Aiptasia, what do I do next?

[seamandrew]

Hi everyone,
I've got a serious Aiptasia infestation (though mine are whitish/glass anemones) and not brown as I have seen described. I tried the "STOP" product from Chem-Marin and the Aiptasia just laughed at me. I purchased 8 peppermint shrimp and 7 were dead the next day, with another dying the day after. I went and bought 5 more a week later (after several water changes and great water conditions as confirmed by local Aquarium shop). 4 were dead the following morning and one survives as of this post. One was headfirst in a larger Aiptasia.
What do I do next, what recommendations do y'all have? I'm afraid to invest in the Berghia because I presume they're harder to care for than the peppermint shrimp and they're quite expensive. I thought of taking all the live rock out, curing them for a couple of weeks, but the Aiptasia are on the filter parts as well, in the live sand, and one is even on my feather duster (that no-good poophead!). Should I treat with copper and take my crabs, hermit crabs, snails, feather duster, brittle star, and remaining peppermint shrimp out? I don't even have a second tank so I would have to give all away to the aquarium shop.

I'm just concerned that my water will always have copper after that and I don't even know if it will kill the Aiptasia.
What product should I use or should I definitly go to the Berghia? I can't seem to keep peppermint shrimp for more than a day or two.

HELP!!!!

 

[mrextc]

why can't you keep peppermint shrimp? I got one for my 12 gallon and within a few days all my aptasia was wiped out. much better than any aptaisia injection i could get.

 

[seamandrew]

I have no idea! As mentioned above, I bought 8 the first time, and 7 died overnight with one surviving only an extra day. Yesterday (a week after the last purchase) I bought 5 more from a local shop and overnight, 4 died and one is still hanging out under some rock.
We acclimated them both over a 3-4 hour period (watched the enitre Mets game yesterday while acclimating them).
Water Chemistry is Ideal.
SG: 1.023 - 1.024
Temperature: 82 F
Nitrite: 0 (I think it was 0.1 yesterday because I kicked up some sand)
Nitrate: between 20 and 50 meq/L
Phospate: 0.1 ppm
Oxygen: 6.5 mg/L
pH: 8.2
alkallinity: 3.6 meq/L
Calcium: 600 ppm
Calcium is the only thing out of whack, but it's not precipitating out of solution either.
I have a royal dottyback, yellow-tail blue damsel (can't wait for it to die off), yellow clown-goby, 1 emerald crab, 2 Sally lightfoot crabs, 1 peppermint shrimp (not sure for how long though), 1 brittle star, 1 green feather duster, 5 blue-legged hermit crabs, 4 nerite snails, 1 nassarius snail, and lots and lots of Aiptasia. With the exception of the Aiptasia, I don't think any harm would have come to the peppermint shrimp from it's tankmates (however brief that was).
I don't know why they keep dying on me.

It's depressing!

 

[oniel21]

hmmmm - wish we could figure out whats going on with your shrimp... Anyone know if aiptasia can kill?
I had Aiptasia in my tank, bought one pepp and it was gone the next day. Here are the other solutions I read up on when I had the problem:
1) There is a butterfly that eats these - think its the Copperband.
2) Get a syringe and fill it with boiling water. Inject that into the Aiptasia. There is also a product called Joe's Juice that you can inject into them. I tried this and was unsuccessful, but have read about many people that have been successful using this method.
I would stay away from copper for the time being. It will stay in your tank for quite some time.
Maybe the one pepp still alive will kill it.

 

[seamandrew]

Thanks Oniel21m
Boiling water... that sounds vicious!

I like.
Hmm, but the hot water will increase my temperature (me without a chiller), fresh boiled water might throw off pH (I have lots of Aiptasia), and then there's the concern that if they melt away to pieces, that the pieces will regenerate multiple anemones from the one carcass. Well, it's worth a shot!
I saw Joe's Juice online.. I'll look into it more. I had one copperband once when I first got into the trade many moons ago and it died so fast on me that I swore never to buy another.
Drew

 

[oniel21]

the small amount of hot water won't throw the temp off to much - just don't do all of it in a short amount of time. I wouldn't worry about spreading it as it will die once the boiling water/Joe's Juice hits it.
How much Aiptasia do you have???

 

[seamandrew]

I tried the boiling water and it killed 2 out of about 20 I tried. Oy veh! This will take a while.
Unfortunately, I have a lot. We're talking a true infestation with every piece of rock carry at full load. I'm an idiot to be honest, I didn't know they were a pest until I spoke to my local shop about them. Fortunately, mine aren't very brown, they're quite white to clear so they're not terribly unnattractive, but it's just too much and I'd like to get rid of them all together.
I hope the one remaining Peppermint Shrimp survives! He'll have a feast for the next few years!
Have you ever tried Berghia?

