Which fish is best for Aiptasia?

Jesshika

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Nov 10, 2007
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After almost two years of constantly battling aiptasia, I now need another fish that will help me with it. I had a juvi Klein's butterfly who did a great job keeping the aiptasia away but then I lost him to ich a while ago. Now the aiptasia are back and are getting quite numerous again. I've tried Joe's juice and peppermint shrimps, but that didn't work. Should I try another Klein's butterfly or a copperband? Or is there anything else that will eat aiptasia? :eek: I can't really even have a butterfly since my tank is only a 40, so anything that can live stay permanent in a 40?
 
I tried both Joe's Juice and Aiptasia control and it did nothing to them or they always came back the next week in the same spot. I was thinking about trying the nudis, but I'm afraid they might get sucked up in my powerheads. (I have bad luck with things getting stuck in powerheads) The only thing that did for for a few months was the kleins butterfly, but I must have a hidden aiptasia in one of my rocks that keeps releasing more or something.
 
I don't know how large your aiptasias are, but for my smaller glass anemones I use boiling fresh water and squirt it on them. I use an ink fill syringe. Then after hosing them, I draw the plunger and suck them out of the rock.

Works like a champ. I keep one glass anemone just for fun, it grows slow, but it often sends out and reproduces. My peppermint doesn't touch it.
 
I have had better luck using manual means (Joe's Juice and the like--the Blue Life seems like the old JJ formulation and does work a bit better) than relying on biological controls--especially in an established aquarium with corals.
 
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