timsedwards
Active Member
Hi Friends,Over the past few days I have been thinking of writing this article for SWF.com. I am now winning in my battle and there are always posts about these little chums of ours. So I thought I would share my experiences and invite others to comment.
Aiptasia is a word you will often find in this forum. It is a nightmare for some people and for others they might not even experience it! Either way it is a key issue in marine fishkeeping and something that will invigour many a discusssion!
Firstly (here comes the science) they are from the aiptasia pallida family. They can be called Aiptasia/apstasia/aipstasia but the correct term is Aiptasia. They are essentially very similar to an anenome and share many characteristics, except one - aiptasia is easy to keep and difficult to get rid of!
What do they look like?
Well essentially they are brown in colour (from zooxanthellae) sometimes appear white. They have very long tenticles and are normally between 1/8" to 4" tall. It would be very easy to mistake them for a positive hitchhiker on live rock (as i did).
Are they bad?
Mainly, yes. They are bad for reefs because they have the ability to sting corals. These stinging cells, called cnidocyte, each contains a stinging mechanism, cnidae or nematocyst. The toxin will disturb the corals, they will look stressed and normally end up dying. They (unfortunately) reproduce very quickly, and I think of them as an equivalent to a weed in the garden. If you just pull the leaves off a weed, it will still grow. A severed piece and start a whole new anenome.Therefore the annihilation of the aiptasia in the aquarium should be dealt with also. I will address this later.
How do they get into the tank?
Mainly on Live Rock (LR) as hitchikers. They can come on very small and you might not see them until there are millions.
How can you get rid of them?
I have tried nearly every method so I can pretty much vouch for the ones that at worth it.
Kalkwasser/Pickling Lime
This the most successful method. By mixing up a 70/30 concentration of saltwater and kalkwasser powder, and then squirting it (using a turkey baster, syringe) into the mouth of the aiptasia, you will chemically burn it (lovely) and it will not be able to reproduce. However, every method of removing what is left should be made.Other possibilites are hydrochloric acid and liquid calcium. I have never used Hydrochloric acid, and liquid calcium did not work for me. Make sure you test for Ca and Alk afterwards so not to cause any spike in the levels, perhaps spread the annihilation over a few days rather than nuking the tank at once.
Peppermint Shrimp (Rhynchocinetidae sp)
They are natural predators of the aiptasia and will love nothing more than to chomp on one. However, they are not so efficient when it comes to bigger ones, and dont expect eating aiptasia to be top of the list of priorities when it first enters your tank. Give it a few weeks and it should settle in and start chomping. I have found this very successful, especially with smaller ones.
Butterfly Fish (Chelmon rostratus)
This fish is known to eat aiptasia but I would not recommend getting one especially to eat it. If you have one because you like it then a good bonus is that it will eat apstasia. The best one is the copper-banded butterfly, although please note there are some people who will say they will pick at feather dusters.
Red Legged Hermit Crab (Dardanus megistos)
There are some reports of these friendly guys eating on our anenome friends. Particularly the red legged version. I personally have no experience of this, but several people have said it is very good, they are cheap and do a great job cleaning anyway.
Aiptasias are indeed interesting and stick around when you dont want them. Unfortunately, they can become real trouble in a reef set-up... and if kept (beats me why but no doubt there are some people) are best kept to a species tank.
But if you want my opinion, they’re unattractive, deleterious to your desired livestock, and hard to stop once they start multiplying... Don’t wait once you see Aiptasia in your system. Enlist the help of our fishy friends and/or take up arms (with a pointed tip siphon...) to siphon the bulk of them out. At the worst, consider nuking ‘em with concentrated kalkwasser to rid your system of these stealthy nuisances.
Tim Edwards. All coments welcome.
Written for SaltwaterFish.com, May 2003.
Aiptasia is a word you will often find in this forum. It is a nightmare for some people and for others they might not even experience it! Either way it is a key issue in marine fishkeeping and something that will invigour many a discusssion!
Firstly (here comes the science) they are from the aiptasia pallida family. They can be called Aiptasia/apstasia/aipstasia but the correct term is Aiptasia. They are essentially very similar to an anenome and share many characteristics, except one - aiptasia is easy to keep and difficult to get rid of!
What do they look like?
Well essentially they are brown in colour (from zooxanthellae) sometimes appear white. They have very long tenticles and are normally between 1/8" to 4" tall. It would be very easy to mistake them for a positive hitchhiker on live rock (as i did).
Are they bad?
Mainly, yes. They are bad for reefs because they have the ability to sting corals. These stinging cells, called cnidocyte, each contains a stinging mechanism, cnidae or nematocyst. The toxin will disturb the corals, they will look stressed and normally end up dying. They (unfortunately) reproduce very quickly, and I think of them as an equivalent to a weed in the garden. If you just pull the leaves off a weed, it will still grow. A severed piece and start a whole new anenome.Therefore the annihilation of the aiptasia in the aquarium should be dealt with also. I will address this later.
How do they get into the tank?
Mainly on Live Rock (LR) as hitchikers. They can come on very small and you might not see them until there are millions.
How can you get rid of them?
I have tried nearly every method so I can pretty much vouch for the ones that at worth it.
Kalkwasser/Pickling Lime
This the most successful method. By mixing up a 70/30 concentration of saltwater and kalkwasser powder, and then squirting it (using a turkey baster, syringe) into the mouth of the aiptasia, you will chemically burn it (lovely) and it will not be able to reproduce. However, every method of removing what is left should be made.Other possibilites are hydrochloric acid and liquid calcium. I have never used Hydrochloric acid, and liquid calcium did not work for me. Make sure you test for Ca and Alk afterwards so not to cause any spike in the levels, perhaps spread the annihilation over a few days rather than nuking the tank at once.
Peppermint Shrimp (Rhynchocinetidae sp)
They are natural predators of the aiptasia and will love nothing more than to chomp on one. However, they are not so efficient when it comes to bigger ones, and dont expect eating aiptasia to be top of the list of priorities when it first enters your tank. Give it a few weeks and it should settle in and start chomping. I have found this very successful, especially with smaller ones.
Butterfly Fish (Chelmon rostratus)
This fish is known to eat aiptasia but I would not recommend getting one especially to eat it. If you have one because you like it then a good bonus is that it will eat apstasia. The best one is the copper-banded butterfly, although please note there are some people who will say they will pick at feather dusters.
Red Legged Hermit Crab (Dardanus megistos)
There are some reports of these friendly guys eating on our anenome friends. Particularly the red legged version. I personally have no experience of this, but several people have said it is very good, they are cheap and do a great job cleaning anyway.
Aiptasias are indeed interesting and stick around when you dont want them. Unfortunately, they can become real trouble in a reef set-up... and if kept (beats me why but no doubt there are some people) are best kept to a species tank.
But if you want my opinion, they’re unattractive, deleterious to your desired livestock, and hard to stop once they start multiplying... Don’t wait once you see Aiptasia in your system. Enlist the help of our fishy friends and/or take up arms (with a pointed tip siphon...) to siphon the bulk of them out. At the worst, consider nuking ‘em with concentrated kalkwasser to rid your system of these stealthy nuisances.
Tim Edwards. All coments welcome.
Written for SaltwaterFish.com, May 2003.
