aiptasia control

[muggiwhplar]

I have an aiptasia problem in my 75 gallon reef and I'm having difficulty getting it under control. I think it resulted at least in part from overfeeding and insufficient water changes, so I've decreased my feeding and gone to weekly water changes (I was previously changing 20-25% every two to three weeks). Hopefully that will help decrease their proliferation, but now I need to do something to get rid of the ones I already have.
I've tried squirting them with NaOH and kalk. Both seem moderately effective--but only for the ones that are situated in a way that makes them relatively accessible. I'm thinking about trying a copper banded butterfly or berghia nudis, but would like to get more info on them before buying. Would the butterfly pose a threat to a bta or corals? And would my maroon clowns be a huge problem for it (they seem to harass new fish for a couple days, then lay off and aren't very agressive after that)?
As for the berghia, does anybody have any experience with these? I'm thinking I'd set up a 10 ro 20 gallon tank, cycle it, and then add two or three berghia and give them one rock at a time from my DT to clean off. However, I'm concerned about maintaining an acceptable pH without using powerheads. Any suggestions on how best to set this up?

 

[chaoscat]

I had a pretty serious Aiptasia infestation going back during the summer in my 40 gal reef tank. I tried handkilling them with Kalk, but that's just a holding action like sticking a finger in the dike. I bought a peppermint shrimp. All my visible Aiptasia disappeared in a couple of days, then so did the shrimp - never to be seen again(I think the hermit crabs 'et him). But, the Aip's, they came back. Finally, I broke down a bought a Berghia, just one because the suckers were $30 each. I put him in the tank, and he promptly disappeared - didn't see that bugger again for a month. I continued handkilling the bigger, more accessible Aiptasia - leaving (hopefully) everything else to the Berghia. It's now been 3-4 months I'd say since I started down this path. Every once in a while, I see a Berghia tooling around the tank. I'm not even sure if it's the same one I started with, because they will make more of themselves. While I have never actually witnessed a Berghia eating an Aiptasia, they must be doing the job because I really don't have an infestation anymore. I see the occasionaly Aip pop up, and if I can get to it, I'll burn it. But, the frequency of propagation is MASSIVELY less than it was. Before, it was like playing "whack -a-mole". Kill one, 2 more pop up. I really believe that given enough time, the Berghia will clean them out.
So, in my experience Berghia DO work and they will take care of your problem.
BUT
-It won't happen overnight, or even in a few weeks. Your best indicator of progress and success is a reduced rate of propagation of Aiptasia.
-You will need to continue hand killing to help them out, especially with the bigger Aip's. Berghia are very small and I don't think they can handle full grown Aip's.
-Once the Aiptasia is all gone, so is your Berghia because they will starve to death (unless you want to deliberately put Aiptasia into your tank to feed them - they won't eat anything else)

 

[y2says]

It's a gamble, but copperband butterflies will eat aptasias. I've always had luck with peppermints. They're not too expensive and will normally get the job done.

 

[al mc]

The Berghia do work. However, if you ever run out of Aptasia they starve to death. You have to be careful with aggressive fish/crabs eating them and as was mentioned powerhead intakes are not their friends. I covered my powerhead intakes with filter material and that seems to work well for me. I have not tried Copperbands or peppermint shrimp since in previous threads it seems clear that they don't always work.
If you google for them you can find them for about $15/each, plus shipping. The place I got them from has a very knowledgeable person who will ask lots of questions to make sure that there are no tank inhabitants that may go after them. Think of the words 'salt' and 'underground' when googling.
They propogate fairly easily.