aiptasia removal?

[dalbright82]

I just got my first saltwater tank about a week ago. It came with everything in it (water, live rock, live sand, a variety of critters like snails and crabs) as it was complete when i bought it. Just added two clownfish to it 2 days ago and noticed that coming out of one of the rocks is what looks to be an aiptasia based on what i've read and seen on here. Its a small 14g acrylic cube tank. I'm assuming that the tank has just had them for some time before i got it. Should i just pull it out (do you wear gloves to avoid getting stung, or is there a better way like using a tool etc) since its a small and more manageable tank to do that in?

ahh the sadness of realizing its a weed . So much to learn about salt! Oh and the tank has a skimmer, and i'm toying around with the lighting since i don't have any plants i'm concerned about at the moment. I know it's not the norm at all, but i'm curious as to how well it will work. Looped led track lighting for the night look, and 3x25 expandable led light kit from menards clearance...all tucked and velcroed under the hood.

Fish are doing much better than the fishstore said they would so i think i must be doing something right. They said they might not come out of the corner for a month...They've been playing together in the jet of water since we brought them home. Any advice is appreciated! Can't wait to get into "good" anemones!
-Dan

[skeeter_usaf]

You can try Aiptasia X or inject them with lemon juice. Peppermint shrimp eat them as well. You are wasting your time trying to pull them out by hand. They won't sting you but they will recede back into the rock. Hope this helps.

[sponger0]

Ok I will address your concerns

First, You cant just pull aiptasia off a rock. It will recede in the rock once threatened. The methods you can use are squirting the aiptasia with kalk. A peppermint shrimp or my favorite method is an aiptasia zapper

I do use gloves but not in fear of being stung, but more to protect the corals from my hands. I always wash my hands before placing them in my tank.

Clowns generally warm up pretty fast, especially if they dont have any other fish in the tank

Your tank would be too small for an anemone and too young also.

[IslandCrow]

First of all, the fish store really shouldn't have suggested adding a fish after just one week. This is a really, really bad idea and rather cruel thing to do under most circumstances. If you aren't already checking for ammonia, please do so ASAP, and get the fish out of that environment if you have any detectable levels of ammonia. If this was pitched to you as a method to "start the cycle", this is an outdated process that simply isn't done anymore by anyone who is knowlegeable.

That said, simply trying to pull the aiptasia out won't work. Like weeds in your garden, you have to remove or kill it completely, or it's just going to grow back. They're very difficult to remove completely, so your best bet is to kill it. There are commercial products like Joe's Juice or Aiptasia-X that reportedly work well, but I'm a big fan of just making my own kalk paste. You can either buy kalk (probably labeled "kalkwasser") from your fish store (if they have it) or simply go to your grocery store and look for pickling lime, as it's the exact same stuff, but cheaper. Don't get pickling salts, pickling spices or anything like that. Mix the white powder with just enough water to turn it into a liquid and then use a syringe to inject the solution into the mouth (i.e. center) of the aiptasia. You'll see the aiptasia close up around it, and it should be dead by the next day.

The only other advice I have for you is to take it slow. I've had reef aquaria for about 6 years, and I'll wait a couple months before I even think about adding fish. Hopefully you'll have the tank for a long time to come, so don't be in too much of a hurry.

[DrSalty]

I've had great success with Aiptasia X. I'd highly recommend it.

[bnumair]

i have used all kinds of meds and peppermint shrimp to klien butterfly copperband fish and even filefish. at one time my tank was infested with aptasia. i took mrs wages pickling lime powder and mixed barely some tank water in it inside a turkey baster. make sure the mixture is a very very thick paste rather than runny. key is to release a little amount just over the aptasia so it would think its food and grab it. keep all ur powerheads and watermovement devices off for 15 min. also do this in small areas over number of days as piclking lime will increase ur pH very quickly. dont get the paste on corals as it would kill them too. it worked for me like a charm.

[dalbright82]

Thanks everyone for your responses. The tank was set up a while (stable) before i bought it (used) and brought it home. Owner had just moved on to larger tanks. The perk to such a small tank i guess. I'll look into the kalk/pickling lime and peppermint shrimp when i make it to the fish store.

Thanks!

[IslandCrow]

Ahh, didn't realize it was an established tank. . .good to hear. I've also had very good luck with peppermint shrimp. Just make sure you're actually getting peppermint shrimp. There's another species out there I've heard some stores will pawn off as peppermint shrimp. They look similar, but they're white with red stripes as opposed to peppermint shrimp which are clear with red stripes. I believe they're commonly called camelback shrimp. . .or something like that.

[bobpiker]

Definitely peppermint shrimps. They are cheap and will take care of a few aptasia in just couple of days.

[izzy123]

Look up a thread from "PaulB" called "electrocuting mojanos (or something similar)"

He developed a "zapper" for your problem, and according to him and many others it works like a charm

Happy hunting and good luck

Ivan

[Thisseemsfishy]

Originally Posted by DrSalty

I've had great success with Aiptasia X. I'd highly recommend it.

I sencond or third this. I have had great success with it. The Peppermint Shrimp may also be a good idea, but I always show caution when adding an animal to take care of a problem like that. You may introduce him to your system then he not be interested in them. I would try some sort of killing chemical first, if that doesn't work, you could then try the shrimp. Or if your just lloking for something to add, then go for it and maybe it will work out.

GL