Tweezed an aiptasia last night

cjobo · 02/07/2014, 12:15 PM

I noticed a week or so ago that I had something growing out of one of the LR I bought at my LFS. Had no clue what it was, so when I saw the same thing at a different LFS I asked. Aiptasia. He said, "nuisance anemone - get rid of it."

To Google (and this site) I went, and confirmed his advice.

Being completely new to all of this, I tried taking the rock out and jamming a toothpick into the hole from which the little bugger was peeking. Yeah, no. He was back later.

Then I inverted the rock and buried it into my sand bed. That'll kill it, right?

Nope.

I looked last night and it had moved itself to the edge of the rock and was peeking out of the sand. Right then. Let's play.

Grabbed my tweezers and actually got it. Did some damage to the tentacles (?), then lifted the rock out and saw its tube-like base. Grabbed that and plucked it off the rock surface. Down the drain it went.

So...am I done, or am I going to see it magically reappear?

I haven't seen any more like it; there may be a microscopic one in another spot, but I haven't been able to grab it. Too small.

fishgate · 02/07/2014, 12:19 PM

uh oh.... yeah you are in for some bad joo joo.... It shot out planulas which are babies. They'll be back!

reefez85032 · 02/07/2014, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cjobo

I noticed a week or so ago that I had something growing out of one of the LR I bought at my LFS. Had no clue what it was, so when I saw the same thing at a different LFS I asked. Aiptasia. He said, "nuisance anemone - get rid of it."

To Google (and this site) I went, and confirmed his advice.

Being completely new to all of this, I tried taking the rock out and jamming a toothpick into the hole from which the little bugger was peeking. Yeah, no. He was back later.

Then I inverted the rock and buried it into my sand bed. That'll kill it, right?

Nope.

I looked last night and it had moved itself to the edge of the rock and was peeking out of the sand. Right then. Let's play.

Grabbed my tweezers and actually got it. Did some damage to the tentacles (?), then lifted the rock out and saw its tube-like base. Grabbed that and plucked it off the rock surface. Down the drain it went.

So...am I done, or am I going to see it magically reappear?

I haven't seen any more like it; there may be a microscopic one in another spot, but I haven't been able to grab it. Too small.

There really isn't a way to know if you got all of it. They can reproduce from a single cell, makes it real hard to kill. Is it possible to just leave that particular rock out to COMPLETELY dry out? If not, kalk paste or the commercially available treatments may kill it, those are hit or miss though. Dry the rock or nuke it are the best bets.

Cymonous · 02/07/2014, 12:29 PM

I don't think there is any point of doing anything with that one rock as you may have babies throughout the tank soon. I would get a bottle of Aptasia-X to have on-hand. When you see them pop, just shoot some Aptasia-X on them.

slowjazz · 02/07/2014, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cjobo

I noticed a week or so ago that I had something growing out of one of the LR I bought at my LFS. Had no clue what it was, so when I saw the same thing at a different LFS I asked. Aiptasia. He said, "nuisance anemone - get rid of it."

To Google (and this site) I went, and confirmed his advice.

Being completely new to all of this, I tried taking the rock out and jamming a toothpick into the hole from which the little bugger was peeking. Yeah, no. He was back later.

Then I inverted the rock and buried it into my sand bed. That'll kill it, right?

Nope.

I looked last night and it had moved itself to the edge of the rock and was peeking out of the sand. Right then. Let's play.

Grabbed my tweezers and actually got it. Did some damage to the tentacles (?), then lifted the rock out and saw its tube-like base. Grabbed that and plucked it off the rock surface. Down the drain it went.

So...am I done, or am I going to see it magically reappear?

I haven't seen any more like it; there may be a microscopic one in another spot, but I haven't been able to grab it. Too small.

not good......

you should have googled it or checked here first. As soon as you stressed it by poking and grabbing it released 'seeds' into the water. You will start seeing more of them now all over your tank. Best thing is to use Aptasia-X.

Joe0813 · 02/07/2014, 01:19 PM

yup will have a tooon of them now. what i did was get peppermint shrimp... 4 of them in my 180 completely wiped out all my stupid aptasia

ExpensiveHobby · 02/07/2014, 01:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe0813

yup will have a tooon of them now. what i did was get peppermint shrimp... 4 of them in my 180 completely wiped out all my stupid aptasia

+1, if you have reef safe fish.

I had 5-6 aptaisia in my 16 gallon, put two peppermint in there. One week later, no aptasia and havent seen one since. Ive also used joe juice in the past (something like apatasia X) but it always seemed to be a temporary solution

cjobo · 02/07/2014, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slowjazz

not good......

you should have googled it or checked here first. As soon as you stressed it by poking and grabbing it released 'seeds' into the water. You will start seeing more of them now all over your tank. Best thing is to use Aptasia-X.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe0813

yup will have a tooon of them now. what i did was get peppermint shrimp... 4 of them in my 180 completely wiped out all my stupid aptasia

Quote:

Originally Posted by ExpensiveHobby

+1, if you have reef safe fish.

