My first live rock growth - what is it?

[scotty37]

After about 3 months of tank establishment, I have 3 things growing off my top piece of live rock. All 3 are the same. They are a sort of transparent light brown. The base looks like the base of a mushroom with the top cut off and thin tentacles coming off the round top. I will try to get a picture but I dont have a real good camera for such things. If anyone could tell me where to look to compare what these growths could be I would greatly appreciate.

 

[threed240]

Look up Aiptasia. Make sure it is not Aiptasia. This stuff multiplies faster than rabbits! When I bought some LR and saw it on there I thought it was cool, and that I would take care of it if it became a problem. Within a couple of weeks I had seen no signs of spreading, then the next morning there were about 5 that I could see!

 

[scotty37]

I believe you are right! I searched pictures online. It doesnt look like the Hawaiian type but it does look like the other type shown, only much smaller. Right now the 3 of them are maybe a quarter inch in height. I have a fish only tank. What will this stuff do to the tank? Also, if it needs to be removed, is there a better way than lemon juice injections? They are still pretty small to actually get a needle into.

 

[goldfinger]

If you even think you have 1 aiptasi get it out right now.
Joes Juice will work if you dont wait to long and they multiply and get into/onto everything.
I have a 120g tank that started a aiptasi invasion, and thats what it was, a full blown tank invasion. they came with the last piece of rock I could not live without.
I used Joes Juice and thought I had them beat. little did I know they were in the overflows and all of the sump/refugium compartments.
I did get rid of them. 1. drained the tank and sump. 2. took out all of the live rock and sand. 3. left the tank dry for over a year. 4. left the live (now dead) live rock out in the summer heat and winter snow for over a year.
AND GUESS WHAT? when I set the tank back up I filled it with FRESH water to test the plumbing (leak law. what can leak will) and tank for leaks.
On the back glass of the tank there were about 4 or 5 what appeared to be dead, dried out aiptasi. The FRESH water inflated them and they looked like they were alive.
got out the bleach bottle and gave the tank a good dose of bleach. sounds crazy, and I probably am crazy. but I killed everything in and on that tank.
I flushed the tank over and over and over for months to get all of the bleach out.
the tank has been set up again for over 4 months and no sign of any aiptasia.
Once you have a clean tank with no aiptasia quaranteen for at least 3 months,everything you buy. all coral and rocks and fish and watch them for aiptasia.

 

[scotty37]

Holy hell that is horrible! I have been reading alot of posts where people prefer them for some reason. This is the first I have heard of them.

 

[goldfinger]

some people may like the aiptasia. to each his own.
in my tank there were thousands of them and they were in and on anything.
you cant kill them. dont try scrapeing them off the glass. for each cut/broken piece you make you make more aiptasia.
every day i used joes juice on the ones i could see. 1 week in the hospital and 2 weeks recovering and when i looked in the tank it was way to late to do anything except drain the tank, kill the fish and coral.
i suggest you take the piece of rock with the aiptasia out of the tank asap and use it for garden decoration.
good luck!

 

[mark_d]

isnt there anything that eats em? I got a single aipstasia on one of my rocks... i heard boiling hot water does the trick... just squirt some on it, and its dead (if theres like 1 or 2)...
actually, might as well do that now...

 

[goldfinger]

I have read that pepermint shrimp will eat aipstia. also one of the butterfly fish the copperbanded butterfly fish is supposed to eat aipstia. the copperbannded is a difficult fish to keep and may eat some corals.
there may be other critters that eat aipstia. try starting another thread with that question.
good luck.

 

[scotty37]

I am actually going to buy some peppermint shrimp tomorrow, but for some reason, my emerald crab has been eating them up.