Nuking Aiptasia

[yazid]

Aiptasia is taking over my tank!

I am thinking of getting the Copperband Butterfly to help get rid of the aiptasia. But will it poke my clams and corals when there are no more aiptasia to eat? I hope I got the right butterfly to do the job?

I heard that it will starve when there are no longer any aiptasia?

Other alternatives:

a. Nuking with Kalkwasser will not work as it will be hard to reach the aiptasia.

b. Berghia Nudibranch (Where to find?).

c. Pepermint Shrimp (Where to find?).

Any advise?

[harlequin]

Take a syringe and fill it with Kalkwasser.

Then squirt the Kalkwasser directly at the Aiptisia.

Or get Cynanide !

[Achilles Tang]

In my reefing history... the only two aiptasia encountered with the new livestock I got... was destroyed with kalkwasser paste administered with a syringe.

If it is in hard to reach place... I doubt if any biological control could reach it too.

Just remove the rock and nuke it.

[Hon]

Huh??..use cynanide?? Might as well put a heating coil into the tank and boil the water ... Save you the trouble to find this chemical..

[Morgan]

harlequin

Why are you always recommending cynanide?

I think it must be your favourite medication. Sure would like to see you do it to your tank.

yazid

You can try a copper band, I have one that clear up my aiptasia after that it didn't even bother the corals and clams.

It may starve if it refuse to eat after the aiptasia are gone.

I tried kalk, don't really work. You kill off the large ones but there are hundred of small ones that you missed.

Best way is to kill the LR by fresh water soaking for a few hours and then washing them clean. Major overhaul. If not you can only control but will not get rid of your problem.

[yazid]

harlequin

Why are you always recommending cynanide?

I think it must be your favourite medication. Sure would like to see you do it to your tank.

yazid

You can try a copper band, I have one that clear up my aiptasia after that it didn't even bother the corals and clams.

It may starve if it refuse to eat after the aiptasia are gone.

I tried kalk, don't really work. You kill off the large ones but there are hundred of small ones that you missed.

Best way is to kill the LR by fresh water soaking for a few hours and then washing them clean. Major overhaul. If not you can only control but will not get rid of your problem.

I guess Harlequin works in a cyanide factory? Bad sales thus need to promote the use... Joking...

Thanks Morgan, It is a relieve to hear you agree with me on a copperband butterfly.

Probably after my aiptasia is gone, I'll put him up for adoption if it doesn't behave.

I'll go and find myself a Copperband Butterfly today.

[Morgan]

yazid

There is no such thing as "my aiptasia is gone". With the copper band around, the aiptasia population is controlled.

Once the fish is removed, those buggers will come back.

[BarraCudaTM]

believe or not .. I solve my aiptasia probelms by using chocolate chip star

the starfish will eat up all the aiptasia .. then you have to take it out otherwise yr polyps will be eaten

[Achilles Tang]

Downside to copperband...

A reduction in tubeworms.

[anakjoh]

Can someone post a pic of apistasia? I've read a lot about it but yet to see pictures - can't find any in the www.

I remember harlequin suggesting I stake my moving heliofungia - this guy's sadistic n cyanide too!

[Tanzy]

http://www.aquarium.net/faqs/aiptasia.shtml

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/...sia/aipfaqs.htm

[yazid]

Got my Copperband Butterflyfish at T95.

The fish is a bit stress now as it is a freshy in a tank where most of the inhabitants have been dominating for the last 2 years.

I hope it survive the buly in the tank..... the nominees are Yellow Tang, Hippo Tang, Blue damsel and green chromis !???

Cross my finger

[Morgan]

What is the size of the fish?

If it too small, less than 3"......... may not eat aiptasia (large ones).

Good Luck

[nannochloropsis]

AT method works for me. I nuke it with kalwasser paste with a syringe. It is gone in minutes.

[harlequin]

Just kidding with you guys on the cynanide lah. Life already very stressed lah.

But if you really want , can contact my local Philippines partners. But don't tell anyone you know me.

Kalk is the best thing to apply.

Best practice to avoid these stuff is to watch out for them when you are buying corals or live rocks. I normally avoid them even if it is a nice and healthy piece of coral.

[anakjoh]

http://www.aquarium.net/faqs/aiptasia.shtml

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/...sia/aipfaqs.htm

thanks Tanzy

looks my tank also have - still small in a few places - do I need to worry about it already?

[yazid]

looks my tank also have - still small in a few places - do I need to worry about it already?

That is how Aiptasia started. From one or two till they took over the entire tank. I should have injected it with Kalkwasser when it is still a few...

Now I need the Copperband Butterfly service to do the cleanup. I hope it get along with other inhabitants. It is 5 inch from the snout.

[Morgan]

looks my tank also have - still small in a few places - do I need to worry about it already?

Yes you have to worry about it. They spread pretty fast under good condition.

My advise is to kill them off immediately. Don't wait.

[NormanH]

AT, can u explain more in details how to prepare or where to get kalkwasser paste?

Morgan had taught me to remove infested LR n soaked in in fresh water. It works well but one of the Aiptisia infested LR was right at the bottom, very difficult to remove. Would like to use the method u suggest.

BTW, like to thank Morgan here for his advices.

[BlueTerror]

just squirt at the aiptasia and tts it? i thought they were some plant until i saw this thread.

besides aiptasia, i got a few funny looking things tt look like inverted umbrellas, and they retract really quick! wat are they

[Norvin Ng]

I've got a couple of this in my tank now and thought better get rid of them before they multiply. Just a thought, will it work if I use a stringe with a very fine needle and give the bugger a Hep-"A" jab with added Kalk solution!!! It should work better if the solution works from inside-out right?

[Tanzy]

Norvin,

Your aiptasia must be pretty big for you to get a needle into it. They retract very quickly one touched. Smouldering them in a thick kalk paste does enough damage. After nuking them, I'll plaster the spot with a big glob of epoxy just in case they are not dead.

Blueterror,

Could be the medusa stage of jellyfish or hydroids.

[newdamsel]

I've read in a book that says to get rid of aiptasia, one good way is to bring an elegance coral to it, and let the elegance coral sting the aiptasia to death`!

I do not know about the credibility of the book, but maybe someone would like to risk his elegance and tell us about it???

[Achilles Tang]

Yeah I read about that too... interesting.

[Morgan]

I've read in a book that says to get rid of aiptasia, one good way is to bring an elegance coral to it, and let the elegance coral sting the aiptasia to death`!

I do not know about the credibility of the book, but maybe someone would like to risk his elegance and tell us about it???

Not a good idea to use an elegance.

Tried injecting Kalk into the those buggers, not very effective and also not easy to do. Big ones you could inject even deflated but small ones.........

Realise that after injecting, some of them are still alive.

Tried Kalk paste, also not sucessfull. Manage to kill off the large ones but then after that I have a population bloom of small ones. It is the tiny bit of flesh that is left behind, turning into individual aiptasia.

In the end, I gave up and soak everything with fresh water. That definitely kill them for good.