[goldenseal]

well, Im new here, not sure how much my experience matters, but for what its worth, here is what I did.

when I purchased a bunch of live rock from a guy it was covered with these red little flowery things that I thought were sooooooo keeyuteeeeee ! * eyeroll* I was soon to learn what this crap was as it was taking over my new reef.

I studied and read all the material I could find, I tried natural means, with peppermint shrimp and other so called predators....nothing.
I tried the acidic lemon juice method, also vinegar, joes juice et al.
they were impossible to pluck, and if you break one the vermin will spread all over.

the ONLY thing I found to work was to boil a pot of water, get a syringe and inject them. they would make a puff of smoke and that was it. I had one prolific bugger that was hard to get, but I am even more persistant...AND PATIENT !
I eventually cleaned out all my live rock, and now have NONE, and havent for several years.

 

[FutureDoc]

thanks for the info, your solution may indeed work, but I realized in your comment that I think this problem is one area of the hobby where patience does not work as a solution (gasp)

I guess for the interest of science and for those who do not know my aquatic philosophy. Here is my bias statement and past experience. I have had success with peppermints in the past (three different occasions using freshly shipped and large number of specimens). Predation does work... when there is a willing predator without an alternative food source. Still "natural" methods are not guaranteed... but then again we are NOT trying to have a natural tank since the mere act of having a tank or removing aiptasia is a artificial construct. There are no "natural" methods IMO and the methods break down much like filtration methods: mechanical, chemical, and biological (but "biological" is not the term I like to use and I will explain this later).

Mechanical (in my definition) is scrapping, boiling chipping and any other means of physical removal (please note that I am considering 'heat' a mechanical process). Chemical is the use of commercial or home made compounds/poisons to kill the anemone. Examples of chemical include kalk, vinegar, joes juice, and ect. Both mechanical and chemical process are "manual" solutions which requires the hobbyist to "seek and destroy" individual or groups of aiptasia. Any aiptasia undiscovered by the hobbyist will not be destroyed. I (personally) find chemical attempts to be the least effective since you have to kill them personally. While the chemical attempts may be effective (a high kill rate) with a single individual anemone, there is less success with a infestation. Mechanical is hit and miss as well, and it only successful (IMO) when tearing down and cooking (both meanings) the tank.

Finally, this leaves me at the biological. I hate this label. Biology does not kill aiptasia... thus it is to broad of a term to be used here. Rather what we are really after in is case is "PREDATION" Here peppermint shrimp, some butterflies, filefish, ect will seek aiptasia when there is not another abundant food supply. This is why there is a fair amount of debate about the effectiveness of the predation method. When the potential predator is well fed by the hobbyist (and it is likely the aiptasia is as well), then the likelyhood of predation removal is decreased. As a result any potential predator that is well fed or adapted to aquarium feedings, those damage the overall reputation of this method... But in the end the predation method is like any other tool. It only work when it is used properly.

All methods are going to have their ups and downs... and if aiptasia was easy to get rid off this would not be an interesting thread. I know I am biased towards predation... so filter it as you will. I am going to give the other methods a fair shot but I really dislike the "seek and destroy" approach and rather just let a critter graze on my enemies.

After a week of feeding and no splitting, I feel it is best to nip in the bud early.... but this is not what the experiment entails. Let the aiptasia spread!

 

[skey44]

nice write up!

another issue customer's and myself included have had with the predation issue that wasn't mentioned, is the fact that many of the aiptasia predators if not well fed (almost to the point of being overfed) will eventually start to pester if not totally consume our ornamental inverts and corals (all fish that eat aiptasia seem to eat the worms out of the tank first, then the aiptasia, then the lps... etc. )

2cents,

 

[goldenseal]

Great post future doc, as far as what I mentioned worked for me, I meant Patience as in.... patient to wait for them to re emerge so I could shoot them! LOL with my ninja like skillz I was able to nuke them! ( uh, just kidding on the ninja skill part)

Ive never had a peppermint that would touch them...ugh thankfully the dreaded aptasia have been long gone!

