Best Method for Aiptasia Removal

[daayda3]

wow... thats alot of aiptasia
when did you start seeing them? i used hot water and lemon juice for the 5 that I found, and that was the end of it

but when i came home from vacation, there were 2 3" rocks FULL of babies... i didnt bother curing the little rocks cause i didnt need them, and thankfully there was no corals or anything like that on them
i just tossed them

 

[daayda3]

funny how much they look like yellow polyps (i know that they arnt...lol)
some_pics

 

[Jesshika]

They really do look like those yellow polyps, and thats what I thought they were when I first saw them in my 25 gallon so I didn't think anything of it. I was away for a while and then when I came back, they were everywhere. I upgraded my tank to the 40 gallon with PC lights and with the lights they seemed to grow even faster =/

 

[daayda3]

k, after doing a wee bit if research on google images...
I found this
DFS_AIPTASIA_REMOVAL

and i identified my myster thing as a unusual colorful aiptasia that i have to get rid of

 

[Grins]

funny how much they look like yellow polyps (i know that they arnt...lol)
some_pics

That is kind of why I don't care for the yellow polyps.

 

[BadRoma1]

i had even worse infestation with aiptasia. first of all, i did get nudibranches to kill aiptasia first and didn't see any difference. i did see one nudi after couple of months and he got big, but at this point i don't think i have any anymore. second, joes juice and such can spread aiptasia even more, which happened in my case. third, the only thing that really worked for me was large peppermint shrimp. the true peppermint shrimps love aiptasia and will eat many overnight. once i put him in the tank that was covered in aiptasia, it was cleared withing few days. remember that copperbands are sockers for feather dusters too, more than aiptasia, and some copperbans take their time to eat aiptasia when shrimps just clear huge areas overnight. make sure you get large and true peppermint shrimp. very rearly those guys don't eat aiptasia.

 

[scottdwh]

How do you know if you are getting a true peppermint shrimp? Are there different markings on them?

 

[Germanman]

k, after doing a wee bit if research on google images...
I found this
DFS_AIPTASIA_REMOVAL

and i identified my myster thing as a unusual colorful aiptasia that i have to get rid of

one of the best products and they only one that seems to kill them the first try

 

[Jesshika]

After getting fed up with these aiptasia covered all over the rock, the live sand, the glass, heater, filter, literally everything; I did a hot freshwater dip on all the rocks in the hope to eliminate the aiptasia. Of course that would mean losing my coepods and bristle worms, its the only thing I could do to get rid of them.
I took out the fish and inverts and moved them to the QT tank while I destroyed my tank. It is now so cloudy from the sand you can't see anything and I have the rocks sitting in a bucket with a light over them. I think if I put them back into the tank they will only be contaminated again by the aiptasia still in the sand and the teeny tiny ones floating in the water.
I don't know what to do, after not even three months of having the tank setup I already have to start over again

I still have to dip some of the rocks again because even the hot freshwater didn't kill all of them!! HELP, what do I do with the tank? Will the rocks be infested again if I put them back in the water?

 

[Reefscape]

Wow, well, thats certainly a drastic measure being taken then...lol...

Do you have a spare filter you can add to the tank to aid in helping it to clear? if so, i would get it on there. Its hard to say really which is going to be the best course of action for you. Two ways to approach the tank really..

1. Scrape off the glass any glass nems you see using a razor blade. This will keep them intact and hopefully no spread further. Suck out of the substrate any you see with a syphone hose or turkey baster....and pray
2. Remove the sand out, boil it. completely empty the tank and clean it with a water / vinegar solution, put the sand back in, and start to build up the tank.

Personaly, i would go with option one, but be very meticulous in the clean up process..There is no mass extermination method really for aiptasia besides doing what you already have done so far..

See what other peoples suggestions are really..

Niko