Are these Aiptasia?
- Thread starter wks01954
- Start date
J
jstdv8
Guest
I thought it was some GSP with a wierd growth pattern too.
J
jstdv8
Guest
I wrote this up a while ago for aiptasia but it should be effective on majano
How to kill aiptasia with pickling lime or kalkwasser mix
1.) Mix 1tablespoon and 1/2 teaspoon of Mrs. wages pickling lime with 1 1/2 Teaspoons of water to make a nice paste. The paste should not be running, but it also must be thin enough to get injected through the syringe.
2.) Apply a layer of the paste to the oral disc of the aiptasia. Sometimes you can get them to think its food by teasing their tentacles a little and then injecting the paste onto the oral disc. If they suck back into their hole right away just cover the hole with the paste.
3.) wait 45 minutes to an hour
4.) suck out the paste and the aiptasia with a turkey baster and dispose of them.
I bought 100 lbs. worth of live rock from a fellow reefer who was tearing down her tank. The rock was covered with aiptasia (estimating over 300). Some of the rocks also had some corals on them (mushrooms, green star polyps and Kenya trees)
I put the rock on a 55 gallon tank that I used as a holding area while I treated the rock before putting it into my display tank.
I mixed up a small batch of the lime paste and started injecting the aiptasia with the method used above.
I recommend doing only a few at a time as the paste can cause a PH spike in your tank if you do too much. Keep in mind Pickling lime and kalkwasser are similar products that are used for correcting alkalinity and calcium problems and can be used safely if in small doses.
Be sure to cover the whole face of the aiptasia with the paste to ensure that it cannot release its seed into the tank and make more aiptasia later. You also must get it out of the hole as even a small piece of aiptasia can grow into a whole one over time. Do it right the first time.
Other methods that work include Peppermint shrimp, Copper banded butterfly, joe's juice, aiptasia-x, vinegar, boiling water or just leaving the rock out in the open air for a couple of days(killing everything on it.)
Peppermint shrimp work well as long as they don't have a different food source they like better. It is also very important to get the correct shrimp as there is an imposter shrimp that doesn't feed on aiptasia that looks very similar. When you are buying the shrimp ask for L. wurdemanni. Do Not accept the shrimp if it is a L. californica.
Peppermints will also not attack a large aiptasia so these will have to be removed in another way. There is also no guarantee that the aiptasia will not release its seed into the water which they tend to do when in danger. This will cause more to pop up later.
The Copper banded butterfly's require an established tank to safely house one (preferably 6 months or longer). Some for whatever reason don't prefer aiptasia though (the upside here is that these ones are reef safe)
If you choose this method you risk the fish devouring other corals in your tank that you wanted to keep once it has eaten the aiptasia. And again, there is no guarantee that they won't release their seed into the water when attacked.
Aiptasia X is similar to the paste that I described above and it comes in a nifty little syringe with a straight and an angled head for getting at aiptasia in hard to reach places.
The downside here is the cost. At 20 dollars a tube it gets pretty costly, especially if you have a lot of aiptasia to treat. A jar of Mrs. Wages pickling lime costs about $4 at Wal-mart and you will have a lifetime supply.
Boiling water, vinegar and Joe's juice all have been known to work but as with most methods are very hit and miss. While one person says they had great success the next may say it didn't work at all.
Best of luck to you and good hunting!
How to kill aiptasia with pickling lime or kalkwasser mix
1.) Mix 1tablespoon and 1/2 teaspoon of Mrs. wages pickling lime with 1 1/2 Teaspoons of water to make a nice paste. The paste should not be running, but it also must be thin enough to get injected through the syringe.
2.) Apply a layer of the paste to the oral disc of the aiptasia. Sometimes you can get them to think its food by teasing their tentacles a little and then injecting the paste onto the oral disc. If they suck back into their hole right away just cover the hole with the paste.
3.) wait 45 minutes to an hour
4.) suck out the paste and the aiptasia with a turkey baster and dispose of them.
I bought 100 lbs. worth of live rock from a fellow reefer who was tearing down her tank. The rock was covered with aiptasia (estimating over 300). Some of the rocks also had some corals on them (mushrooms, green star polyps and Kenya trees)
I put the rock on a 55 gallon tank that I used as a holding area while I treated the rock before putting it into my display tank.
I mixed up a small batch of the lime paste and started injecting the aiptasia with the method used above.
I recommend doing only a few at a time as the paste can cause a PH spike in your tank if you do too much. Keep in mind Pickling lime and kalkwasser are similar products that are used for correcting alkalinity and calcium problems and can be used safely if in small doses.
Be sure to cover the whole face of the aiptasia with the paste to ensure that it cannot release its seed into the tank and make more aiptasia later. You also must get it out of the hole as even a small piece of aiptasia can grow into a whole one over time. Do it right the first time.
