Aiptasia treatment success or failure.... A poll

[MnFish1]

So - I tried peppermint shrimp -no effect. I tried hot (boiling RODI) - no effect. I bought a file fish - no effect. I bought a copper band - no effect. I bit the bullet and ordered 11 berghia nudibranchs. They were maybe 1/2 inch long. I put them in the tank - never to be seen again - and I thought - hmmm... I talked to the person who sold them to me - they said - they are mostly nocturnal - once they start to lay eggs -you will have a lot of babies - and you will see the aiptasia slowly dying. At about 2 weeks - I noticed - several of them didn't look so good - i.e. somewhat shriveled - by 4 weeks 99 percent were 'gone'. I have yet to see a nudibranch that I could 'rehome'.....

 

[FangsAndGames]

I used a majano wand and an aiptasia eating filefish. After using berghias I never had a problem

 

[hart24601]

Nudis have been hit and miss for me. They worked in one system but not across the board over the years. I have had 100% rate with peppermint shrimp in 3 or 4 systems, I get a lot of them and feed the tank sparingly for a while. I am unsure if they totally eliminate them or if I just can’t see any visually though.

 

[rwreef]

For me it was aptasia x to reduce the numbers/size then a peppermint shrimp to finish them off

 

[CreatiVe2]

I have used lasers, worked for a while, but peppermint shrimp ended up working the best.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

I have used lasers, worked for a while, but peppermint shrimp ended up working the best.

In my experience, the laser just makes them mad and multiply. My single copperband keeps them mowed down, I have a lot in my overflow and the occasional one in my display.

Now if someone can figure out a way to rid the tank of the large vermetid snails, I would be forever in their debt.

 

[BigSkyRich]

Well, I tried lemon juice to no avail. LFS sold me a couple of peppermints and I think only one survived the trip home, but after a week or so, that one aptasia is still there and a bit larger. Joes juice coming soon via snail mail. Hopefull that will do the trick

 

[Sleeping Giant]

I have 3 less apstatia today, from yesterday...thumbs up to my peppermint shrimp

 

[jsbull]

I have a Copperband that eradicated them from one side of my split tank in about 3 days. Then on the other side, where I have Christmas tree worms, I have an ORA filefish. It took care of them in about 2 days.

However, I will never eradicate them, as they are clearly in my PVC plumbing. I'm not ready to push a filefish through my drain or return pump.

 

[hart24601]

For me it was aptasia x to reduce the numbers/size then a peppermint shrimp to finish them off

thats a good point. I also used that on the big ones before the peps went after them.

 

[Flashover49]

I just did a stupid thing where I was cleaning off a new piece and accidentally put the scraped bits of aptaisa on my glove into my DT sump... anyways couple things missing from your list are aptasia eating peppermint shrimp and chemical treatments. Also if they continue to propagate they can sting corals... just something to keep in mind. Glad yours are disappearing

That’s amazing I might get one. So they play well with fire shrimp and coral banded?

 

[Minnesota Coral Reef]

Use a laser along with Peppermint Shrimp. The laser will, worse case, wound them and make them an easy target for the shrimp.

 

[karees]

BRS suggestion. Use purple epoxy to seal the retracted anemone in the hole in the rock.

 

[MexiReefer]

So - I tried peppermint shrimp -no effect. I tried hot (boiling RODI) - no effect. I bought a file fish - no effect. I bought a copper band - no effect. I bit the bullet and ordered 11 berghia nudibranchs. They were maybe 1/2 inch long. I put them in the tank - never to be seen again - and I thought - hmmm... I talked to the person who sold them to me - they said - they are mostly nocturnal - once they start to lay eggs -you will have a lot of babies - and you will see the aiptasia slowly dying. At about 2 weeks - I noticed - several of them didn't look so good - i.e. somewhat shriveled - by 4 weeks 99 percent were 'gone'. I have yet to see a nudibranch that I could 'rehome'.....

what size is your tank?

 

[Xjv152]

Laser

 

[Klaas]

SO - somehow - no clue how - I ended up with some aiptasia anemones. I just tried to kill them with 'removal' - and a month later - I had 50. They weren't spreading - and I personally don't mind them - they didnt seem to hurt anything - when it increased to more than that - I thought - hmmm. I should do something. I did something that I thought would never work - but - they are disappearing - day by day. So - thus the Poll - when everyone has answered - I'll give 'my experience'.

Have had Aiptasia for a few years in my 450 gallon tank. We monitor twice a week and when new ones pop up we ll cover them in Aiptasia X. It works in a way that it keeps the population under control. Especially with a lot of permanent rock work they are almost impossible to completely eradicate. I Got a copperband swimming in my sump for now to make him strong enough to
face my big Tangs in the DT. Hopefully that will work out and help to naturally get rid up of the Aiptasia.

 

[Back where it all began]

Filefish

 

[SuncrestReef]

I used a laser for a few months and it worked really well for the aiptasia I could see and get a line of sight with the laser. But any that were behind rocks, behind corals, or inside the plumbing & sump could not be hit with the laser. Next I got some nudibranchs and they did an excellent job after about 2 months. But then I added a wrasse to my tank and it picked off all the nudibranchs quickly, so the aiptasia started multiplying again. Most recently, I added two peppermint shrimp and they have also done an excellent job! I had the advantage of getting these shrimp from a fellow reefer who had them clean up his tank within a few weeks, so I knew they had a good record.

 

[MnFish1]

what size is your tank?

120 gallons

 

[HockeyRooster]

Nothing has worked for me so far so I’m interested in the replies here. Going to do some research on lasers though