What to do with clean up crew when restarting tank

Diveks · Feb 9, 2020

Hey everyone,
So sadly i have to restart my tank since it has so many aiptasia everywhere, its covering every inch of the tank, even the glass and sand. It is a 210 gallon tank so its been a hard process. The fish have been moved to my friend’s tank. Although, im not sure what to do with all the snails, i have thousands in there and i dont want to just kill them. Im not sure how to make sure they dont bring the aiptasia to the new tanks in their shell. Can anyone tell me whats best?

Cell · Feb 9, 2020

I mean if you want to keep them you will have to quarantine them for awhile. Assuming you are starting from scratch, you will need time to cycle the new tank anyway. Sounds like a lot of work if you literally have thousands though.

S2G · Feb 9, 2020

Throw them in a spare tank. Make sure no copper was used in anything. A tote would work as well

Diveks · Feb 9, 2020

Cell said:
I mean if you want to keep them you will have to quarantine them for awhile. Assuming you are starting from scratch, you will need time to cycle the new tank anyway. Sounds like a lot of work if you literally have thousands though.

S2G said:
Throw them in a spare tank. Make sure no copper was used in anything. A tote would work as well

ive caught some of them and put them in another tank i use for quarantine. how do i make sure they dont have any aiptasia on their shells? Do i scrub them a bit? And also what should i do if they do have some?

vetteguy53081 · Feb 9, 2020

Let me save you a LOT of trouble:
Get yourself a Kleini Butterfly !!! Smaller butterfly and does not bother coral. Peaceful, eats aptasia like candy and also eats all dry and frozen foods you feed to tank ! Aptasia will be gone in a week !!

lilgrounchuck · Feb 9, 2020

You could flip them upside down and dip just the shell of them in aipasia x or something before putting them in the holding tank. You can also wait and see if any pop up in the holding tank and toss a few peppermint shrimp in there to cull them before they spread again.

S2G · Feb 9, 2020

Diveks said:
ive caught some of them and put them in another tank i use for quarantine. how do i make sure they dont have any aiptasia on their shells? Do i scrub them a bit? And also what should i do if they do have some?

I use a wire brush that looks like a tooth brush. I heard vinegar is good as well but haven't used it.

mfinn · Feb 9, 2020

vetteguy53081 said:
Let me save you a LOT of trouble:
Get yourself a Kleini Butterfly !!! Smaller butterfly and does not bother coral. Peaceful, eats aptasia like candy and also eats all dry and frozen foods you feed to tank ! Aptasia will be gone in a week !!

The Klien Butterfly I got years ago, did a great job on aiptasias and majanos, but it took me months to get him out after I saw it going after zoanthids and just about anything frilly. Even finger leather polyps.
So it may work, but use with caution

Diveks · Feb 10, 2020

S2G said:
I use a wire brush that looks like a tooth brush. I heard vinegar is good as well but haven't used it.

lilgrounchuck said:
You could flip them upside down and dip just the shell of them in aipasia x or something before putting them in the holding tank. You can also wait and see if any pop up in the holding tank and toss a few peppermint shrimp in there to cull them before they spread again.

Thanks, ill try them on most of the snails i have, though there are so many that i dont think i can get all of them

S2G · Feb 10, 2020

vetteguy53081 said:
Let me save you a LOT of trouble:
Get yourself a Kleini Butterfly !!! Smaller butterfly and does not bother coral. Peaceful, eats aptasia like candy and also eats all dry and frozen foods you feed to tank ! Aptasia will be gone in a week !!

That's such a cool butterfly. I think that's my next order.