what are these?

skienlzer

Member
I have upgraded my tank from a 46 g to a 90 g about 3 months ago, and have bought alot more live rock for the new one, nothing has started to grow on the rock we've had for awhile(3 months), but we bought some yesterday and found all of these on it.. any ideas to what it is, and is it good, bad? What do they eat? We put in idione and mineral supplements in the water, have good filters, skimmmer, and lights...how long does live rock usually take to grow anything...

 

jimmy 4

Member
its a aiptasia, I think thats the name. Get rid of it, peppermint shrimp are known for eating them, but you can kill them with a syringe. Just inject them with any tank additive like calcium. Or just crush them to death. Get rid of them as fast as you can, they can completely take over your tank. Ive seen them eating fish at some local fish stores. Bottom line they are bad news.
 

socal57che

Active Member
Originally Posted by Jimmy 4
Or just crush them to death.
Bad idea, IMO.
Aip reproduces by every means known to man. Crushing them will create a colony so invincible even Superman would pee his pants. :scared:
I concur...Aiptasia/Glass Anemonies.
Inject a drop of lemon juice near the base with a hypodermic needle. Use only one drop. If they return repeat process with 2 drops. Monitor PH while treating.
ps your rock shows coraline growth. It is alive. Live means it has bacteria present that helps break down the detrimental compounds in your water column. If it already has coraline it has bacteria and other organisms as well. