link between high nitrate and aiptasia problems? Maybe.

[Sk8r]

Long story short, I managed to keep my reef alive---4 corals and 4 fish--during 8 days with no power, no heat, by chilling down the tank to 66.1, and not feeding; did aerate by pouring buckets in.

Lost about 4 ounces of fish, most cheato, and all worms in a 105 with 30 gallon sump, and used Prime and h2o2 to keep chemistry under control---about 4x.

Tank's coming out of it, corals flourishing, surviving fish healthy---nitrates in the 80's, and a heckuva aiptasia bloom. Never seen it so prolific, and my suspicion is that it's feeding on something that feeds on nitrates or its feeding on the nitrate directly.

I'm hammering the nitrate down with water changes, Chemipure, and vinegar dosing (resumed after power came on) and have got it to 60, to the great happiness of the corals, (euphyllias, acan, candycane) ---but looking at this unprecedented (and I've been at this hobby a while) bloom of aiptasia, I'm wondering if a nitrate overload can reasonably be associated with a runaway aiptasia count.

Certainly if they're uptaking nitrate, they're actually helping out, but I'm anxious to move past the situation and look to get back to a nitrate level under 5.

Just wondering if anybody else has made such an association or if it is general knowledge.

 

[billsreef]

IMO, IME (and whatever other initials you can come up with) aiptasia does quite well eutrophic conditions.

 

[Sk8r]

Phosphate is being quirky---lost most of a massive cheato ball to darkness, and I'm seeing only a little algae, but expected more phosphate release. There's so much to do I'm behind in anything bu the critical testing, but I really should take a serious look at the phosphate reading in there, too.

 

[Reef Frog]

Don't know for sure if aiptasia can use nitrate directly. But I have observed them eating organic particulate matter and foods intended for corals & fish. They can handle foods of differing sizes quite well.

Maybe your tank created large quantities of suspended organic detritus that was utilized by the aptasia as food? Maybe these DOCs worked hand in hand with increased nutrient levels.

Glad to hear the worst part is over and you're aquarium is recovering. Did you decide on a back up strategy for electricity? I was going to suggest considering an automobile, extension cord and a power inverter as a low cost but reliable option in your thread on the topic, but didn't get the chance. It saved me a few years ago during "Superstorm Sandy" a few years ago.

Nice job on recovery - some folks would have thrown in the towel !

 

[billsreef]

With all your dealing with right now, I'd just go for keeping things stable for the next couple of weeks. Once you heal up from the surgey, then go to town with the nutrients and aiptasia killing.

Reef Frog,
The zoox in the aiptasia like the nutrients

 

[Shark.Bait]

My reef has been running fallow for over a month now with 0 nitrate and I'm having a huge aptasia problem. They don't seem to mind the lack of nitrate in my tank, although I wish they would.

 

[mikluha]

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2012/4/inverts

There is a possible three-way symbiosis between aiptasia, zooxanthellae and cyanobacteria, which may explain their happiness in low-nitrate environment.

 

[ca1ore]

Causation or just correlation? The conditions that result in high nitrates, may simple provide a more conducive environment for aptasia (i.e. more food) even though they are not 'consuming' nitrates directly. No idea either way, just a potential explanation.

 

[CStrickland]

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2012/4/inverts

I was thinking about this too, like maybe with super high nitrates the aiptasia can get by without the cyano to fix N for it or some other imbalance. But mostly I think of nitrate as a proxy measure for other stuff, and would think that's the stuff that's encouraging growth.

Or something that was eating or stepping on it died. Long-lost pep shrimp or something.

 

[zeusfc]

I've got couple of theories...
We have an awful lot of glass anemones in the Mediterranean, and the sea temp is a little cooler than the average reef tank; is it simply that the glass anemones prefer the cooler water, and dropping the temp made them happier?
Or...
Is it that the " bloom" is a result of a survival technique, which as we already know, they seem pretty good at!

 

[Tigé21v]

I've got couple of theories...
We have an awful lot of glass anemones in the Mediterranean, and the sea temp is a little cooler than the average reef tank; is it simply that the glass anemones prefer the cooler water, and dropping the temp made them happier?
Or...
Is it that the " bloom" is a result of a survival technique, which as we already know, they seem pretty good at!

Interesting ideas

 

[Sk8r]

I am FINALLY getting the nitrate way down...it's a long, frustrating story---we have reached about 10. I am simultaneously noting that the aiptasia are down to a few, with no attention to the problem at all, and the cyano is absent.

 

[Sk8r]

I'd be real interested to hear the nitrate levels from those who do have aiptasia problems vs those who don't. There are posts from people who've done a mass kill of aiptasia and had nitrate skyrocket...

 

[Icefire]

I would think they got stressed and spawned someway.

Nothing new here, anemones split when stressed.

 

[rt67ghy]

I would think they got stressed and spawned someway.

Nothing new here, anemones split when stressed.

+1
In this case, this is the best explanation for a sudden explosion of aiptasia.