Peppermint Shrimp

[Grins]

Grins, when mine are done, I would gladly send them to you. I have had them for a week and they have eaten about 70% of the 60 or so aiptasia that were visible. I'm sorry but the research and the bookmarks I had on peppermints over 3 years ago to find which ones were more apt to eat glass nems has been lost in a hard drive crash. I do remember there are 2-4 different kinds that are all referred to as peppermints.

When I had my tank in Atlanta, I went through 7 different "peppermints" until I found the one. The 2 that I have now went virtually straight to the aiptasia. Took them about 2 hours to find the first one and go to town.

OMG, I will love you forever if you send me even ONE of them. I actually DID practically tear down the tank and took over 4 hours searching the things out with JoesJuice. Thought I had them all but blasted things have been rearing again. Niko posted a few links to tell the difference but I swear all 6 of the ones I've bought look just like them and still do nothing but sway. Once the freaky skunks showed them the way of Hermaphordite Lysmata love they started appearing with egg sacs then fertilized ones as well.

 

[bdavis27701]

OMG, I will love you forever if you send me even ONE of them. I actually DID practically tear down the tank and took over 4 hours searching the things out with JoesJuice. Thought I had them all but blasted things have been rearing again. Niko posted a few links to tell the difference but I swear all 6 of the ones I've bought look just like them and still do nothing but sway. Once the freaky skunks showed them the way of Hermaphordite Lysmata love they started appearing with egg sacs then fertilized ones as well.

Try a Dardanus crab. I put one in my 75 and it ate all my aptasia within 2 day. They say they can bother fish but mine never has and its about a year old now.

 

[Grins]

a hermit crab? In my tank? ::nervous twitch::

 

[Lupin]

a hermit crab? In my tank? ::nervous twitch::

And I always thought some hermits are reef safe especially for your very own tank, Grins. That "hermit eating zoanthids" thread must have had an effect on you.:raspberry:

 

[RiVerfishgirl]

Never had a hermit eat my zoanthids.

I did recently buy 4 peppermint shrimp and at least one started snacking on my polyps. 3 of 'em became feeders for my grouper (presumably...didn't see 'em after they went into the rocks) , the 4th is still there but doesn't seem to be bothering anything so he's ok....for now :devil:

For any visible aiptasia I just inject them with kent marine liquid calcium. The stuff isn't very good for adding calcium to my water since I need to use so much, but it seems to do really good killing the aiptasia, so hey, why not.

 

[clown-lover]

Grins, I totally disagree with trying just Joe's Juice or Kalk paste on any tank larger than a small nano. While these methods are fool proof on the aiptasia you can see and reach with a syringe, the ones you can't reach................you can't reach, unless you pick up and turn over every single piece of rock and even then you could miss the ones that have retracted back into the rock because of the disruption of picking up the rock and turning it over.

The right type of peppermint will eliminate aiptasia and keep it that way. Again, some pep's won't touch it so you have to find and ID the correct type of peppermint that will.

Actually the combination Kalk paste and Peppermints have completely eliminated Aiptaisias from my system. I got an infestation from some cheato that I purchased and they went really rampant in my system and between creating some tubing to reach those places in the rock, along with putting 4 true Peppermints into my tank I haven't found one in over a month and am calling my system clean.

 

[Grins]

And I always thought some hermits are reef safe especially for your very own tank, Grins. That "hermit eating zoanthids" thread must have had an effect on you.:raspberry:

No, it was the hermits being stone cold killers in my tank that turned me off on them. They were promptly evicted and I've stuck with filterfeeding crabs only since.

 

[BMorgan]

I guess I had luck with my peppermint. I plopped him in the tank and by the next day all my aiptasia were gone. He is the funniest shrimp in the world and will actually take food right out of my hand.