 

[oniel21]

I assume you're talking about the nudibranch? If so, no I haven't, my pepp killed all my Aiptasia. Thinking - hopefully someone else will chime in here but I didn't know that Aiptasia could be white. Can you post a pic?
Side note - 4 hours seems a bit much to acclimate. Invertabres are sensitive, but IMO 2 - 2.5 hours should be plenty...

 

[gman08016]

Go with joes juice.I never had them until i bought some live rock from somebody breaking there tank down.Couple of weeks they went crazy on my tank.It takes a while but it does work.I used 2 Bottles so farand have it under control.Little hint keep up with it if not they will win the battle.Good Luck

 

[texasmetal]

Originally Posted by gman08016
Go with joes juice.I never had them until i bought some live rock from somebody breaking there tank down.Couple of weeks they went crazy on my tank.It takes a while but it does work.I used 2 Bottles so farand have it under control.Little hint keep up with it if not they will win the battle.Good Luck
Yup, Joe's Juice is good stuff. They will eat it greedily and die fast. Just make sure to turn off any pumps and let the circulation stop in the tank so it doesn't blow around onto any corals.

 

[seamandrew]

Okay, I'm convinced, Joe's Juice is something to try. I haveing got any coral anymore thanks to the bloody Aiptasia. The last resistance was my colony of yellow polyps, but they too were overrun by the Aiptasia. I'll order the Joe's Juice now. I thought perhaps biological control vs. chemical control was preferable, but considering my luck with the peppermint shrimp, I may have no choice.
Here are the photos, these are Aiptasia right? You'll see my emerald crab (wish he were dining on the Aiptasia instead of whatever he's picking on) and my royal dottyback (ever curious little bugger)!

 

[texasmetal]

WHOA! That's a hellacious Aiptasia infestation!
Your philosophy is right, biological control is usually the better choice rather than chemical, but Joe's Juice is basically Kalkwasser (very commonly used for reef tanks) in a very potent dose.
You're going to need A LOT of it.

 

[oniel21]

Wow Drew - you weren't kiddin!!! That's going to take some time. I'm glad I'm not in your position!!! It's really too bad that the pepps didn't survive. My pepp would have a field trip on that stuff. Good luck, keep us posted.

 

[alex4286]

Originally Posted by seamandrew
Thanks Oniel21m
Boiling water... that sounds vicious!

I like.
Hmm, but the hot water will increase my temperature (me without a chiller), fresh boiled water might throw off pH (I have lots of Aiptasia), and then there's the concern that if they melt away to pieces, that the pieces will regenerate multiple anemones from the one carcass. Well, it's worth a shot!
I saw Joe's Juice online.. I'll look into it more. I had one copperband once when I first got into the trade many moons ago and it died so fast on me that I swore never to buy another.
Drew
r u kidding? a small syringe of hot water will do hardly anything to ur levels what size tank do u have? maybe then wait for ur tank to evaporate a lot of fresh water then do it (cuz u have to add fresh water to replace it anyways) temp wize you should be fine it wouldnt even go up a single degree in 55gal+

 

[dallas612]

this makes me want to go hit my new pest's up with some joes juice! it really works.

 

[seamandrew]

So for those of you that have used Joe's Juice, do I need to worry about it spiking any of my water chemistry levels? Should I monitor anything as I'm dosing (ie, Calcium)?
Kalkwasser I assume is Calcium water (from German). I presume there's no special equipment I need when treating with Kalkwasser, right?
My last peppermint shrimp died overnight...I tried the boiling water and only two of about the 20 I hit died. A third one is disfigured, but alive.
I'm such an idiot, I remember when I got the first one, I thought, how cute, an small anemone. Then there were a billion!
I should receive the Joe's Juice tomorrow. It's a good thing I'm on vacation this week and next.

 

[fish4ever]

Do you have room for a Copper Banded Butterfly in there? I have heard those fish are an exellent remover of pest anemones.

 

[seamandrew]

I've been thinking about getting one, but I've read they're not easy to keep (especially for butterfly fish), that they don't always eat the Aiptasia (though most do), and that they will eat all polychaete worms (my wife treasures our feather duster, but I can keep in him a refugium of sorts).
If I get one, how hard are they to keep? Will a yellow-tail blue damsel and royal dottyback cause it too much stress? I also have a yellow clown goby, but he's a harmless little thing.

 

[seamandrew]

Joe's Juice just arrived. The bottles are so small and I only ordered two. Here goes nothing!

 

[slomo]

I am new at this but i would try the shrimp again.. i ordered some from this site. spilled them on the floor twice during acclimation and i can see three that survived out of 5. they must be pretty hardy or they would not have survived my drip method