Aiptasia plagues...
- Thread starter Blurp
- Start date
AndtheBonus
Member
I like aptasia-x. It is the only one I have ever tried but it has yet to let me down 
proenca
Member
Had major outbreaks of these little buggers and tried a few methods :
Lysmata Wundermanni : never touched it. was told that ( by other fellow reefers ) that since I do feed a lot my fishes, they were more insterested in the leftovers rather than the Apistasia
Chelmon Rostratus : had a few but not a solution by any means. He only picks the small ones. The big ones he looks at me and seems to say "you have it"
Hot water & Kalkwasser seringe : that's how I got rid of them. very precise method and worked for me wonders.
Products : never tried one... dont trust on miracle products that come in a bottle. Also I always kept anemones ( Entacqmea Quadricolors ) so I was afraid that if I pour down a product in the whole tank to kill apistasia that would affect my anemones, hence never used them.
On a side note : I never saw / heard a Lysmata Seticauda that could eat apistasia.. although they are almost identical to the tropical "cousin" ( Lysmata Wurdermani ) they are not keen on apistasia, or so I've been told. They are quite often here in Portugal, since we have them on the beach ( Seticauda's... ) and most reefers collect them when the tide is low from pools... Portugal water is cold ( by reef standards ), average of 18-22c , but low tide pools can get up to 35c , so anything that can live there ( Seticauda's are trapped there often ) can be safely put in a reef tank ( doesnt mean is reef safe, means its reef temperature safe ) .
And I never heard anyone with Seticaudas saying that they ate apistasia.
Lysmata Wundermanni : never touched it. was told that ( by other fellow reefers ) that since I do feed a lot my fishes, they were more insterested in the leftovers rather than the Apistasia
Chelmon Rostratus : had a few but not a solution by any means. He only picks the small ones. The big ones he looks at me and seems to say "you have it"
Hot water & Kalkwasser seringe : that's how I got rid of them. very precise method and worked for me wonders.
Products : never tried one... dont trust on miracle products that come in a bottle. Also I always kept anemones ( Entacqmea Quadricolors ) so I was afraid that if I pour down a product in the whole tank to kill apistasia that would affect my anemones, hence never used them.
On a side note : I never saw / heard a Lysmata Seticauda that could eat apistasia.. although they are almost identical to the tropical "cousin" ( Lysmata Wurdermani ) they are not keen on apistasia, or so I've been told. They are quite often here in Portugal, since we have them on the beach ( Seticauda's... ) and most reefers collect them when the tide is low from pools... Portugal water is cold ( by reef standards ), average of 18-22c , but low tide pools can get up to 35c , so anything that can live there ( Seticauda's are trapped there often ) can be safely put in a reef tank ( doesnt mean is reef safe, means its reef temperature safe
) .And I never heard anyone with Seticaudas saying that they ate apistasia.
fishman1908
New Member
I used Aiptasia X a few times and although at first I thought it was the dogs nuts I started to find I ended up with more Aips after I had used it than what I had started out with, not good.
I have now used Aip-Ex by Grotech for a couple of weeks and can't speak highly enough of it.
Kills the aips in a very similar way but we no longer experience the aftermath spread.
Robin
I have now used Aip-Ex by Grotech for a couple of weeks and can't speak highly enough of it.
Kills the aips in a very similar way but we no longer experience the aftermath spread.
Robin
Jess
Member
Hands down, imo, THE best solution is Berghia nudibranchs. I tried almost everything before resorting to spending a pretty penny on 4 of them. I was skeptical because they were so tiny and fragile. I had a forest in my 24g Nano, like over 100 all different sizes. In 3 weeks they were completely gone. I still see them out looking for food now and again, and some Aiptasia has popped back up when I started feeding a little more again, but they still take care of them.. it is fantastic! I've been battling flatworms now because I don't want to kill the nudi's with the FW Exit. Talk about a catch 22! :hammerhea
Chemicals never worked for me just made the pests spread. I have a 375g so there is plenty of room to spread and I had hundreds. Also do to the size of my tank it is hard to reach a large portion to inject chemicals or hot water in them. Tried the bergia didn't do much for me, probably became fish food for my wrasse or hawk fish. Same for the peppermints. I resorted to using a combo of butterflys. I currently have a Raccoon, Copperband, and a Pearlscale Butterfly. They do an awesome job. The Raccoon is an aptasia eating machine. If they can reach it it is gone in a day.
The down side to them is not being able to keep anemones in the tank. Other than that they haven't bothered a thing.
The down side to them is not being able to keep anemones in the tank. Other than that they haven't bothered a thing.
nightfire76
Active Member
well i just found aptasia in my tank,now i have nothing in there it can harm,id like to get it before they multiply and or i get things it might harm,seems like aptasia x is hit or miss and so are peepermints,but i think ill lean towards a peepermint shrimp,not sure
nightfire76
Active Member
aptasia x seems like a hit or miss and so does a pepermint shrimp,i have this now and i think ill get a pepermint shrimp....no sure though....love to have a good no money costing way of getting this done lol
nightfire76
Active Member
sorry bout the double post,either the site lagged on me or my comp messed up
nightfire76
Active Member
i only have one that i know of,so any lemon juice will work or might work?
burntricer
Member
ive had 4 total so far
ive injected them with lemon or lime juice every time
and its taken care of them instantly
ive injected them with lemon or lime juice every time
and its taken care of them instantly
Cloudburst2000
Member
That's when you offer the little bugger to someone else with an aptasia problem. There's a nudibranch that has already visited the house of about three people that I know of. That way they don't starve. When it eats all your aptasia, offer it for free to anyone with an aptasia problem with the understanding that when their problem is cleared up they have to give it to someone new for free also
Blurp
Member
Thanks to all for your contributions, interesting point about the Berghia...it might be difficult to find though. And the procedure is just like with dolabellas and algae, once they finish them all, you must give it away before it starves.
I will look up the exact scientific name, because I looked it up in Mr Google and there seems to be a series of berghiae with different colours, and that may mean they eat different things???
I'm more for natural control means, because as some pointed already, chems seemed to spread the plague rather than removing the aiptasia...
I will look up the exact scientific name, because I looked it up in Mr Google and there seems to be a series of berghiae with different colours, and that may mean they eat different things???
I'm more for natural control means, because as some pointed already, chems seemed to spread the plague rather than removing the aiptasia...
jnohs
Member
I had a small problem a while back. And that was just before i stoped feeding. And that is what I belive got rid of them. I had aptasia and bristle worms by the ton. NowI dont think I have any aptasia and just a couple of bristle worms. I know that my anwser to everything allways sems to be "stop feeding" but it really works.
nightfire76
Active Member
well cloud as id be up for this and a good few people on the site,unfortunetly in this world we dont have enough folks like this.many are out for that quick buck,much like LFS,gas companeys and so on and so on....maybe people like up can march up and lead a revolution 
sorry for my john lenon trip
sorry for my john lenon trip
That's when you offer the little bugger to someone else with an aptasia problem. There's a nudibranch that has already visited the house of about three people that I know of. That way they don't starve. When it eats all your aptasia, offer it for free to anyone with an aptasia problem with the understanding that when their problem is cleared up they have to give it to someone new for free also