Aptasia!

Hmmmmmmm. Well, before I go getting a bunch of Hypodermic syringes and creating kalkwasser paste, I think I'll try a couple of peppermint shrimp and see how they do. My two aiptasia anemones are tiny right now. I'm talking less than a quarter inch tall, so a couple of shrimp ought to mow them down, yes?

Could the emergence of these aiptasia be the cause behind the disappearance of my triggerfish? If he was stung, and it injured him badly enough...
 
Geez, you are having a lot of bad luck. I doubt the Aiptasia could have hurt your trigger, probably just two unfortunate, unrelated incidents.

I have always had peppermint shrimp, and have only seen a few Aiptasia in the refugium, but I can't say whether the shrimp are the reason that there are no Aiptasia in the main tank. From what I have read, peps don't usually eat the big ones, which will need to be injected with kalk or something else. The ones I have seen in the fuge were on macroalgae or the tank wall, so they could be easily pulled off without leaving anything. Any chance of pulling them off without leaving pieces?

I would agree with Guy W about using just a small number of peps. TBS sent me 3 with my rock for the 20 gallon. They got along fine, produced eggs, and didn't hassle the cleaners, but they devastated the small invertebrate population. Pretty much wiped out the small bristleworms, terebellids (spaghetti worms) and ate a whole batch of nassarius snails I put in. I am glad that a few of the peppermints have disappeared over the years, and I see terebellid tentacles again. A herd is a bad idea IMO.
 
My LFS has a couple of small peppermint shrimp in right now. They are about a half inch long. I was thinking of adding them to help get rid of this crud. Pulling the aiptasia off the live rock will almost certainly leave remnants. Both are growing out of rocky crags and holes.
 
I just wanted to add one other method that was not touched on here. I have had great success with white vinegar, and used in the small applications needed to kill the little buggers does nothing to alter water parameters.

When buying the peps, make sure they are L. wurdemanni and not L. californica.....they are pretty convincing "twins".
 
What is the difference in between the two?
 
The "imposters" (L. californica) have much deeper, bolder striping than L. wurdemanni.

To tell you the truth, I had a heck of a time trying to distinguish between the small peps at my LFS, not to mention they keep moving everywhere:D . I could not easily tell until they grew a bit and it became much more apparent.

The best advice I might give would be to have them pull out a bunch at the LFS into a holding container and then observe and try and pick out the lightest ones out of the bunch. I can't say it is scientific but it may improve your chances. The L. wurdemanni I placed in my 10g worked great, what turned out to be a pair of L. Californica I put in another tank only ate some featherdusters.
 
Originally posted by lebloom
So just what causes aptasia? And how much kalkwasser is needed in this paste?
Click to expand...

Aptasia is just an organism, an anemone I think, that will spread in plauge propotions if not erradicated. They generaly come in on live rock.

For the paste, I would say a teaspoon of kalk and add water till it is a thick paste, then suck it up in a syringe, inject the buggers with a little and see if they collapse... rinse and repeat :)
 
I thought I just 1 or 2 but now I'm beginning to find more in my tank. The one I need to get rid of is really getting out of control. I tried to pick at it with something and the thing moved right out of the way as I came at it.
 
don't pick ay them if you rip it apart the piece will grow into new ones. I am currently fighting them in my tank and kalk seems to work the best but to much will alter water parameters. If you want them out do it now because once the get a grip on your tank they are hard to get rid of. Trust me i thought they were kind of neat so i let them grow for a few months. Now i can't seem to get rid of them. I kill them all and a week later new ones start growing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom