Quote from
Wet Web Media;
Eradication:
Physical Removal:
Good luck here, these tissue-grade animals have a few tricks up their... tentacles. Try to rip, cut, pinch or siphon them out? They’re attached, and able to quickly withdraw, often into a tiny cranny. You remove most of the polyp... and the bit left regenerates into another (or a few) anemone! Nonetheless, with large infestations, a first line of offense is to physically extract as much of them as possible... I’d either do this with a siphon or remove the rock they’re attached to for scrubbing under a sink of running freshwater... you’ll only help the Aiptasia to asexually reproduce in your system by breaking it up and spreading it around there.
My fave siphon attachment tool for sucking a high percentage of Glass Anemone tissues out is a piece of rigid tubing with a narrowed tip, attached to a larger diameter vacuum hose.
Predators:
Thankfully there is a whole spectrum of animals that eat Glass anemones to some extent (what do you expect with such a bountiful natural supply?). These can/should be considered on the basis of their utility per your application, specificity of diet (some are errant nibblers on other sedentary invertebrates), and likely survivability (whether they live in captivity or no).
Elegance et al. Corals:
In the "who’s a better stinger" contest, the Meat/Elegance Coral (Catalaphyllia jardinei) rank near the top, higher even, than the Glass Anemones. If you could keep these mostly reef-system incompatible Caryophyllids alive and were willing to risk moving them about to sting your Aiptasia (but not other animals), your pest control problems would be over. FWIW, Hydnophora corals are also better stingers than Aiptasia as well.
Nudibranchs,
Most popular is the little, almost invisible Berghia verrucicornis, are great obligate (this is all they eat) Aiptasia destroyers... do remember to "pass your specimen(s) on" a few weeks after your Glass Anemones are apparently gone. Otherwise the Berghia will perish from lack of food.
Hermit Crabs;
Perhaps the best (cheapest, most readily available, easiest to track and remove...) Aiptasia nemesis are a few Hermit Crabs. In particular the more common "Red Legged ("Hairy") Hermit Crab, Dardanus megistos is an almost-all-the-time reef-safe animal that also eats pest algae. One or two to a tank is all it takes.
Shrimp, especially the Peppermint Shrimp, Lysmata wurdemanni can be a great Aiptasia muncher. Be aware that there is some confusion in the trade re this species and other Lysmata that are no good as designated Aiptasia munchers.
Fishes:
Most celebrated is the Copperband Butterflyfish, Chelmon rostrata... now, if you can only find one in good shape to start with... and get it to not sample your living corals... A hardier choice in butterflies is the Raccoon, Chaetodon lunula... which generally will eat in captivity... but also is not above trying your corals, featherduster worms... If you use one of these fishes, you must keep your eyes on your other livestock. Other chaetodonts that have been cited as effective Aiptasia eaters include the Long-nosed Butterflyfishes (genus Forcipiger), Klein’s (Chaetodon kleinii), the Threadfin (C. auriga) and Tear Drop (C. unimaculata). Once again, be careful here... not all specimens will eat Aiptasia, and definitely not all will JUST eat Aiptasia.
Puffers of various sorts have made the Aiptasia hit lists of other authors. The Guinea Fowl (Arothron meleagris) gets HUGE, but I bet it would eat Aiptasia, along with everything else in your system. The Tobies, or Sharp-Nosed puffers, sub-family Canthigastrinae might be better, but they do would go roving for other food.
Some of the larger marine Angelfishes will eat Aiptasia for sure. The Queen (Holacanthus ciliaris) and some of the Dwarfs of the genus Centropyge have been cited.
In Europe, many aquarists utilize Scats (family Scatophagidae) to eat Aiptasia (and algae). These fishes are mostly sold as brackish aquarium animals in the west, and must be slowly (over a period of weeks) acclimated (back) to full saltwater concentration.
