Aiptasia issue

Just curious, how are some of you dealing with this pest? I've had the worst luck for months with it. Tried kalk paste and I can't keep up with them. Tried Aiptasia-X from Red Sea and it seems to make them spread even faster. Added a copperband, doesn't even look at them then died after 2 weeks. Added a file fish. He loves regular food. And added 6 peppermint shrimp and they all vanished on me in the tank. Lol. I even lowered the temp on my tank to 76-77 to slow down their rates. Seems to keep new ones from popping up faster, but they still pop up. I am resistant to using boiling water because I'm scared of damaging my healthy coral in the process. Adding a berghia nudi will just end up as a pricy snack with all the shrimp and the file fish.

 

Wow, you've tried alot.

Only thing I can add is:
There's a product- I think it's called Majano wand- there may be several like it.

It's a long rod with a pin like electrode on it, you put the pin on the ap., and push a button,
and it sort of fries it!

My local club- Wisconsin Reef Society- has one to loan for it's members.
I tried it on my striped discoma mushrooms- doesn't do enough on those as they grow right back-
but the smaller ap. it works well on.

My 2 cents

BTW- wasn't it you that was involved in a bad motorcycle crash a few years ago?
I'm sure you and things are well now, right?

Todd

 

I saw that wand. Doesn't look convincing. And going to be hard to reach all the small crevices. At this point I'll try anything. Lol.

I remember that post of the guy with the bad crash. Hope he's doing well and all. I've had a couple of bad ones here in NYC with the traffic, but was able to walk away with scrapes and bruises. However, thank you.

 

I have also heard that lemon juice will work.... If you inject them with lemon juice they should die. I heard this never done it though.

 

Heard of that also. I also saw people saying it made it worse because they release their "kids" when under stress. This is one resilient creature I would have to say.

 

A few years ago, my friend had a very similar experience with aiptasia in his tank. We had thrown the kitchen sink at it, but to no avail had zero success. I had stumbled upon an article about pest removal via lasers. Have you ever heard of this approach?

A 1W laser can be effective, but obviously the stronger the laser the better its effectiveness. I have a 5W laser, which may be excessive, but it worked. Some of the larger aiptasia may take a few days to get rid of, but this method does work. Your goal is to fry the aiptasia or its feeding tentacles. When trying to laser the aiptasia, a direct approach (head on in the aquarium) is best. Due to the never ending complexities of our home reefs, this is not always possible. So use your best judgment and be careful with the laser as it may refract, reflect, etc. off of the water and glass.

If you would like more information about laser pest removal (please feel free to PM me) or just google it. There is a plethora of information on google and youtube about laser pest removal. Best of luck and keep us posted on your next approach to removing these pesky lil critters.

****** Lasers can be dangerous, please take all the necessary precautions to protect yourself (and all others present) before attempting to remove any pests via this method. *********

 

I have dealt with them but aptashia x and a peppermint shrimp was my answer.... I believe that you will get it under control.

 

I saw people treating with lasers. I'm just worried about the laser catching a fish in the eye or what not. Especially with my luck.

 

I used a 1,2 punch of peppermint shrimp and huge amount of Kalk paste delivered via eye dropper.... got them all save one I found while moving /upgrading my tank....it was on a small piece of rock under all the larger stuff (I'm not moving that rock LOL) .

 

Speaking only on behalf of myself (other Marine Depot staffers may have different experiences), I've had the best luck with the Majano Wand.

I've used both Joe's Juice and Aiptasia-X with success in my previous tank to treat aiptasia and majano anemones. Although I got rid of the majanos, unfortunately over time, aiptaisa would begin to return and I'd have to administer more treatments.

I was able to wipe out aiptasias completely in my new tank with the Majano Wand. I feel better about using it then squirting chemicals into the tank. Although a major difference between my old tank and the new tank is I used live rock in the old and CaribSea Life Rock in the new, so the infestation was not nearly as bad since I didn't have live rock hitchhikers... just some that came in on corals.

Jeff @ MD