Peppermint Shrimp to Eliminate Aiptasia with Wrasse in Aquarium

[Rocky Mountain Reef]

I know that peppermint shrimp are good at eliminating aiptasia. I have discovered this guy in the Florida Keys that sells them very reasonably and claims they are the ones to eliminate aiptasia. It's Addictive Reef Keeping. I have tried to email them, but no response on whether the peppermint shrimp will become quick dinner for my wrasse's. I have a dusky wrasse and a melanurus. I am thinking that if I add them at night and get a dozen or more, maybe they will be ok. Any thoughts out there from our community?

 

[Timfish]

Maybe, maybe not. It depends on the disposition of your wrasses, the relative sizes of the shrimp to your wrasses, how well your wrasses are fed and probably some other variables.

 

[KrisReef]

The wrasses are waiting for their feast. They will probably even come out to greet them at night and share a midnight snack with them.

 

[Rocky Mountain Reef]

The wrasses are waiting for their feast. They will probably even come out to greet them at night and share a midnight snack with them.

hahaha...that's what I'm afraid of, but might be willing to risk, as the aiptasia is everywhere and I'm at my wits end with it....I do feed the wrasses very very well...

 

[KrisReef]

hahaha...that's what I'm afraid of, but might be willing to risk, as the aiptasia is everywhere and I'm at my wits end with it....I do feed the wrasses very very well...

I love my Kleine butterfly. They have been the best controllers of Aiptasia and very reliable (100% have been voracious ap eaters N=4) for me. They don’t seem to bother other fishes but I can’t say if they’re totally coral safe.

 

[Troylee]

hahaha...that's what I'm afraid of, but might be willing to risk, as the aiptasia is everywhere and I'm at my wits end with it....I do feed the wrasses very very well...

I picked up a 10 pack from out there and my wrasses leave them alone.. I have a blue star and couple yellows and my shrimp are still alive and really never come out to play or eat aiptasia They’re more interested in what I feed the fish and that’s the only time see them..

 

[Rocky Mountain Reef]

I love my Kleine butterfly. They have been the best controllers of Aiptasia and very reliable (100% have been voracious ap eaters N=4) for me. They don’t seem to bother other fishes but I can’t say if they’re totally coral safe.

Yes, Kris, I have heard that a number of times and I appreciate your experience with them as backing this up. I have one on order from Dr. Reef and hope it does the trick. vetteguy (not sure if that's his full tag) has backed this up strongly too and he seems knowledgeable.

 

[Rocky Mountain Reef]

I picked up a 10 pack from out there and my wrasses leave them alone.. I have a blue star and couple yellows and my shrimp are still alive and really never come out to play or eat aiptasia They’re more interested in what I feed the fish and that’s the only time see them..

that's not a good vote for the peppermints

 

[Troylee]

that's not a good vote for the peppermints

I added 10 like I said and I think they ate 1 aiptasia haha! I added about 20 bergia and they destroyed a bunch of aiptasia and I think my wrasses had lunch cause the patches of aiptasia stopped disappearing after 2 weeks…

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Yeah, I agree with the above.

Berghia Nudibranchs are a better option IMHO. They still can become a snack for your wrasses, but IMO they are a better option.

 

[cdnco2004]

I had multiple tanks with aiptasia and Peppermint shrimps. I have never seen the aiptasia numbers drop in any of the tanks I added Peppermint shrimps to. When I added a Racoon butterfly however all the aiptasia was gone in a few days.

 

[dadnjesse]

I have added peppermints to my tank many times. For whatever reason being my Wrasse killed them or water paramaters I cannot keep them alive long enough to do any Aiptasia control. I then Added a Copperband Butterfly and all Aiptasia are gone.

 

[Biokabe]

I'll add my voice to the ring here: I've never had any luck with peppermints eating aiptasia. I've seen them eat acans, zoas, and whatever I'm feeding the tank, but never an aiptasia.

I'm also 100% confident that my melanarus would happily hunt down a peppermint as a between-meal snack - and he gets fed 5 times a day.

My pyramid butterfly, on the other hand, has no problems with the melanarus and I have observed him eating aiptasia on multiple occasions. I wouldn't say he goes after them with gusto, but he does keep the aiptasia population to a minimum.

I've also had luck with aiptasia-eating filefish, but after consuming the aiptasia it decided to go after my zoanthids and acans.

Berghias also work, but the problem with them is that they're obligate aiptasia feeders. Once they get your aiptasia under control, they usually struggle to find the last stragglers before they starve and die. Additionally, they're small enough to be easy snacks for some fishes, and many microfauna (worms, especially) find their eggs to be tasty, so your initial population may not be able to bolster their numbers enough to eradicate the aiptasia before they hit their natural lifespan and die.

If your tank can support it, the best aiptasia control I've come across are the various aiptasia-eating butterflies.

The ReefDelete UV torch can also be good at controlling small outbreaks of aiptasia, but you have to be diligent about burning the aiptasia for multiple days in a row to prevent them from stress-spreading. Given the expense I don't know that I'd recommend it unless you have money to burn along with aiptasia.

 

[Km2830]

I added a copperband about 3 years ago haven’t seen any aiptasia since still have the copperband

 

[Jmp998]

I added 10 like I said and I think they ate 1 aiptasia haha! I added about 20 bergia and they destroyed a bunch of aiptasia and I think my wrasses had lunch cause the patches of aiptasia stopped disappearing after 2 weeks…

Probably more likely the peppermint shrimp ate the Berghia, assuming they were still in there, since both are active at night.

 

[KrisReef]

Yes, Kris, I have heard that a number of times and I appreciate your experience with them as backing this up. I have one on order from Dr. Reef and hope it does the trick. vetteguy (not sure if that's his full tag) has backed this up strongly too and he seems knowledgeable.

I think I got put onto them by @vetteguy53081 too. I would still spend the money on the pepperoni shrimp, your wrasses deserve a good meal now and then

 

[Slocke]

I have both of those wrasse and peppermints. The wrasse have never eaten the shrimp and the shrimp usually knock out all aiptasia within days if not the first night.

 

[Troylee]

Probably more likely the peppermint shrimp ate the Berghia, assuming they were still in there, since both are active at night.

Maybe idk.. I’ve looked at night and the shrimp just chill in a pack upside down and never come out unless I’m feeding the tank.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Peppermint will eat berghia and softies especially zoa
I don’t trust them but once in a while you hear success stories with them versus aptasia
Kleini butterfly is a champ with aptasia

 

[Rocky Mountain Reef]

Peppermint will eat berghia and softies especially zoa
I don’t trust them but once in a while you hear success stories with them versus aptasia
Kleini butterfly is a champ with aptasia

Thanks for chiming in vetteguy53081 and I am certainly getting a Kleini (with black strip on face) and also have a Pyramid Butterfly in my cart. Got a Copperband and it didn't eat any aiptasia, in fact it ate nothing and died