You think you have aiptasia? Look here.

[lcstorc]

I just got some clear pics of my "lovely" cough cough Aiptasia garden.
I thought it might be useful to post the pics here so people who think they have aiptasia can look at the pics and tell.
Most common methods of destroying them inclued
AiptasiaX
Joe's Juice
Peppermint shrimp
Kalc paste
Injecting lemmon juice
Injecting boiling water
Covering them with super glue gel.
I am sure there are more but those come to mind.
These are pest anemones that reproduce rapidly and will sting your corals.

 

[lcstorc]

I'ts not my fault my peppermint shrimp like the ride into the fuge and won't stay in the tank. I figured I would let some good come of my irritation.

 

[Dentoid]

Ugh! I just started finding them in my reef after 2 years. i used Aiptasia X and it worked like a charm. I read the that disturbing them causes them to release their planulae which are microscopic babies that float around in a planktonic state until they settle out on a hard substrate and start growing. The Aiptasia X gels on contact at the mouth preventing the release of the planulae and at the same time kills the parent. Makes sense to me.

 

[michelle9491]

Great, do they come in translucent (sp.) color too? That big anyway, I know what the tiny ones look like.

 

[new reefer 03]

i was an aiptasia breeder, then i got my peppers

 

[lcstorc]

The one in the second pic is pretty translucent. Unfortunately these guys are in a place that my center brace blocks and my peppermint shrimp like my fuge better. I'm going to get some more tomorrow but figured having a decent pic for comparison was not a bad idea.

 

[jgking21]

I recently saw a picture where someone put something on top of the overflow to keep things from jumping in. It looked like plexiglass or something similar, it only allowed water in through the teeth on the overflow box. Might help keep your shrimp in the main tank. Also, I had an aiptasia break out in a 25 gallon, put 3 shrimp in and it was gone in no time!

 

[kragon]

I have been wondering are aiptasia good for anything if they are in the ocean they have to be good for something or are they just food.

 

[lcstorc]

Removing excess nutrients. I have seen a tank where the refugium was nothing but aiptasia for nutrient export.
They are just another sign of my overfeeding problem.

 

[DaveK]

Maybe the best thing to do is to declare that the main feature of the tank is all these cool Aiptasia anemones, and that you are very successful with breeding them and are willing to swap or sell them? (smile and just teasing)

Good luck trying to get rid of them. They can seem almost indestructible.

 

[lcstorc]

I'm not really worried, I actually put this up for people to see what an aiptasia looks like when they don't know what is in their tank. Probably tomorrow, I will replace my overflow (the teeth part is just eggrate so it's easy) and buy some more peppermints.

 

[lcstorc]

If anybody else has a way of getting rid of them that has worked for you, then post away. I'll add them to the front page as suggestions. Thise are just the ones I hear all the time.

 

[new reefer 03]

take joes juice off, it didnt work for me. aiptasia x worked well, and peppers keep it under control, they need to be rated A++.

 

[lcstorc]

Joe's works well for many, and Aiptaisia-X and peppermint shrimp are already on the list. Not all peppermints will eat it. I have had a number of them that won't touch it and some that gobble it up.

 

[morbius18]

You could probably sell them on ebay as the beginners anemone. I can see the description: "New to saltwater? You couldn't kill these anemonies if you tried. Normal Output fluroscent? NO problem!!"

 

[kathywithbirds]

Copperband!!! He didn't make it long term though. I liked him. AND he ate ALL the aiptasia. I even tried to fish some out of other tanks, it was cool watching him eat it.

 

[new reefer 03]

you should add copper band to the list, as mentioned.

 

[vdituri]

Lynn, how long have you been living with this dirty secret?

I have heard of people sealing them into the liverock with superglue.

I had 1 appear out of nowhere when I went on vacation. Not a little tiny baby one. A full grown aiptasia. Sitting right smack dab in the middle front of the tank taunting me. Fortunately it was rooted to the sand and I plucked him out.
found out one of the frags of corals I bought had a small colony living underneath it. Sealed them in and never had one since.

 

[rmlevasseur]

I've used a kalk paste to eliminate the ones that have periodically popped up, but it doesn't seem to stop some from reappearing later somewhere else. There is a good site about the nudi that eats them that also elaborates on the release of their larvae when killed chemically. Have no idea if its true, however, as it is a site for the sale of the nudis.

 

[kathywithbirds]

Lynn, how long have you been living with this dirty secret?

I have heard of people sealing them into the liverock with superglue.

I had 1 appear out of nowhere when I went on vacation. Not a little tiny baby one. A full grown aiptasia. Sitting right smack dab in the middle front of the tank taunting me. Fortunately it was rooted to the sand and I plucked him out.
found out one of the frags of corals I bought had a small colony living underneath it. Sealed them in and never had one since.

You SURE you've never been to Jersey V?