MAJOR aptasia issue

[drex]

hey all, im not new to the hobby but i have never come across anyhting like this. i am selling my 90 soon here and getting my neighbors drilled 210. he has ALOT of nice things coming along with this tank " aqua medic skimmer, calcium reactor, 75 gal sump, metal halide/vho lights etc." anyways, his live rock however is not so great. he had his tank crash six months ago and now has just been letting his tank run with nothing in it but a single cardinal and anemone. there has to be atleast 500 aptasia growing in there at a very low minimum. it is all COVERED. is their a way i can rid of all of this without boiling/killing all the rock? or would it just be worth doing something of that sort and letting it come back from dead rock. any suggestions?!

 

[spanko]

Copperband Butterfly Fish and a few Lysmata wurdemanni peppermint shrimp. The copperband will probably be hard to feed after the Aiptasia are gone though. Let's hear from others.

 

[drex]

i had a little aptasia issue in my 90 and i added a sixline wrasse and 1 peppermint shrimp and it was gone over night. however, he has shrimp in there" i think he bought like fire shrimp and what not" i would hope he has some peppermint. but this is BADDDDD..i have never seen anything like it. the tank is literally COVERED. i have kept a copperband for over a year, then i sold it and the lady killed it in 2 days..

was hoping there is a way to rid of it other then that..thanks though!

 

[mr_x]

you could kill them off gradually by injecting them individually with kalk paste. just do about 10 or 15 every few days so the kalk doesn't effect the parameters much. you'll eventually get them all and keep the rock live.

 

[drex]

alright i will see what i can do..i have to take the tank down and move it so all of the rock is going to be out of the tank at the time i was hoping there was something i could do..i may just kill it all and bond them all together and start from scratch..less of a headache in the long run i think.

 

[aquatica-tech]

Dont Foxface eat aptaisia ?

 

[drex]

more so hair algae i believe.

 

[gman20001969]

I had 12 to 15 of em when I first got my tank. The guy I bought them from said it was some kind of weed and would just pluck them off with his fingers. Never seen weeds move when you touch em...

I inject em with vinegar, but I only see about 2 per every 30 days.

 

[tj51]

I bought a very small copper banded butterfly for that very reason and heard that he would be tough to feed after ridding the tank, but it has been a month and he is doing well. He seems to like the butterfly and angel frozen formula, but does go after brine now. Actually he is cool in my tank as he is very peaceful and not skiddish.....just seems to enjoy swimming around. When I've had to put my hand in the tank, I might be within a inch or so and he just sits there.

 

[dischirm]

I personally wouldnt take the risk.
I had a seahorse tank with aptasia outbreak that I got from an order of Macroalgae and fought it and fought it and fought it and it was no fun.
I would remove the rock and the sand and thoroughly wash the glass so none of those little buggers had a chance to live!! (I HATE THEM!!)
But that is just my opinion and it is biased!
Good luck

 

[drex]

yeah well its no guarentee that a copperband will touch them. some love to eat them, some dont touch em at all. i will kick it around..thanks guys.

 

[nina&noah]

Originally Posted by drex
http:///forum/post/2548026
yeah well its no guarentee that a copperband will touch them. some love to eat them, some dont touch em at all. i will kick it around..thanks guys.
This is true. My copperband wouldn't touch it. He wanted fresh clams.