Pest Anemones on the rise

[RonD]

I have tried to kill these pests off with Jose juice and my yellow tang quickly swallowed a lil bit that one of these Anemones spat out and promptly died a few short hours later. I don't wish to use this product any further for obvious reasons. I am curious... being as salt levels are so important to everything in our tanks and to much of it is a bad thing... could I not make a batch of salt water that very high in salinity and inject it directly in the pests to kill them and not cause any real harm to anything else in the system?

The pest Anemones are about the size of a nickle. Brown in color with faint purple tips. and grow and spread really really fast.

Thanks for your help

 

[kimoy]

looks like you're talking about aiptasia. if you are, one thing that works for me are peppermint shrimps.

 

[the other tang]

Ditto, coral banded butterflys eat them. My peppermints struggle with large aptasia they do a great job munching the small ones. I inject kalk into them. They don't like the ph change...lol. I mix it as thick as will draw up in a hypo needle and go, aim for the base if possible. They won't retract if your quick, then you can hit the mouth. Joe's juice is ok but usually kills the bigone and leaves the spores alive to float off and grow dozens more to battle next week. You can put your rock into a 1.10 sal water for 2-3 days and that will get them too. No aclimation just drop it in. If you have corals and such attached ask someone smarter than me before trying this. I have had zoos live, and some die. Use caution unless its just lr.

 

[RonD]

Thanks guys. I have peppermints and a copper banded butterfly... they have never shown any interest in these pests.. I tried the salt solution on them and will report back.. I like the kalk idea as well.. will try anything as long as its not a poison.

 

[TOURKID]

sounds more like mojano to me. also a pest, but peppermints dont eat them. do they retract into the rock if bothered? if not, then my guess is mojano, whitch you can pick off or use tweezers or somthing. they have a foot like a regular nem

 

[rooroo]

They sound more like the kind of anenome I have in my tank than aptasia. I used kalk paste on them this weekend. Worked like a charm. Just get near and above them, then squirt out some of the paste and it'll fall right on them. Get some near their mouth and they'll be gone quickly. And the fish don't get anywhere near it.

 

[RonD]

They do retract .. they are really not enjoying there salt bwahahaha.. hope it holds

 

[northbay-reefer]

kalk paste works the best. Use 2 part kalk to 1 part RO water(enough to make about 1/2 bottle the size of jose juice), mix it into a paste and then heat it in the micro wave oven for about 10 seconds (this step is important). Use the old srynch the one from your salifert test kit works the best ... cut the yellow tips about 1/2 inch back to make the opening a little bigger and then turn off all your pumps .... and slowly paste it onto the anemonies and watch it melt away ... let it sits for 1/2 hour b4 turning the pumps back on.

This will also works on small mushrooms don't do too much all at once because they(aptasia/anemonies) release chemical .... so make sure to run carbon and take your time with it

 

[gman0526]

If it's aptasia 2 words Berghia nudibranchs, bulletproof. Expensive but well worth it.

 

[RKM]

Did you try the salt solution....I am thinking that is the easiest way for me. I don't have a ton of corals on my LR so pulling them and putting them in my brute trash can with a high salinity might be the best cure for me. This shouldn't kill off the coralline algae I hope. Hey maybe it will kill some of my bubble algae also....

 

[jimbo045]

I ridded my tank. 2 ways I use, remove the live rock, and blast it off with tap water. Or inject with some Kalk. JD

 

[RonD]

I did try the salt method and it didn't work. they didn't like it at all but unlike all other things in my tank... they can survive basically anything you and do to them. may try the Kalk next.