How do I get rid of aiptasia?

breezey1127

breezey1127

Member
I know there are probably hundreds of threads already on this topic but when I searched it nothing specific really came up in the titles and I am too lazy to search through them all : )

I have an 80gal, it has been set up for almost 2 years. I just recently got my first aiptasia about a month ago and now I can count 5. What is the best way to get rid of them? I've heard of afew ways but what is the best and the safest. I want to get rid of these little buggers ASAP

Thanks in advance!
 
K

keithrett

Member
Joe's Juice and AiptasiaX are both extremely effective against aiptasia anemones and both are completely reef safe. Camel back shrimp can also get rid of aiptasia anemones however these shrimp are not reef safe and will pick at colonial anemones. The camel back shrimp is very physically similar to the peppermint shrimp. I would recommend Joe's Juice because: its cheap (around 5 dollars), the effects are instantaneous, and its reef safe.
I had aiptasia anemones and used Joe's Juice and now they are all gone. (might still be a few that I can't see)
Good luck and hope you solve your problem
 
CobrajetMach1

CobrajetMach1

Member
Don't even bother with the aiptasia-x... You want those little buggers gone, get yourself a few peppermint shrimps. I had a ton of those pesky critters about a month ago and now I cannot find a single survivor after the great shrimp invasion of January 2010! :guns:

I tried the aiptasia-x to begin with with too, but from my experience what can happen is if you have one ill-shotted attempt the aiptasia will spew their little guts out... :barf: err whatever that junk is, and BOOM! You got 10 more of them the next day.:smack:

Good luck with those things.
 
wm23oh

wm23oh

Member
Honestly I found both chemicals to just help them spread like fire and do NOT recommend them.

I also tried peppermint shrimp and found that they were tasty for my Sabea Anem. So that was a waste of money too for me.

I just ordered Berghia from Salty Underground since I have so many of them and have had no luck killing them off but have not formed an opinion if they are as good as they say or if it was a waste of money.

Good luck and again I would NOT use the chemicals as I found they help spread those little :cursin:.

James
 
1

1Reefer

Active Member
Peppermints worked for me, you want peppermint shrimp not camel backs. The camel backs don't eat aptaisa. If you don't have anything that will eat the peppermints thety work great.
 
lcstorc

lcstorc

Well-Known Member
Peppermints can work if there are only a few aiptasia. If there are more then I would highly recomment the Berghia. I need to get moree because I have a very heavt infestation, but you can clearly see where they have been at work. I never see them but I can definitely see aiptasia free areas specifically in the area where I introduced them.
Unfortunately I think my wrasse has eaten them sinc I don't see the aiptasia free zone expanding.
 
cioutlaw

cioutlaw

Well-Known Member
I agree, Joes Juice will kill the one you inject but seems to make it worse with others showing up. I had limited success with peppermints, put an army of 24 in..seemed to get rid of the little ones & kept new ones from popping up but the large aptasia never went away. Soon after my Red Hawk most likely had the peps for dinner & all were soon gone. In came the Copperband Butterfly & he demolished them all within a week. Now I wish he would get hungrey for manjano nems!! I know they are not reef safe but had him for 6 months & so far so good & easy to catch if he acts up.
 
1

1Reefer

Active Member
Dude, I had a massive aptaisa infestation and my pepppermints took care of them in quick order. They wouldn't eat the big ones unless I stabbed em an made them deflate though. They are great workers, I did have to get rid of my dottyback though. He loved the peppermints a little too well lol
 
reefman78

reefman78

Member
a kalkwasser paste works well and they dont have to be injected, they just have to ingest the paste basically, so you just kinda put it over them or try to syringe it into the center of the base, and when they close, it usually will be their last time lol...gl
 
T

tvreaves

Member
I had about 5 aiptasia also. I killed all but one with Aiptasia-X then bought a couple of peppermint shrimp. Sure enough, the next day the final aiptasia was gone. I haven't seen one since adding the peppermint shrimp.
 
G

gmr7494

New Member
I have a couple of really small aiptasia right now. I have Aiptasia X (only because Joe's Juice is not sold in California), but I can't seem to get a good shot in on them because they're so small. They keep on retracting back into the rock crevice.

I know peppermint shrimp have worked for some, but once they get rid of the aiptasia, what do you feed them? I also heard that they pick on some corals as well. Let me know what you guys think. Thanks.
 
1

1Reefer

Active Member
I say peppermints! They are great scavengers once the aptasia are gone. And I've never had a problem with them picking at corals. They might but I have never seen it and my corals are all healthy as can be.
 
CobrajetMach1

CobrajetMach1

Member
I also haven't had a problem with them picking on coral, they come out at night and scavenge any leftovers on the bottom. I had three of them but one made the mistake of molting out in the open one day when the lights came on and the hermit crabs devoured him alive... it wasn't a very nice way to go to say the least! Needless to say nothing goes to waste in a reef.

Like I said before I tried the Aiptasia X but these shrimp are much, much better at cleaning house and it's way easier to just put them in there and let them do the work. Work smarter not harder.:yup:
 
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