Do Peppermint shrimp really work?

[g-dude]

HI ive got an Aiptasia problem and i was wondering if peppermint shrimp really do eat them. ive controlled the aiptasia for as long as i could and they keep comming back. I know,i know people have told me to use joes juice, liquid calcium and boiling hot water. im at the point where i dont want to bother anymore. Any ideas please. thanks

 

[misty7850]

I have 2 peppermint shrimp and they haven't eaten any of mine. I only have a couple of aiptasia at this point, but in the past when they were getting out of control.. I did use the lemon juice, injected right into the aiptasia's mouth with a syringe and it did get rid of them.. Unless these two start spreading, I'm just gonna leave em be.. LOL

 

[kjord97]

When my FOWLR became infested with the little annoying Aiptasia I bought 3 peppermints and a copperbanded butterfly. Worked great,

about 1 week later and not a single one, and i do mean it when i said i had an infestation. All you could see where the aiptasia's. My copperbanded later died about month later, after i found out they have a huge need for lots of food and i beleieve he starved.

The shrimp are still around and i have had a few aiptasia's come back, but where quickly eating by my shrimp. Keep 2 or 3 peppermints in the tank and you will be fine. They will go away. I know how much of a pain it is to inject them, they shrink up so fast. I used boiling water personally to get rid of the huge ones. Also having the peppermints in tank, they will mate and provide fresh food for the other tank mates. GoodLuck

 

[duke13]

Peppermints are usually a hit or miss. I'd say it's like a 30% chance that they will eat aiptasia. Even when they do, they won't touch the bigger Aiptasia.
I was lucky, I bought 3 Peppermints online and they just so happen to be the most ruthless Aiptasia and bristle worm killers ever.

 

[chipmaker]

As long as other foods which the shrimp will eat is introduced into the tank, then it would be an iffy chance. If the tank was not supplemented with additional food, then the shrimp would be forced to chow down on the aipstasia. When I had a few aipstasia pop up here and there I quit feeding any food to the tank for 3 or 4 days and the aipstasia dissapeared........

 

[g-dude]

Well im already starving them so that they wont have a choice but to eat the aiptasia. i bought 3. i placed 1 in my 55 gal and the other 2 i put in a lil 10 gal along with the LR im having the aiptasia porblem. now im just wondering how long before the aiptasia disapears?

 

[laddy]

I have not found pep shrimp to be effective at all.

 

[bang guy]

Only the Lysmata wurdemanni species of Peppermint Shrimp are known to eat Aiptasia. The different species can be very difficult to distinguish when they are stressed (like during shipping or at the LFS). I have had 100% success with the Peppermints sold on this site eating Aiptasia once they mature. Most of the ones I have received from here have been juveniles but mature rapidly when target fed.

 

[harndog]

I bought 10 from this site for my 75 and two days after putting them in my aptasia was gone. Them dudes cleaned up

 

[ryansholl]

Mine just sorta ate the ends of tentacles, until I hit them with a little calcium solution, then they went nuts. I think they had this aptasia, which was at least twice as big as the peppermints, finished in about an hour (3 peppermints).
Oh, and yes the peppermints were bought from this site.

 

[traib]

Mine do a great job. Cleaned up two tanks in about a week. A must have in my opinion.

 

[oceanists]

I had a aiptasia problem , i put ONE Peppermint shrimp in , it was gone over night ...... i was looking at my rock through a magnifying glass and i saw alittle aiptasia in a small hole couldnt really see it with out the magnifying glass ........ it was gone in a hour