is it aiptasia?

Z

zandriab

Guest
yesterday I received a free frag from my SWF order and got a zoo of some sort (I haven't had a chance to see the color as it hasn't opened yet)
I noticed some TINY hitchhikers that I am worried are aiptasia. There are about 4-5 of them and they are the size of the many tiny feather dusters in my tank. They do not look like feathers because there are not enough arms and they are definitely striped. The arms do not look as fat as the aiptasia pictures I have seen, but they are so small I thought it could be easy to miss.
If they are, how do I get rid of them and how much time do I have to do it before I risk infecting my tank. I'm not all that excited about spending more money as I just placed a big fish order and the coral was just a free bonus, not anything I was really aiming for. I do not have a quarantine tank up, can I float a container in the tank to keep it from spreading until it is taken care of?


 
small triggers

small triggers

Active Member
Id pull out the rock set it in a 5g bucket of water from the tank,, and zap em with some joes
wait about 15 mins. and all better
 
sbaumann14

sbaumann14

Member
the only trouble with that idea, is that there might be some leftover spores on the rock that you wont get... they get into you DT and it's over. I would just chuck the rock (hey, it was free and unexpected anyway and you dont even know if you'll like it) and keep your tank clean and clear
 
premilove

premilove

Active Member
aiptasia x dissolves in your reef with out any harms! plus it feels really good to kill some aiptasia.
 
reefboy1994

reefboy1994

Member
if you dont have any of the medicines sfor it get a turkey baster and squirt them with some boiling water. thats what i have done on a frag before and i never saw the little suckers again
 
Z

zandriab

Guest
Thanks for the help. I was considering throwing the rock away, but I loved the boiling water idea. I figured there is no risk and I used an eyedropper to give me accuracy as they were really close to the coral. They of course retracted right away, but I did it numerous times to each one and basically any part of the rock that didn't have zoos or the one lonely mushroom. A few worms came running out so I know it was doing something! I am going to wait now and see if any of them reappear. thanks reefboy1994!
 
Z

zandriab

Guest
I thought I would post an update and thank you for your replies. The boiling water worked great. I did the three I had seen and tried to get any other area of the rock that did not have corals on it. It killed them right away, but I wanted to wait before declaring it a victory. The next day I found one more bigger one that had popped out and boiled some more water and I have been clean ever since. I lost a few polyps of the buttons that had been right next to them from the water, but nothing serious, after all it was a frag from the start!
 
kjord97

kjord97

Member
In the future, after many years of trying different products and ways to kill aiptasia, the best method by far is
Injecting the aiptasia with distilled white vinegar. No ill effects on tank and the aiptasia melts immediately.
 
reefboy1994

reefboy1994

Member
yourwelcome
im glad it worked out good, i like the boiling water because it doesnt require me to have any chemicals on hand, i dont like chemicals in my tank, its free, and it has worked on every pest ive had!
 
marka1620

marka1620

Member
Glad the boiling water worked for you. I had a massive AP breakout a few months back. Tried the chemicals (Joe's Juice). But, my tank is 31" deep and it was impossible to target them accurately. Boiling was out of the question (to many rocks to boil).
Took a chance and bought 2 peppermint shrimp. Best 20 bucks I've ever spent. With in a month, nothing was left.
 
murray bmf

murray bmf

Member
Originally Posted by Marka1620
http:///forum/post/3039470
Glad the boiling water worked for you. I had a massive AP breakout a few months back. Tried the chemicals (Joe's Juice). But, my tank is 31" deep and it was impossible to target them accurately. Boiling was out of the question (to many rocks to boil).
Took a chance and bought 2 peppermint shrimp. Best 20 bucks I've ever spent. With in a month, nothing was left.

That's exactly what I was going to say, get a couple of peppermint shrimp. That's what I did and have never had a problem since. PLus there're pretty cool shrimp
 
murray bmf

murray bmf

Member
Originally Posted by KJohansen
http:///forum/post/3042121
I tried peppermint shrimp, they all disappeared in a couple days.
Brine Shrimp, Mysis shrimp, pepermint shrimp....shrimp is really the chicken of the sea. I was just saying what worked for me.
 
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