 

[Fat Tony]

hmmm... I have always used Peps to get rid of aiptasia... the key is to making sure that you are getting true peps instead of camel shrimp as they look very similar

 

[aquawolf]

One of the most effective methods, that will also give you great satisfaction, is the old blow torch. If you :flamethrower: them they will not return, although this does mean pulling out the affected rock and the smell is not very pleasant.

For a true scientific experiment you are going to have to torch at least 1 of them.

I also saw where Traci posted somewhere on here that she had rocks with aiptasi on them that you could add to your experimental base.

 

[FutureDoc]

well, I am eager to roast one or a few (I have taken a lighter to one in the past just for fun... wow... that sounded a little 'unbalanced'), but I can't rush the experiment. I have to start with one to see/show how fast it grows, document, and then nuke.

On a different note, I am currently kalking some green star polyps... I rather have aiptasia

 

[FutureDoc]

brainstorming ideas of how to nuke the buggers... mostly because I think once division starts, it will be a fast process... or I will eventually break down and get a large colony if the division isn't happening.

Mechanical:
1) boiling water blast w/ turkey baster 2) boiling water injection 3) boiling water bath 4)torch/lighter 5)microwave 6) 24 hour dry-out, 7) sandpaper rub 8)drill

Chemical: 1)Commercial remedies (I will come up with a list later) 2)kalk paste 3) kalk injection 4) vinegar injection 5) copper, 6) bleach bath 7) bleach injection 8) diluted dishsoap injection 9)hypersalinity injection

Predation: I am not sure how to test this in a 1g tank.

Anyone else go any ideas?

 

[wdt]

Here peppermint shrimp, some butterflies, filefish, ect will seek aiptasia when there is not another abundant food supply.

Anemones seem to be one of Acreichthys tomentosus favorite foods. They seem to eat the anemones with vigor regardless of other food sources.

 

[FutureDoc]

Yes, the acreichthys tomentosus are anemone assassins. However, I think there are many names of the fish in the hobby as far as the common name (leatherjacket, bristletail, atlantic green filefish) which can lead to confusion. In addition, once the aiptasia are no more, they seem to seek out other anemones and polyps... and then one is going to need a filefish predator.

 

[ExploziveAF]

Tried stressing it to make it split?

 

[skey44]

I have one of those... very neat fish too.

 

[wdt]

Yes, the acreichthys tomentosus are anemone assassins. However, I think there are many names of the fish in the hobby as far as the common name (leatherjacket, bristletail, atlantic green filefish) which can lead to confusion. In addition, once the aiptasia are no more, they seem to seek out other anemones and polyps... and then one is going to need a filefish predator.

Like most other fish that enter our tanks it can be hit or miss. I have a pair in a tank with no pest anemones and lots of corals. I have not noticed any damage, but one does nip SPS but no damage done. They don't seem to be harming feather dusters and such either.

That said I removed these guys from my SPS tank and they now reside in a mixed reef. Very interesting fish!

 

[FutureDoc]

yes, anytime with going with predation method... or just stocking the tank with eyecandy, every time one does with a living creature it is hit or miss... except that lions eat everything smaller than its mouth... that is almost a given

as far as stressing the nem... that comes later. Right now it is getting the "spa" treatment... such as receiving two mysis tonight.

 

[skey44]

I met alpha tonight and I really liked him... nice little fellow. Too bad we can't just embrace him!

 

[aquawolf]

Aw come on Scott, give the nice little nem a hug.

 

[FutureDoc]

well it is a cute nem... almost makes you want to put 'em in the main tank... crafty little bugger

 

[wdt]

Are you trying to get the Aiptasia to reproduce? If so I think if youkeep it in the darkness for a few weeks and increase feeding youshould have a tank full.

 

[FutureDoc]

the aiptasia is only really kept under the cheam blue LED lights that came with the tank and with spillover light from the other tanks. It is fed as regularly as I post when I do feed. Thanks for the info wtd, it looks like it is on the right track!

 

[FutureDoc]

Well, I fed Alpha today. The nem has moved a bit but I have no seen any pedal lacerations or budding. It is amazing, even aiptasia reproduce slowly when you watch them. fun times...