I had 5-6 aptaisia in my 16 gallon, put two peppermint in there. One week later, no aptasia and havent seen one since. Ive also used joe juice in the past (something like apatasia X) but it always seemed to be a temporary solution

Sweet...my kids have been REALLY wanting a shrimp. Now they get one each!

Mael · 02/07/2014, 01:58 PM

I am getting some peppermint this weekend as well, even though I dont have an aptasia problem, yet.

One other thing for spot killing the bastards if you dont have aptasia-x is pull the rock out of the water for a few seconds and use eye dropper to drop 1 drop of lemon juice on the spot where it is. Kills the aptasia, but will also bleach anything the lemon juice gets on so be real careful with it, if you have a syringe then even better. Aptasia-x worked for him as well but it seems like you are constantly chasing the problem instead of fixing it like with the shrimp.

cjobo · 02/07/2014, 02:25 PM

Assuming the shrimp do their job and eliminate the problem, what do they eat moving forward? Are they cannibals (mysis)? Will they subsist on sinking pellets?

cjobo · 02/07/2014, 02:31 PM

Oh, one more thing - should I really get some peppermint shrimp in there now, or wait until I actually see some weeds pop up? Like I said before, I can only see what I THINK might be one, and it's tiny (tentacles like hair, maybe 1/16" long).

tommyz44 · 02/07/2014, 02:38 PM

Aptasia may be really small that you dont even see. I had a tank with some, added a few pep shrimps, and didnt see any aptasia being eaten. Thought I got some shrimp that didnt work, but then i saw them picking at the rocks and pulling REALLY small ones out. I would think adding would help now just to prevent incase it did spread. Better safe than sorry with that stuff.

Kbud · 02/07/2014, 03:10 PM

I know your pain! I am also on my first marine tank and have needed to deal with these pests. The first one was slightly bigger and easy to take care of - I took out the rock, cut the chunk with the anemone off, and put the rest back in. Since it was only a little scrap of rock, I stuck the anemone in one of those tight-lock containers and filled it with old tank water. It is happily living in the old water that I occasionally change and with only a little live sand on the bottom. It gets some light being next to the aquarium, and I feed it with little pellets. It has grown a bit, I have another pet

and it is out of my tank!

Now I have another, which is just like yours - super small, 1/16th of an inch. I got some aquarium epoxy for gluing down my new zoas, and will glue a bubble of it onto the anemone. It kills it, prevents it from spreading, and I don't even have to take it out of the water. I will do it at my water change tomorrow, I'll tell you how it goes. Best of all, I don't have to use chemicals like kalkwasser or joe's juice!

Joe0813 · 02/07/2014, 03:58 PM

my peps have no more aptasia to eat.. i just feed the fish and they come right up to my hand and eat fish food... flakes, pellets, frozen you name it these 4 will eat it. they even clean my hand

Kbud · 02/07/2014, 07:05 PM

That is epic! @joe0813 Are there any cleaner shrimp that would go in a 6 gallon?

Anyway... good luck with the aiptasia! They are the new bane of my existence, but you can take 'em!

Strobes · 02/07/2014, 07:12 PM

ive been trying aptasia x and it seems to knock them out for a day or two and they back. it might be a user error, your supposed to put the needle in the disc and let the tentaacle wrap around it and then inject. but im to nervous that im gonna provoke them to send out the seeds so i just try to cover them the best i can without touching them. i think imm going to get some pep shrimp now. seems the best option

02/07/2014, 12:15 PM	#1
cjobo Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: CT Posts: 41	Tweezed an aiptasia last night I noticed a week or so ago that I had something growing out of one of the LR I bought at my LFS. Had no clue what it was, so when I saw the same thing at a different LFS I asked. Aiptasia. He said, "nuisance anemone - get rid of it." To Google (and this site) I went, and confirmed his advice. Being completely new to all of this, I tried taking the rock out and jamming a toothpick into the hole from which the little bugger was peeking. Yeah, no. He was back later. Then I inverted the rock and buried it into my sand bed. That'll kill it, right? Nope. I looked last night and it had moved itself to the edge of the rock and was peeking out of the sand. Right then. Let's play. Grabbed my tweezers and actually got it. Did some damage to the tentacles (?), then lifted the rock out and saw its tube-like base. Grabbed that and plucked it off the rock surface. Down the drain it went. So...am I done, or am I going to see it magically reappear? I haven't seen any more like it; there may be a microscopic one in another spot, but I haven't been able to grab it. Too small. __________________ My tank is small but my plans are HUGE! :)

02/07/2014, 12:19 PM	#2
fishgate Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Damascus, MD Posts: 3,340	uh oh.... yeah you are in for some bad joo joo.... It shot out planulas which are babies. They'll be back! __________________ 125RR in-wall, 40B Sump, CS180 BM Skimmer, ATI 4x80 watt, eheim 1262, custom wrap around rock wall, ReefKeeper Elite 120g in-wall, 40B Sump, PC 54wx4, Jabao DC-6000 (full siphon), future seahorse t Current Tank Info: 125g, 120g, 2x40b sumps, ATI 4x80 T5HO

