aiptasia...everything on hold

[azzala]

70 gal tank 25 gal sump with 50lbs lr. I have been preparing for this day. I got the tank 9mo. ago and slowly upgraded lighting and added lr I am ready to add coral but hesitate because of aiptasia infestation. I got 2 small cleaner shrimp. I have not seen them nor have they had affect on the pest anemones. I have a maroon clown and a coral beauty and would like an anthis. Should I add a copperbanded butterfly? And if so is that too many large fish for a reef aquarium. I have searched this site and read about other methods of removal but they all seem less viable for long term control of the problem.

 

[fender]

The cleaner shrimp won't do the job. Peppermint shrimp will. I had one large one in my tank and he kept them under control. Unfortunately he had gone MIA and the aiptasia are back. I am planning to get a couple more as they are very effective, much easier to take care of, and fairly cheap.

 

[burnnspy]

Go with the peppermint shrimp as was recommended.
BurnNSpy

 

[azzala]

The 2 shrimp I purchased were peppermint shrimp. Do you think they may have been too small for the job? The aiptasia are an inch and a half at the largest. Pobably 10 total of the large 30 – 50 more of the smaller ones.

 

[fender]

Two things
1) Are you sure they are peppermints? No offense but LFS have been known to sell camel backs as peppermints. Some camelbacks will eat aiptasias, some Camelbacks also like polyps and other corals.
2) Cut back on feeding, if the shrimp have too many tastier, easier to catch other things to munch on, they may not make the effort to dig out the aiptasia.
Also my pep was pretty big- about 2inches, but he would not go after my biggest aiptasia, which was over 2-3inches. This one I chopped up and the pep finished it off.
Some do manage to hide in the rocks and can come back so keeping the peps around won't hurt. Plus they are kinda cool when you see them. Especially dancing upside down on the surface of the water at night.
[ August 31, 2001: Message edited by: fender ]

 

[azzala]

No offence taken. I understand the confusion about peppermint, cleaners and camels. My LFS understood too. I wanted the ones that ate aiptasia. They directed me away from the camels. Strangely, I have not seen them since I put them in the tank. I am encouraged by your experience. I will buy larger peppermints.

 

[nm reef]

Peppermints also did the job on all the pest aiptasia in a used system I bought...about 50 lbs of lr invested with the pests.......when I re-set up the 55 I added 2 peppermint about 1.5-2 inches long......in no time they cleared the problem up..........haven't seen a aiptasia in a long time but the peppermints make a appearance now and then....especially at feeding time......got 2 of them in my reef also........they appear to be rather clever......there is one lonely aiptasia that has been there forever........just one....never grows and never has spawn that live long(if any should appear at all)....I've never seen any but I've long suspected that the peppermints in the reef let this one live so yummy young 'uns will sprout and quickly be munched.....

 

[capt crabtabulous]

I hate to share my ignorance with the world, but what is(are) "aiptasia? Can you describe it?

 

[fender]

Aiptasia are beastly anemones that breed like rabbits and grow like weeds.
A large mature aiptasia can spawn up to 50 offspring a week. There are several different species and vary in color but most are tan, brown, grey or white. Imagine a brown polyp with very long thick tentacles.
Any part of a damaged aiptasia can grow to become a new aiptasia. So cutting/hacking them only serves to make them reproduce faster. On the plus side, some fish, corals like to eat these cut off pieces and I think a couple members of this board have used them for food at one time or another.
One or two in a tank are kinda of cool, but not 20-30 and like NMReef said, I think that peppermints let one or two go to keep the food source around. Kinda like aiptasia farmers..