have 4 large clams..2 Naso Tangs, 1 Purple tang, 1 lavender tang, I yellow tang, 1 hypo tang, 1 one spot foxface rabbitfish, 1yellow gobie, a 12 in engineer gobie, 3 firefish, 1 filefish, 1 coral beauty, purple ribbon gorgorian, purple willow gorgorian, duncans, zoos, red tree sponge, blue sponge, yellow sponge, black sponge, 8 inch black cucumber, 50 cerith snails, 50 nassius snails, 5 turbo snails, mushrooms, ricorida, coco worms, hermit crab, 4 matrix crabs, 5 porcelain crabs, brittle star.

I haven't added any fish in the last 8 months but these Majano are taking over....probably a thousand majano. I tried Kalk and burnt out a majano wand.

 

[DopeCantWin]

I'm surprised that filefish isn't putting a dent in them. Maybe get a few more?

 

[newreefer2]

The filefish is clearing out the aptasia but seems to enjoy flake food to much to be as aggressive as I had hoped..

 

[TheGodParticle]

I've done a lot of risky things over the years in my tank, after you've been in the game for a while you start to do crazy things to keep that drive going. However, I would never dare put a racoon butterfly in my reef tank.

 

[DopeCantWin]

The filefish is clearing out the aptasia but seems to enjoy flake food to much to be as aggressive as I had hoped..

Personally I'd put a few more filefish in there. As an added bonus, they're known to spawn in captivity.

 

[Joe5688]

More filefish and less feedings

 

[goofyreefer]

I used kalk paste. Mixed it up with water, microwaved it and just smothered the manjano's. After about 20 minutes I used a turkey baster and sucked them all up. I wouldn't do them all at one time but it definitely gets rid of them.

 

[lostmyz]

High powered blue laser with safety goggles.... 275 and u always have a tool to kill pesky stuff and it won't wver touch things u don't want

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

 

[DopeCantWin]

High powered blue laser with safety goggles.... 275 and u always have a tool to kill pesky stuff and it won't wver touch things u don't want

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

Good luck with that in a 300 gallon tank with thousands of them.

 

[synofreak]

The Racoon will tear them up, but also your coral. Problem is they cant get them all. Would need to switch to pickling lime after that to finish them off. By far the best fish for the application.

 

[dgtron]

I tried everything, finally the Raccoon butterfly cleaned thousands of Aiptasia within a month in my 300G. Last night I literally searched & could not find a single aiptasia.
I got him from LA a month ago.
I'm looking to sell him within the next 2 weeks. Guaranteed success with this fellow!

 

[dgtron]

High powered blue laser with safety goggles.... 275 and u always have a tool to kill pesky stuff and it won't wver touch things u don't want

I tried with 2 Watt laser....very hard to get rid if you have a few thousand Aiptasia

The Racoon will tear them up, but also your coral. Problem is they cant get them all. Would need to switch to pickling lime after that to finish them off. By far the best fish for the application.

Not till all the Aiptasia are gone. I have my Raccoon in SPS dominant tank & no problems. I also have a few LPS & softies.
They will certainly go after the corals once the Aiptasia is gone.

 

[newreefer2]

I tried everything, finally the Raccoon butterfly cleaned thousands of Aiptasia within a month in my 300G. Last night I literally searched & could not find a single aiptasia.
I got him from LA a month ago.
I'm looking to sell him within the next 2 weeks. Guaranteed success with this fellow!

I don't know where you are located but let me know when you are ready to sell him. No sense changing his diet when we can just relocate him.

 

[dgtron]

He is almost done, but I just want to be certain just in case something new erupts. I live in Wheeling.

 

[newreefer2]

Do you know how much you will want for him. I live down by Peoria but come up that way occasionally.

 

[dgtron]

I paid $60 for him from LA
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+25+299&pcatid=299

I'd like to sell him for $60.

 

[kawicivic]

The Klein's butterfly is also an option: http://www.reefhobbyistmagazine.com/archives/vol_1/issue_4/pages/issue_4-4.htm

 

[newreefer2]

I think I will be up that way on April 20th. Would that work for pick up date? How big is it?