02/07/2014, 12:29 PM	#4
Cymonous My Clown Attacks Me Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Akron, OH Posts: 2,105	I don't think there is any point of doing anything with that one rock as you may have babies throughout the tank soon. I would get a bottle of Aptasia-X to have on-hand. When you see them pop, just shoot some Aptasia-X on them. __________________ 100 Gallon Long with 20L sump 10 Gallon Office Tank Current Tank Info: 2 False Percula Clowns, One Spot Foxface, Diamond Watchman Goby, Yellow Tail Damsel, Engineer Goby

02/07/2014, 01:19 PM	#6
Joe0813 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Boston strong Posts: 2,766	yup will have a tooon of them now. what i did was get peppermint shrimp... 4 of them in my 180 completely wiped out all my stupid aptasia __________________ Joe and Jenny Current Tank Info: 180 reef

02/07/2014, 02:25 PM	#10
cjobo Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: CT Posts: 41	Assuming the shrimp do their job and eliminate the problem, what do they eat moving forward? Are they cannibals (mysis)? Will they subsist on sinking pellets? __________________ My tank is small but my plans are HUGE! :)

02/07/2014, 01:58 PM	#9
Mael Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Phoenix Posts: 1,351	I am getting some peppermint this weekend as well, even though I dont have an aptasia problem, yet. One other thing for spot killing the bastards if you dont have aptasia-x is pull the rock out of the water for a few seconds and use eye dropper to drop 1 drop of lemon juice on the spot where it is. Kills the aptasia, but will also bleach anything the lemon juice gets on so be real careful with it, if you have a syringe then even better. Aptasia-x worked for him as well but it seems like you are constantly chasing the problem instead of fixing it like with the shrimp.

02/07/2014, 02:31 PM	#11
cjobo Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: CT Posts: 41	Oh, one more thing - should I really get some peppermint shrimp in there now, or wait until I actually see some weeds pop up? Like I said before, I can only see what I THINK might be one, and it's tiny (tentacles like hair, maybe 1/16" long). __________________ My tank is small but my plans are HUGE! :)

02/07/2014, 02:38 PM	#12
tommyz44 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: CORNING NY Posts: 435	Aptasia may be really small that you dont even see. I had a tank with some, added a few pep shrimps, and didnt see any aptasia being eaten. Thought I got some shrimp that didnt work, but then i saw them picking at the rocks and pulling REALLY small ones out. I would think adding would help now just to prevent incase it did spread. Better safe than sorry with that stuff.

02/07/2014, 03:10 PM	#13
Kbud Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Upstate NY Posts: 24	I know your pain! I am also on my first marine tank and have needed to deal with these pests. The first one was slightly bigger and easy to take care of - I took out the rock, cut the chunk with the anemone off, and put the rest back in. Since it was only a little scrap of rock, I stuck the anemone in one of those tight-lock containers and filled it with old tank water. It is happily living in the old water that I occasionally change and with only a little live sand on the bottom. It gets some light being next to the aquarium, and I feed it with little pellets. It has grown a bit, I have another pet and it is out of my tank! Now I have another, which is just like yours - super small, 1/16th of an inch. I got some aquarium epoxy for gluing down my new zoas, and will glue a bubble of it onto the anemone. It kills it, prevents it from spreading, and I don't even have to take it out of the water. I will do it at my water change tomorrow, I'll tell you how it goes. Best of all, I don't have to use chemicals like kalkwasser or joe's juice! __________________ Love plants! Want to be horticulturist! 15 years old. Also keep freshwater fish - Marineland 12 gallon community, 1.5 g. betta tank. The avatar is of Zestie, my citron goby! Current Tank Info: JBJ nano cube 6 w/ 1x citron goby, 3x snails, 2x hermit crabs, 1x clove polyps, 2x zoas, 1x serpent star, 1x emerald crab, asterina stars.

02/07/2014, 03:58 PM	#14
Joe0813 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Boston strong Posts: 2,766	my peps have no more aptasia to eat.. i just feed the fish and they come right up to my hand and eat fish food... flakes, pellets, frozen you name it these 4 will eat it. they even clean my hand __________________ Joe and Jenny Current Tank Info: 180 reef

02/07/2014, 07:05 PM	#15
Kbud Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Upstate NY Posts: 24	That is epic! @joe0813 Are there any cleaner shrimp that would go in a 6 gallon? Anyway... good luck with the aiptasia! They are the new bane of my existence, but you can take 'em! __________________ Love plants! Want to be horticulturist! 15 years old. Also keep freshwater fish - Marineland 12 gallon community, 1.5 g. betta tank. The avatar is of Zestie, my citron goby! Current Tank Info: JBJ nano cube 6 w/ 1x citron goby, 3x snails, 2x hermit crabs, 1x clove polyps, 2x zoas, 1x serpent star, 1x emerald crab, asterina stars.

02/07/2014, 07:12 PM	#16
Strobes Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 94	ive been trying aptasia x and it seems to knock them out for a day or two and they back. it might be a user error, your supposed to put the needle in the disc and let the tentaacle wrap around it and then inject. but im to nervous that im gonna provoke them to send out the seeds so i just try to cover them the best i can without touching them. i think imm going to get some pep shrimp now. seems the best option