Plague of Aiptasia

[RyanEG]

I have always had a few aiptasia in my system and I periodically nuke them with Joes Juice or the Tropic Marin product. The population has just seemed to explode in the last month and it is beyond the point that I can get them manually. So what are my options to keep them in control naturally? Peppermints, Copperband and berghia nudi's?

Anyone breeding berghia's?

Also does anyone have a predator for colonial hydroids?

 

[Kent D.]

Unless you have fish that eat shrimp, the best way I have dealt with them hands down has been peppermints. From what I understand there are two types and one eats them and the other does not so getting a few would be recommended. I have had issues in the past with aiptasia. Have done the joe's juice and other products and not worth it in my opinion only with really large aiptasia since when they get real big the peppermint can't eat them. Cooperbands are great too if you dont have any lps....at some point they will nip or eat, it would be just a matter of time from my experience.

Big supporter of peppermints unless you have wrasses that will eat them or other fish that snack on them.

I had a solana infested and over 36 hour period the peppermint wiped them out after putting them in the tank.

 

[SushiGirl]

Peppermints won't eat the larger ones. I had one that would eat very small ones, but the rest never ate any at all LOL. I had a filefish for a while that cleaned them up, but I also only had mushrooms in that tank, no SPS.

 

[wetbehindears]

If u go the peppermint shrimp the trick is avoid feeding the shrimp so they will want to eat the aiptasia

 

[davidpesce]

I got a file fish and he cleaned all mine right up. Unfortunately now he is going after the kenya tree, zoas, etc.

 

[SushiGirl]

I wondered if the filefish would go after any softies or not, only heard of them going after SPS.

 

[Namyar]

I have had success using the peppermint and the Juice all at the same time. Whatever the juice did not kill the peps got the rest of

 

[Kent E]

I've had the best luck with copperbanded butterflys

 

[pascal32]

Back when I had aptasia I got 3 peppermints. One of them laid a serious hurting on my rbta. Other two were fine. 1 in the sump, gave one away, haven't seen the third in months.

 

[k.tran]

Berghia nudibranchs. thats the only thing they eat. but after the aptasia is gone they will die off

 

[RyanEG]

I've had a few peppermints in the past they just seemed to steal a lot of food from various other corals.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

for a 180 I would go with many shrimp and a CBB.

fwiw dept: I've seen peppermint shrimp eat Aiptasia eating nudis.

 

[TRENT_G]

My vote, peppermint shrimp. I just bought 3 of these to clean up a new 120 (no corals or fish yet). I did not feed the tank for a week and all but 1 Large one is gone. I'm going to have to Juice that one.

 

[djmurray]

Just a note, peppermint shrimp are very lazy when kept alone or in small groups, buy a buch of them and nuke the left overs with Tropic marin elmi-aptasia, Joes Juice i havent had great results with.And good luck!!!