Aiptaisa?

[Greg J]

I got my first SW aquarium Saturday, and I’ve noticed several of these guys in the sump/fuge. Is that the dreaded aiptaisa? I haven’t seen any in the display tank just the sump. If it is aiptaisa, is it OK in the sump, or should I remove it?

Thanks
Greg J

 

[Hooked Newbie]

I believe it is aiptasia. You will probably want to get rid of them even if only in the sump to avoid their spread. Joe's Juice has worked well for me.

 

[Chapz]

Yes it is. I bought peppermint shrimp and they ate all of them. Even the ones bigger than the shrimp itself.

 

[Hooked Newbie]

From what I understand (I've never tried myself), peppermint shrimp are hit and miss at eating aiptasia. Some apparently never do.

 

[Greg J]

Thanks guys.
It’s a shame their an invasive pest, they’re kind of cool looking.

 

[khmerspec]

Thanks guys.
It’s a shame their an invasive pest, they’re kind of cool looking.

That's what I thought also, and have stopped trying to get rid of them.

All those socalled mixes to inject dosen't completely rid your tank of them, because it releases eggs(?) which'll cause it to spread through your whole tank.

I've heard good things about wetpets that'll eat them though, and I'd suggest you do that.

 

[ToeJam]

Most reputable forums ..sites like reef sanctuary ...reef frontiers...nano forums...all suggest Kalk paste,joes juice (kalk paste watered down), and or injecting hot water to rid them.

There are those who succeed with peppermint shrimps...and one other bug like creature that actually goes inside them and eats them... I will have to ask my LFS about it again..they carry them.

The one thing I've always wanted to try to do is have a fuge be a Aptasia fuge... have a UV light on the return so it doesn't spread. It would be a great filter if one can keep them in one area.... much easyer than having a duster fuge... cause aptasia are die hards.

 

[Chapz]

I bought coral rocks from various people who had these aiptasia infestations. I could barely see some zoas because they were being covered. Even Xenias were being crowded. I was fortunate the peppermint ate them all. Different people have different success getting rid of aiptasia. Its your choice what you want to choose.

 

[Greg J]

This tank came with a UV filter, maybe that's why I haven't noticed them in the display.
I’ve been manually removing them from the sump and the local LFS will have some peppermint shrimp later this week. . .

Thanks everyone

 

[Cheech]

I used to have some in my main tank, peppermints got rid of them all.


Right now I do have one in my sump... I've kinda grown attached to it thoguh, lol.. he's getting quite large. So rather than getting rid of it, I decided to keep it. I even feed every now and then.