Other methods that work include Peppermint shrimp, Copper banded butterfly, joe's juice, aiptasia-x, vinegar, boiling water or just leaving the rock out in the open air for a couple of days(killing everything on it.)
Peppermint shrimp work well as long as they don't have a different food source they like better. It is also very important to get the correct shrimp as there is an imposter shrimp that doesn't feed on aiptasia that looks very similar. When you are buying the shrimp ask for L. wurdemanni. Do Not accept the shrimp if it is a L. californica.
Peppermints will also not attack a large aiptasia so these will have to be removed in another way. There is also no guarantee that the aiptasia will not release its seed into the water which they tend to do when in danger. This will cause more to pop up later.
The Copper banded butterfly's require an established tank to safely house one (preferably 6 months or longer). Some for whatever reason don't prefer aiptasia though (the upside here is that these ones are reef safe)
If you choose this method you risk the fish devouring other corals in your tank that you wanted to keep once it has eaten the aiptasia. And again, there is no guarantee that they won't release their seed into the water when attacked.
Aiptasia X is similar to the paste that I described above and it comes in a nifty little syringe with a straight and an angled head for getting at aiptasia in hard to reach places.
The downside here is the cost. At 20 dollars a tube it gets pretty costly, especially if you have a lot of aiptasia to treat. A jar of Mrs. Wages pickling lime costs about $4 at Wal-mart and you will have a lifetime supply.
Boiling water, vinegar and Joe's juice all have been known to work but as with most methods are very hit and miss. While one person says they had great success the next may say it didn't work at all.
Best of luck to you and good hunting!
btldreef
Moderator
Originally Posted by Garick
http:///forum/post/3246059
won't they die from sitting the rocks in fresh water?
Yes, but when you soak a rock in fresh water, you don't just kill the bad stuff, you kill the good stuff too. I don't recommend soaking in fresh water unless there is no other option. Spot treating is the better route to go, otherwise you usually have to re-cure the rock.
http:///forum/post/3246059
won't they die from sitting the rocks in fresh water?
Yes, but when you soak a rock in fresh water, you don't just kill the bad stuff, you kill the good stuff too. I don't recommend soaking in fresh water unless there is no other option. Spot treating is the better route to go, otherwise you usually have to re-cure the rock.
mrdc
Active Member
Originally Posted by BTLDreef
http:///forum/post/3246274
Yes, but when you soak a rock in fresh water, you don't just kill the bad stuff, you kill the good stuff too. I don't recommend soaking in fresh water unless there is no other option. Spot treating is the better route to go, otherwise you usually have to re-cure the rock.
I suggested taking the rock out that looks like most of the stuff is on. I should have also stated that yes you will kill everything so you should try other options first. Thanks for clarifying.
http:///forum/post/3246274
Yes, but when you soak a rock in fresh water, you don't just kill the bad stuff, you kill the good stuff too. I don't recommend soaking in fresh water unless there is no other option. Spot treating is the better route to go, otherwise you usually have to re-cure the rock.
I suggested taking the rock out that looks like most of the stuff is on. I should have also stated that yes you will kill everything so you should try other options first. Thanks for clarifying.
handbanana
Member
I used Mrs wages pickling lime. disolved the Aptasia away. It came back tho.
btldreef
Moderator
Originally Posted by Handbanana
http:///forum/post/3255255
I used Mrs wages pickling lime. disolved the Aptasia away. It came back tho.
It probably was able to release spores before you killed it all, OR it had already released spores to reproduce before you ever got to it. Usually once you have aiptasia in your tank, it's always there at one point or another, you just have to keep it under control.
http:///forum/post/3255255
I used Mrs wages pickling lime. disolved the Aptasia away. It came back tho.
It probably was able to release spores before you killed it all, OR it had already released spores to reproduce before you ever got to it. Usually once you have aiptasia in your tank, it's always there at one point or another, you just have to keep it under control.
J
jstdv8
Guest
like my previous post said I've killed hundereds and I had a total of 2 come back and then none after they were gone. its been about 4 months now. If you follow the listed method the aip or majano doesnt actually melt away. If it did you left the solution on too long. just keep it on there long enough to weakne it and make it lose its grip on its hole in the rock and then suck it out. If it "melts away" there is likley some left behind that you didnt get out and thats whats coming back. These things are tough as nails and only need a small peice of themselves to form a new anemone when the conditions are right.
handbanana
Member
I applyed the paste, watched the aiptasia shrivel up and then began removing the paste from my tank. Its unsightly and I figured it should spend a little time in the tank as possible. I sucked out the aip, wich turned stringy and weird. but a small tenticle piece did retreat into the rock. plus when I was treating the aip it started reaching for the syringe and maybe smelled the lime and it retreated. maybe releasing spores in the process
