Aiptasia?

[Ravisher]

Good Day!

I've been looking all over for a while trying to figure out what this is that came with a used setup. I think it could be aiptasia, but i'm not 100%. I'd hate to kill something that's not a pest. It's on a small piece of rock, so I will pull it from the tank if it is aiptasia. It does grow pretty fast, around a new polyp every 2 days.

Figured i'd ask here before it takes over my tank if it is this pest.

Thanks for any input!

**speaker warning loud fans in background**

 

[Mical]

Yep, that's the dreaded aiptasia

 

[Brit’s Fish]

They look like Aiptasia but also kind of look like Yellow Parazoanthus. Check this link and compare. The methods for getting rid of either would be pulling that rock out or using a treatment like AiptasiaX.

Yellow Parazoanthus Polyps

Yellow polyps are a beginner friendly splash of color to any reef aquarium. They have a powerful sting and must be kept away from other corals. Frags have 4-5+ polyps.

www.tidalgardens.com

The Yellow Parazoanthus can also spread really quickly and become a “pest” but that really depends on whether you like them. You can always keep them on a little rock island to keep them from taking over.

 

[Ravisher]

They look like Aiptasia but also kind of look like Yellow Parazoanthus. Check this link and compare. The methods for getting rid of either would be pulling that rock out or using a treatment like AiptasiaX.

Yellow Parazoanthus Polyps

Yellow polyps are a beginner friendly splash of color to any reef aquarium. They have a powerful sting and must be kept away from other corals. Frags have 4-5+ polyps.

www.tidalgardens.com

The Yellow Parazoanthus can also spread really quickly and become a “pest” but that really depends on whether you like them. You can always keep them on a little rock island to keep them from taking over.

They do look a lot like the yellow polyp. I upped the whites a bit more and the yellow stands out more. Have any idea what else I could do to verify it's a yellow polyp?

 

[Brit’s Fish]

They do look a lot like the yellow polyp. I upped the whites a bit more and the yellow stands out more. Have any idea what else I could do to verify it's a yellow polyp?

Do you have any contact with the previous owner? If you can ask them if they’d ever added Yellow polyps to their tank, I’d do that.
I’m not an expert by any means, so the only other methods I can think of are too drastic. I know that if you put AiptasiaX on an aiptasia, they will quiver and kind of pop or squirt within a minute or so of getting that treatment. My zoas that have accidentally gotten AiptasiaX on them so close up right away, then look rough for a few days and start to open again. That seems like a mean way to figure out what they are though.

 

[Ravisher]

Do you have any contact with the previous owner? If you can ask them if they’d ever added Yellow polyps to their tank, I’d do that.
I’m not an expert by any means, so the only other methods I can think of are too drastic. I know that if you put AiptasiaX on an aiptasia, they will quiver and kind of pop or squirt within a minute or so of getting that treatment. My zoas that have accidentally gotten AiptasiaX on them so close up right away, then look rough for a few days and start to open again. That seems like a mean way to figure out what they are though.

I do have a way to contact the previous owner, but i'm pretty sure he would have no idea. He couldn't tell me much about the setup. But he did buy everything from our lfs, which i'm going to tonight, so i'll ask them. They might be able to pull up his previous purchases. Good idea, thank you for that!

The setup did have one large aiptasia, which I defeated with basting it in boiling water, been a month and no sign of it returning or spreading. These came on their own rock and only had two polyps when I purchased it. The more I research the this yellow, the more convinced I am, that it is a yellow.

This is why I asked here. I'm pretty good at figuring things out and doing my research, but I never came across the yellow in my searching as my white level is low enough, it makes it brown/tan looking. With the whites up, it makes the yellows really pop.

Thank you for your insight!

 

[Brit’s Fish]

Good idea on asking the LFS! I think yellow polyps can be so pretty when you can really see the yellow, like in the follow up photo you posted. I hope that’s what they are!
Have a great day & best of luck getting the info you need!!

 

[Ravisher]

Good idea on asking the LFS! I think yellow polyps can be so pretty when you can really see the yellow, like in the follow up photo you posted. I hope that’s what they are!
Have a great day & best of luck getting the info you need!!

Thank you! I'll respond back with my findings in case someone else comes across this. I got a good feeling you nailed it.

 

[reefz]

Time to get some peppermint shrimp!!!

 

[Ravisher]

Time to get some peppermint shrimp!!!

I'll be picking up some tonight to add to the cleanup crew.

 

[MaxTremors]

They look like Aiptasia but also kind of look like Yellow Parazoanthus. Check this link and compare. The methods for getting rid of either would be pulling that rock out or using a treatment like AiptasiaX.

Yellow Parazoanthus Polyps

Yellow polyps are a beginner friendly splash of color to any reef aquarium. They have a powerful sting and must be kept away from other corals. Frags have 4-5+ polyps.

www.tidalgardens.com

The Yellow Parazoanthus can also spread really quickly and become a “pest” but that really depends on whether you like them. You can always keep them on a little rock island to keep them from taking over.

I also had this same thought, the uniform size of them makes me think they may not be aiptasia.

Edit: the more I look at the photo, I’m 99% sure they are not aiptasia and are yellow parazoanthus, aiptasia don’t have the little button in the middle of the polyp, they have a mouth.