Is this a baby Duncan?

[Maxxingout]

So yesterday I took a moment to look over my tank a bit longer then just a fly by. I noticed what looks to be a baby duncan starting to grow on a rock near my larger duncan colony. Problem is I'm not sure if it is or not? It looks like a duncan but the color is not the same, even the new baby heads growing off the larger duncan don't have that brown color. Anybody know if duncans spread by seeding out?

I've added 2 zoa frags about 2 weeks ago. But I can imagine if a pest came on one of the frags that it'd grown that fast? The tank I got them from did not show pests that might have been on the frags but I guess that might not matter. I really hope it's not aiptasia!

Picture of the baby;

Picture of the duncan colony;

 

[RG Rude]

Looks like Aiptasia to me.

 

[dinger28]

Aiptasia definitely

 

[rogersb]

Aiptasia definitely

 

[reefer999]

Aptasia, you need to get rid of it and the rest of them that are in your tank. If the two Zoa frags were the origin of the pest and they're not close to that rock then you probably have a few babies throughout your tank. My guess is that was already there on the rock from a previous purchase because it is quite large, and you hadn't noticed until now. Depending on your tank levels they can grow rapidly fast. To get rid of them you can get some Aptasia X and target kill them one by one. You can also get some peppermint shrimp or copperband butterfly to eat them, but sometimes they're a hit or miss. Be wary though cause copperbands can pick at corals and shrimps can turn on your Duncan if hungry. I'd advise you to use the aptasia x or lemon juice method; if you don't want the hassle depending on how many you have you could also get a berghia nudibranch. If you do decide to get a peppermint don't confuse it with a camel shrimp because it is a common mistake, and the camel will not likely eat any aptasia but rather coral instead. Hope this helps

 

[RG Rude]

I've heard that Peppermint are hit or miss but I have experienced excellent results with Peppermint Shrimp.

 

[Maxxingout]

Thanks for the input. I was thinking that it had to come on something else due to the size. I would get a peppermint shrimp if I did not already have a fire shrimp which is quite large and a malanarus wrasse. I did not see any other aptasia but like said, might be else were. I was thinking about either trying some vinegar in a syringe, aptasia x, or super gluing it to the rock. Of course if I find more I don't think I can go around super gluing all of them.

 

[Reef Bass]

Turn off pumps. Fill the dimple / cavity in which the aiptasia is sitting with Aiptasia X. Wait 15-20 minutes. Turn pumps back on.

I have twice had to resort to berghia nudibranchs to wipe out whole tank infestations of aiptasia. Hit this one hard now. Do not let it multiply.

 

[Maxxingout]

Turn off pumps. Fill the dimple / cavity in which the aiptasia is sitting with Aiptasia X. Wait 15-20 minutes. Turn pumps back on.

I have twice had to resort to berghia nudibranchs to wipe out whole tank infestations of aiptasia. Hit this one hard now. Do not let it multiply.

I agree, read tons on people having them before I got started. Now I'm one of those people.

I just got a syringe from the guy I work with so I'll be giving the lemon juice a try. It's going to be a little tough getting the injection into the side of the body since it's in a cavity. I've read that after the 10-15min mark you want to siphon it out as to not let it spread. Hopefully all goes well!

 

[RustNeverSleeps]

like others have said nip it in the bud now before they really become a problem

 

[accelaraptor]

I had a couple come in off some frags. Hit them with the lemon juice technique and had no problems there after. Had to treat a few of the larger ones twice as parts of them survived and began to grow again. Quite resilient little creatures.

 

[Sapelo]

If you only have the one, simply inject it with vinegar or lemon juice. No big deal.

 

[angelman21]

Aiptasia

 

[Maxxingout]

After hitting it twice with lemon juice 4 days ago I have not seen it come out again. Hopefully that'll be that but if more come I have a better understanding on what to do.

 

[Mark9]

After hitting it twice with lemon juice 4 days ago I have not seen it come out again. Hopefully that'll be that but if more come I have a better understanding on what to do.

Wouldn't hurt to fill in the hole with some super glue gell or something like that.
Great pictures, BTW.

 

[Maxxingout]

That's a god Idea, I'll fill it in tonight when I get home.

It's amazing what a phone can do nowadays. Just put it up against the glass, zoom in and take the pic.

 

[jraker]

i have a peppermint shrimp that i see about every few days. i have no aiptasia in my tank, so i can only assume that he has been eating it. be careful with peppermints, they can sometimes eat your coral.