Need help deciding how to move forward. Aiptasia and Dino’s have beaten me down.

[woodyarmadillo]

OP, be careful with people telling you they have beaten aptasia. Anyone who has peppermint shrimp or a file fish has not beaten them they are only controlling them. As soon as the shrimp or file fish dies at aptasia will come right back.

I would be cautious if anyone told me they have beaten aptasia, period. We have been reefing since the 70s and nobody has come up with a solution to beat them completely. Why is that?

Any single cell left over from the aptasia will grow a new one. If they are broken apart that means each piece can grow a new one. They have a defense mechanism where if they disturb too much they release a bunch of eggs, each one able to grow a new one. They are very good at surviving.

I have been living with them for many years and have tried lots of ways to try to be rid of them.
Kalk paste, f-aptasia, berghia, ect. Berghia, imo, is hands down the best in a full infestation. I have also found lemon juice to be a good choice for the one or two if used correctly. That means lots of patience. No flow, squirt the top incase any eggs come out, squirt the base and get it to release the foot. Can take 5 to 15 minutes each one and catching rouge lemon juice if your doing in tank.
I never used peppermints or file fish because all my research ended up at 50% of the time they started to eat coral. Not for me.

Do your research. They take a really long time to "beat", months to years.

Thanks, I didn’t know all of that. Well if that is the case, that is the best I can hope for at this point.

 

[Dburr1014]

Exactly.

My filefish and shrimp simply keep them in check. If they were to disappear today it would be a matter of time before the population exploded again. This is why I put quotes on "beating" the pest. I should've been more clear.

I have populations in my overflows and pipes that are impossible to irradicate without breaking the system down.

Thanks for clearing that up.
To be honest, I once capped off my Drains and poured bleach in them. Yup, I did. LOL.
I made sure everything was rinsed real well and started it back up. Killed the aptasia in the Drains but they were still in the tank.

 

[TehBrainz]

Thanks for clearing that up.
To be honest, I once capped off my Drains and poured bleach in them. Yup, I did. LOL.
I made sure everything was rinsed real well and started it back up. Killed the aptasia in the Drains but they were still in the tank.

Crazy what these buggers have us try!

For me, I used much fewer peppermint shrimp than what is recommended to take care of the aiptasia. I did thise in hopes to still have aiptasia growing and providing a consistent food source for the shrimp and keep the risk of eating my corals at a minimum (although it'll never be 0 risk)

 

[phillyb614]

Thanks a lot for the response! Know of any aiptasia eating filefish that can run in a nano. My tank is only 14 gallons.

I only have a 20 gallon and my filefish appears happy as can be. He is a bit on the small side though. I think the recommended 30 gallons would only be required when they are full grown. I plan to upgrade soon, which is why I didn't mind pulling the trigger. If you you are hesitant to get the fish due to your tank size, then perhaps 3 or 4 peppermint shrimp are the way to go, IMO.

 

[Kellie in CA]

Just curious... when you removed the rock did you start over with new sand? After a 2 year battle with dinos (and trying every method out there), I finally beat them by removing the entire sandbed for 6 weeks. I have since added new sand. I went through a bit of diatom ugliness, but it is clearing now and no more dinos!

 

[woodyarmadillo]

Just curious... when you removed the rock did you start over with new sand? After a 2 year battle with dinos (and trying every method out there), I finally beat them by removing the entire sandbed for 6 weeks. I have since added new sand. I went through a bit of diatom ugliness, but it is clearing now and no more dinos!

I’ve had the rock work in a separate tank with no sand bottom for several months now. Still dealing with Dino’s.