Need something that eats indiscriminantly polyps and anemones

[ThRoewer]

In my 20 gallon Nuovo Abyss I have a micro anemone plague that I need to eliminate somehow.

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These are not Aptasia - I tried Berghia nudibranches and Peppermint shrimp and both wouldn't touch them. These things also don't get larger than maybe 1/4" in total diameter.

The tank contains algae but does not contain any desirable corals so something that eats every kind of coral/anemone will be fine.
It should just not eat fish, shrimp, snails or algae.

A predatory snail or shrimp would be preferred over fish due to the limited size of the tank.

 

[BrettDS]

I don't know about polyps, but my matted filefish definitely (and unfortunately) loves anemones. I added him a while ago because I thought he was a really cool fish and he had been a model citizen up until a few months ago when I tried to add a rock flower anemone, which he ate before I could get the anemone back out. I do have a green BTA in the tank, which he doesn't touch, but I suspect that's because my clowns keep him away from it.

 

[ThRoewer]

And there you have the reason why clownfish are good for anemones in the wild (and sometimes even in tanks).

Unfortunately a filefish will not be a good choice for my tank.
The ideal candidate for this job would be something that is a snail or shrimp with a good appetite for corals and anemones, but not for snails, fish or shrimp. And of course not for algae either or I could just nuke the tank and start over...

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[Pandagobyguy]

Bubble or majove anemone is my guess

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[der_wille_zur_macht]

Just curious. Why do you want to eliminate them? You don't have any corals to protect.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

If berghias, peppermints and files are out of the question, you might try this:

I'm using a method that I would only recommend to folks with planted tanks, like yours (and mine). I have not fully eradicated them yet, so I don't know if it will work for you. I would think it would work better in a small tank, as apposed to my 180.

I use a syringe filled with ammonia to squirt them. I know it sounds nuts, but ammonia also happens to be plants' favorite form of nitrogen, so its like killing two birds with one stone-or rather like killing one bird while feeding another.

With your small tank, you'd need to be cautious obviously. Maybe try one session, then give it a few days to see how your tank responds. It takes more than one application, as this method doesn't stop them from ejecting 'babies', but I think many are killed with the lingering cloud of ammonia.

It's low-tech, cheap and it has the dual benefit of dosing a vital nutrient for your plants. Like I said, I don't know yet if it is a truly viable solution, so it would be interesting to see if someone else tried it. I will say that I have been dosing ammonia for about two years now, and my plants are pretty happy.

Best of luck!

 

[Pandagobyguy]

You can also like electrocute them or something and also dome kind of laser thing.

Just google aptasia removal on youtube and you will see a plethora of crazy options.

Imo though they dont seem that ugly and unless you plan on getting corals id just leave them.

P.s. i am pretty sure all aptasia removal methods would work on any other type of anem

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[nereefpat]

Perhaps you could get ahold of one of those non reef-safe crabs that hitchhike in on liverock... the hairy ones with black claws.