The Secret To Making Peppermint Shrimp Eat Your Aptasia...

[clown boy]

Disclaimer: I think that I have discovered it... but maybe I have not... and maybe it's nothing new.
My tank WAS full of aiptasia, so I bought a few peppermints.
HOLD ON! That's not the secret, just read on...

After I put them in, I was told by... wow, I'm not sure who... but anyways, I was told to try to cut one of the pests with a knife, and then take the piece and put it in the place where the peppermints hang out (a rock or hole, etc.).
That supposedly makes the shrimp smell it and get exited about it, resulting in a clean-up.
I did this, and forgot about it for a while in the business of life... (you know how it is....

)
A while later, I was admiring my tank when I noticed that the Aiptasia was GONE. Not a single trace of it remained, and I have not seen the likes of it ever since.
Again, not sure if that is what did it...

Clown Boy (who really is a man)

 

[bronco300]

sweet, got any before and after pics?

 

[clown boy]

Well... not really... but I can say that rocks that were covered with them are now bare, and are being grown into by corals. : )

 

[dueces]

interesting since I put a PS in last week and it has not ate my Aiptisia yet. I will try and cut up a piece of it and feed it to them. I have no problem doing that. I hate those things

 

[babyb]

be carful with the corals, sometimes they eat corals when there are no aptasia

 

[good alex]

I heard that P. shrimp do better in groups.

 

[clown boy]

Originally Posted by Good Alex
I heard that P. shrimp do better in groups.
Yes, I have around 3.

 

[marka1620]

I only have one pepermint shrimp....gonna get him a friend or two soon. But, when I placed some LR that had the pests. He went right to town on them. Suckers didnt last a day. Also had some bubble algea and my emeralds took care of them. I have been lucky so far!

 

[clown boy]

bump

 

[ford81502]

i bought one pepp has about 15 apista... didnt feed the shrimp for about three days and all of them were gone...it loved them

 

[al mc]

Anyone tried Berghia nudibranchs on them? I have heard they do well with Aptasia...Did not want to steal this thread...Just curious since we are on the subject.

 

[sudc]

Ford is on the money. If you want the peps to eat the aiptasia, you have to take away their other food sources. If they aren't hungry, they wont eat it. Starve them for a few days and they will go to town.
Also, its usually best to get a few. Some just dont seem to wanna eat it no matter what. If you get 3-5 and dont feed, i'll guarantee that they eat it.
p.s- alot of people dont actually have peps either. A ton of lfs sell camelbacks as peppermints and they will not eat aiptasia

 

[viper_930]

Originally Posted by Al Mc
Anyone tried Berghia nudibranchs on them? I have heard they do well with Aptasia...Did not want to steal this thread...Just curious since we are on the subject.
Berghia verrucicornis will definitely eat the aiptasia, as it's the only food source and nothing else. The problem is once your tank is free of the aiptasia the nudis will starve.

 

[deltablack22]

The real question here is - How long were these shrimp in your tank before you tried this? If you just bought them and fed them aptasia within a few days I would just attribute it to "Some pep. shrimp eat aptasia"...
If they didnt touch the stuff for a month, you feed it to em, and then it disappears, well thats another story...
Do tell...

 

[bellaroxio]

I purchased (2) urchins Thursday. As of this morning, my aptasia is gone. Saw urchins on the corals that had aptasia.
Do I need to wake up

?

 

[clown boy]

Originally Posted by DeltaBlack22
The real question here is - How long were these shrimp in your tank before you tried this?
Hmmm... around a month.

 

[deltablack22]

Originally Posted by Clown Boy
Hmmm... around a month.
Now were talkin... There could be some truth to this after all.

 

[grabbitt]

Gotta love the peppermint shrimp!
I had some aptasia in my tank, so I bought a couple pepp's.
The aptasia was gone within two days

 

[earlybird]

Originally Posted by FORD81502
i bought one pepp has about 15 apista... didnt feed the shrimp for about three days and all of them were gone...it loved them
Same here. I bought one for a 29g and did not feed forcing him to come out and look for food.

 

[mombostic]

How can you not feed them when you are feeding the fish? Mine come right out and grab the stuff that's going in for my fish. Little piggies, they are.