Help with aptasia.

[new2salt3]

We have a 120g reef tank. Several tangs, lawnblower blenny, few damsels, royal grama, coral beauty. Nothing crazy. Tons of live rock. Our two biggest problems are nitrates over the top! I mean over the top. We have done several 50% water changes and It wont move down at all. Used several different test kits and several different LFS's too. We have used the little purigan bag down in the sump 2 times with no help.
Next, we are being overtaken by aiptasia anemone! Maybe 20 right now. We were told that the Copperband Butterfly would graze on these guys and over time take care of all of them. It's been 3 weeks now and not 1 is gone. What gives? This fish wont eat flakes, pellets, garlic supplements, nothing but pick the rocks. I am surprised he is alive.
Any thoughts ???
John & Sheri

 

[geoj]

Increase the size of your bio-filter or reduce the amount of waste you are putting in... Sounds simple

Test your top-off water for nitrates...
Sounds like Berghia Nudibranch may help you but it will cost you.
If you don't want to spend a lot just get some Joe's Juce and wack them!!

 

[mrdc]

Yeah you need to figure out why your trates are staying up. Is this a FOWLR tank? How much are you feeding? Test your top-off water like GEO said. Berghias do work well but can be pricey and once they finish eating the aiptasia they will die from starvation. Joe's juice is also good stuff but it sounds like you may have to get aggressive with the aip so watch your other water parameters. Though that might matter much if you have a FOWLR tank.

 

[sqwat]

get berghia nudabranch they are the only true way to rid you of aptasia they will spread and be on everything polyps polyp stems all the delacates stinging and stinging the more you touch them the more they spread if you crush just one in youre tank you just added 50 more.you can buy adult berghia for 9 dollars a peice from reeftown.com they are the cheapest and the only place you can get them the next day and they are 1/2 inches pluss.i got 5 adults for a 16 gallon nano and added them by placing the container they came in near a crack in my rocks and letting them come out by themselves.do not scrape them out of shipping container let them go by themselves you damage and kill them by scrapping.they disappeared for a week then i looked in the crack and saw eggs spirals all over.then in another 2 weeks they hatched and ate over 120 aptasia and all the eggs and what ever was hidden.then i got a rock with a glass anenome from a freind put it in the berghia shipping container filled it with water and pocked a couple of small holes in the lid and placed it near the crack i let them go by then i remove it at night and catch a couple berghia every night and give them away .the biggest is 3/4 inch and even if they die you will never no it.but these little guys will do the trick never use chemicals they dont work on them all if you miss one you will have more soon.shrimp eat even good coral and you cant remove them easly and coperbands can reach in the cracks and crevices to get the eggs.trust me get these .dont expect fast work but once the nudis take hold in youre tank they glass anenomes go

 

[sqwat]

getting youre nitrates under control is a must but the aptasia are not going anywere.and joes juice only gets rid of the ones you see and peprmint shrimp eat everything and you have to tear youre tank apart to get them out the banded will eat some not all berghia are youre answer to full riddence if aptasia.refftown.com sells adult berghia ready to lay eggs for 9 dollars each and they ship the next day you dont have to wait the 2 weeks for them to grow to shipping size after you order them.i have a 16 gallon nano that was filled with aptasia over a hundred and all my water reading were correct i had crushed 2 of the little guys and this spread them like wild fire.i ordered 5 berghia and added them to a crack in my rocks by placing the plastic shipping container in the tank and letting them crawl out on there own this is the best way you injure them tring to get them out with a pippet.i didnt see the berghia wich were 1/2 inch when i got them for over a week then i looked into the crack and saw dosens of egg spirals.then nothing again for another week just no new aptasia growth.then a went i on vacation for a week and saw a adult out eating a aptasia wich i thought was a good sighn.then a week later when i got home there was only about 20 aptasia left i was so happy then none the next day.now i had to worry about getting them out i could see about ten in the crack.so i asked a freind who was also having a aptasia problem to give me a small peice of rock from his tank with a aptasia on it .i put the rock in the shipping container filled it with tank water and pocked some holes in the top and sunk it by the crack at night and coaght 11 berghia and passed them to my freind who is using them now .i saw 2 left in my tank wich i am leaving cause they are still loomking healthy and if they die they dont ruin the water they are so small.so call rick or go to reeftown.com if you want to finally rid youreself of glass anenome's i was close to shutting down this tank till i got them.gl

 

[florida joe]

what are you nitrate readings