Aptasia , can they hurt anything?

[crazyelvis]

I have a few aptasia growing on my LR ... One is quite large... Do they hurt anything ? Because they look quite cool... I know they can multipy , but other than that...

 

[kelly]

They sure can, they can burn other corals, and are not recommended. You will want to get rid of them if you are planning on or currently have coral.

 

[crazyelvis]

Kelly,
I currently only have some button polyps ... They are far away from it on the other side of the tank... How can I kill them...

 

[cyslyde]

peppermint shrimp are suppossed to be great at getting rid of them according to our lfs. we had some problems with them in our tank though, so our lfs guy told us if we ever needed them to get rid of the aptasia, we could have them for a few weeks and then return them...what a great guy!

 

[kelly]

There are a couple of ways.
1. peppermint shrimp.
2. inject them with boiling water
3. inject them with a thick paste of pickling lime, or kalk.
4. I think there is a fish that will eat them, but I can not remember it right now.
You can also search the forum for info on them.

 

[ebeckels]

copperband butterfly fish is what Kelly is thinking of I think. Of course, like peppermint shrimp, some just won't eat aiptasia.

 

[mlm]

I had one and I put in 5 peppermint shrimp and it is gone.

 

[ryano]

I had a few.......now a few thousand. Do whatever it takes. I now have 30 pepermint shrimp, a copperband butterfly, have tried "Stop Aptasia", have tried boiling water. The only thing that has worked for me is my hand where they are living on the sand. The rock is a different story. They still thrive there. <img src="graemlins//yell.gif" border="0" alt="[yell]" /> <img src="graemlins//urrr.gif" border="0" alt="[urrr]" />

 

[crazyelvis]

I have 2 new pep. shrimp... They haven't touched it yet... Maybe I should add a few more...
If I just rip it off of the LR will it grow right back?
Are the copper bands hearty? Reef safe?

 

[q]

The copperband butterflys are iffy on hardyness. If they will feed and you feed them well they are ok. Some may require some work to get feeding.
Reef safe? Not completely.
They will eat zooanthids and clams. I have some button polyps that have dissapeared. They hitch hiked in so they were small but they still looked like aptsias so were eaten. On the other hand I have some octocorals that are of the mat type which are multiplying and have not been touched. Feather dusters and pods are also a favorite snack as the CBB is always hunting.

 

[indy1]

I have 4 peppermint shrimps in my 55. The have completely eliminated my aptasia problem. I guess I got lucky, 'cause I have heard of them not doing their job!!!

 

[luke]

If there are truly only a few, then just buy some underwater epoxy and plug their holes. This is the best method I have found for small numbers. Peppermint shrimp get hungry after they finish your two or three aptasia. These things will spread like wild fire so deal with them now!
Luke

 

[starfishjackedme]

I use a syringe with calcium chloride solution. It works better than kalk. I use Kent's Turbo calcium and mix up enough for a 3cc syringe and inject the little

[hr]
. They don't live after that. <img src="graemlins//freak.gif" border="0" alt="[freak]" />

 

[karlas]

i had a problem with the peppermints also instead of the aptasia it went after the feather dusters was knocking them down like a lawn mower. the kalk paste seemed to work pretty well. ryano i have an idea for ya did you ever here of the bergia nudia branch? these guys eat and only eat aptasia they are supposed to go until every last one is gone. the only problem is when there isnt any more they will starve to death but you could always trade them to the next reefer with aptasia
<a href="http://www.seaslugs.com/" target="_blank">bergia nudibranch</a>

 

[jakob4001]

pepermints tend to only eat the smaller ones...& if you physically try to remove a matured one, may cause it to reproduce knowing it is being harmed...hey thanks for posting about that nudibranc, that is an idea....there's almost always someone else who also needs aptasia to be removed...we have one large one, but the parameters are not set up for it's benefit...only shoots out a few that peppers usually quickly take care of...

 

[raymac]

I've got a nudibranch...came from a piece of rock. He hasn't touched the aiptasia.....

 

[crazyelvis]

Ray,
From my reading it sounds like only certain Nudibranch eat aptasia...

 

[blackdog]

I used Kent Liquid Calcium (Calcium Chloride), injected right near one aptasia hiding in a rock (don't think I actually inserted the syringe into it). I thought it had no effect, but on the third day, he was not poking out of his hole, so I think he's history.
I've seen a few small ones on my glass that I've scraped off, and just noticed one under a ledge. SWF's "Market Leader" package is arriving tomorrow, which includes a couple Peppermints, so I'll have a snack waiting for them
It's too bad they are such a nuisance, because the one I nailed with the Ca really was quite beautiful.

 

[hound]

Hey This may sound dumb,but just what do Aptasia look like? My tank is only 2 months old an there's something new everyday I look at it.Don't want any out breaks

 

[joe's reefer]

its lokks like a brown anemone and the copperbands can be really agressive.