I'm 5 months in, and my little aquarium is happier than ever, with tons of biodiversity. I've got spaghetti worms, amphipods, copepods, bristle worms, and stomatellas.... And Aiptasia. The one thorn in my side lately. dang aiptasia!
I've been using Aiptasia F for some time to deal with Aiptasia and... I hate it. Honestly, it's terrible. Even if I spend 20 minutes stirring, test it to be sure it's thick, it still ends up being messy. It gets in the water column, boosts my alkalinity beyond where I want it (I have a small, sensitive tank), and I always end up getting some spots on a coral. Every time I go after the aiptasia I do kill them, but I also always end up killing a few paly/zoa polyps and wounding a larger coral. Although I never get severe losses, I'm sick of what feels like chemotherapy for my tank...
What else can I do? I can't use wrasses (if they even eat aiptasia) because they'll destroy my thriving stomatella population... Peppermint shrimp are a no-go as my small 15-gallon tank is too cramped. I already have a skunk cleaner and I'm worried about cramming that many shrimp in a small tank. I just don't seem to have steady enough hands to apply the Aiptasia-F without messing up in some way or another. Plus it's stressful as I have an aggressive clownfish who will disturb any area I put aiptasia-F on if they see me do it, so I have to remove them from the aquarium for at least 2-3 hours when I treat for aiptasia, which is probably not ideal for their health...
Any help is much appreciated!
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Obligatory Aquarium Info
15-gallon with 3-gallon rear-installed Sump
Runs with a nano skimmer, 2-3 filter socks (changed 2-3 times weekly), and a carbon reactor (changed weekly)
Last test info:
Temp - 78.6 Salinity - 1.026 pH - 8.1 Calcium - 422 Magnesium - (no test available) Alkalinity - 8.6 dkh
Phosphates - 0.02 Nitrates - 8.6 Nitrite and Ammonia undetectable
I've been using Aiptasia F for some time to deal with Aiptasia and... I hate it. Honestly, it's terrible. Even if I spend 20 minutes stirring, test it to be sure it's thick, it still ends up being messy. It gets in the water column, boosts my alkalinity beyond where I want it (I have a small, sensitive tank), and I always end up getting some spots on a coral. Every time I go after the aiptasia I do kill them, but I also always end up killing a few paly/zoa polyps and wounding a larger coral. Although I never get severe losses, I'm sick of what feels like chemotherapy for my tank...
What else can I do? I can't use wrasses (if they even eat aiptasia) because they'll destroy my thriving stomatella population... Peppermint shrimp are a no-go as my small 15-gallon tank is too cramped. I already have a skunk cleaner and I'm worried about cramming that many shrimp in a small tank. I just don't seem to have steady enough hands to apply the Aiptasia-F without messing up in some way or another. Plus it's stressful as I have an aggressive clownfish who will disturb any area I put aiptasia-F on if they see me do it, so I have to remove them from the aquarium for at least 2-3 hours when I treat for aiptasia, which is probably not ideal for their health...
Any help is much appreciated!
---
Obligatory Aquarium Info
15-gallon with 3-gallon rear-installed Sump
Runs with a nano skimmer, 2-3 filter socks (changed 2-3 times weekly), and a carbon reactor (changed weekly)
Last test info:
Temp - 78.6 Salinity - 1.026 pH - 8.1 Calcium - 422 Magnesium - (no test available) Alkalinity - 8.6 dkh
Phosphates - 0.02 Nitrates - 8.6 Nitrite and Ammonia undetectable