Newbie Aiptasia advise

[dondemi]

New to salt water & tank just started cycle.(Red Sea Max 250) 65 gal. w/approx. 75lbs. of live rock. I noticed an aiptasia in a hole about 4" deep, LFS told me to squirt lemon juice on him (also a tiny one out in the open). It killed both of them but now I've noticed 5 others varying in sizes throughout the tank.
How quickly do they spread?
Should I try to get rid of the rest of the aiptasia or wait till my cycle is over & add a few PS?
Continue with lemon juice or use Aiptasia X or Joe's Juice.
Also have what looks like white threads (like a spider web) throughout the tank on the rocks.
Thanks for any help you can give.

 

[snowrider84]

get rid of the aiptasia now. I like joes juice myself, it has done a good job for me in the past.

 

[ahren]

joes juice worked great for me too but new ones kept coming up all the time i got 3 ps & havent seen any since

 

[anthropo]

my suggestion is to buy peppermint shrimps..just a couple and let them take care of the problem...trust me they do the job and a cool addition to the tank.

 

[natclanwy]

Joe's juice is just kalkwasser paste (Lime Water) and you can make your own from items at your local grocery store. All you need is some Mrs. Wages Pickling lime that is found in the canning section and some saltwater from your tank. Do a search for aiptasia or kalkwasser and you should find the recipie and application instructions I have posted it several times.

 

[scuba-raru]

I agree, its a two pronged approach, get some Peppermint shrimp (not camel backs) for long term maintenance. They'll eat the small polyps before they get too big and can get into nooks in the rock, plus they are really cool and can get them to hand feed. Also target treat w Joes juice or similar product. Get rid of them now and don't expect them to go down w/o a fight they can last FOREVER. If you have the patience get a needle and fill it w lemon juice and inject it directly into the body, they shrivel and die...very satisfying

good luck!

 

[natclanwy]

Originally Posted by scuba-Raru
http:///forum/post/2998096
I agree, its a two pronged approach, get some Peppermint shrimp (not camel backs) for long term maintenance. They'll eat the small polyps before they get too big and can get into nooks in the rock, plus they are really cool and can get them to hand feed. Also target treat w Joes juice or similar product. Get rid of them now and don't expect them to go down w/o a fight they can last FOREVER. If you have the patience get a needle and fill it w lemon juice and inject it directly into the body, they shrivel and die...very satisfying

good luck!
Injecting lemon juice directly into the body does kill aiptasia but it stresses the aiptasia causing it to spawn and can make infestations worse and I don't recommend the practice.

 

[socal57che]

Originally Posted by dondemi
http:///forum/post/2997884
Also have what looks like white threads (like a spider web) throughout the tank on the rocks.
Thanks for any help you can give.
Probably vermetid snails.
Google... "A spineless column Snails That Worm Their Way Into Tanks"
...then view image #5 in the article and compare these to your "spiderwebs" to confirm.

 

[dschwartz]

I used peppermint shrimp and the cleared all the aiptasia within 48 hours. After the first night and the largest had been eaten, there were white stringy 'remnants' of aiptasia near where it had been attached - so I think these white spider web things you are seeing are just left-overs from the dying aiptasia, at least they were in my case.
David.

 

[dondemi]

Thanks all, I will be trying the Joe's Juice tonight & will add a few PS when cycle is done

 

[bs21]

shrimp during cycle = dead shrimp and still have aiptasia. Go with the joes juice helps to turn waterflow off to for a bit. white things could also be spaghetti worms which are good. however if its vermatid snails they have a hard tube they come out of search for both here in archives to see which one it is. If vermatid I vote crush with pliers! or you could just fill the tube with super glue or aquarium putty......

 

[fishkid13]

Aiptasia is a pest and can really do damage to not just tanks with corals but also fish onlys. They spread really fast and can sting fish when they go to sleep on the rock work somewhere. Peppermint shrimp are suppose to be really good at controling this pest. But with a tank still cycling I would go with lemone jucie. I have done this and it works really well. Just get a needle and suck up the juice. stab the aiptasia and then release some of the jucie. The jucie should get stuck in the aiptasia for a little bit and just keep repeating it untill they die off. Don't do to much at one time or it will do more damage then help.
400th post!

 

[number1gsxxr]

I've have good results by using kalkwasser paste. I mix it up so it is nice and thick and then I smear it on the anemone. This way it can't send off offspring.

 

[johnvic]

I had one 10 days ago on my new tank. I used Aiptasia-x and got him. I have not seen anymore since. I never removed it but let it just fall. I do a visual inspection of the rocks daily and have not seen any more of them.

 

[adurost]

Just picked up 35lbs LR to start my used but new-to-me 90 gal tank. I noticed that there are several small Aiptasia hitchhikers... How exactly do you kill Aiptasia? Do you take the LR out of the tank to smear a kalkwasser paste on it, inject it with Joe's Juice(?) in the tank, etc?? I'd like to take care of these pesky hitch-hikers BEFORE they become a major nuisance.