I was just curious if I do manage to pick any of this up with my LR does it have to go? I don't plan to have any corals, and there won't be any intentional additions of sessile inverts.
Does the aiptasia have to go?
- Thread starter VoodooChild
- Start date
Before I got my reef tank, I had a FOWLR tank, and I found 2 types of aiptisia growing. And no, I never got rid of them. they never did any harm to the tank... Actually, I would even feed them. Kinda cool to see how much they can eat. 
I don't know other people's experiences with it, but I never had any probs.
Good luck.
cheech
I don't know other people's experiences with it, but I never had any probs.
Good luck.
cheech
I have heard people refer to them as a saltwater weed. Overall they are not that attractive (in my book) and can reproduce like crazy.
Since they are a member of the anenome family they have the ability to sting and kill other corals so having them potentally run wild in a tank and kill of corals that are desired it not a good thing in my book.
If your able to contain them and keep them from reproducing then I suppose you could run your tank with them in there. I just try to make sure I keep them in check.
Since they are a member of the anenome family they have the ability to sting and kill other corals so having them potentally run wild in a tank and kill of corals that are desired it not a good thing in my book.
If your able to contain them and keep them from reproducing then I suppose you could run your tank with them in there. I just try to make sure I keep them in check.
How do you control these buggers?
I read that if you try removing them, it makes it worse as each little piece will anchor and grow another anemone. I have two in my tank right now and been too chicken to try to remove them.
I also read that some types of surgeon fish eat and control them but What could I use in my 20G tank?
I read that if you try removing them, it makes it worse as each little piece will anchor and grow another anemone. I have two in my tank right now and been too chicken to try to remove them.
I also read that some types of surgeon fish eat and control them but What could I use in my 20G tank?
The best option for control is to treat them with kalkwasser. Run a search and you'll find a couple good threads about the method. Manual removal shouldn't be tried--it will result in an outbreak.
We have several in our FO tank. Started out with 4-5, and a year later we have about 7, varying in size from about 1 inch total diameter to well over 6 inches (tentacle diamter, not the disc!) We're getting ready to treat them since they've started to spread a bit more rapidly than we are comfortable with. There's a trigger in there, and he never touches them.
There are a few other options, including a nudibranch that eats them, and of course the true peppermint shrimp. Keep in mind that the nudibranch is an obligate feeder, and will die once the aiptaisia is gone. The shrimp may not be compatible with other tankmates, and can be tricky to verify it's a true peppermint. Other shrimp look similar but will not help with aiptasia.
We have several in our FO tank. Started out with 4-5, and a year later we have about 7, varying in size from about 1 inch total diameter to well over 6 inches (tentacle diamter, not the disc!) We're getting ready to treat them since they've started to spread a bit more rapidly than we are comfortable with. There's a trigger in there, and he never touches them.
There are a few other options, including a nudibranch that eats them, and of course the true peppermint shrimp. Keep in mind that the nudibranch is an obligate feeder, and will die once the aiptaisia is gone. The shrimp may not be compatible with other tankmates, and can be tricky to verify it's a true peppermint. Other shrimp look similar but will not help with aiptasia.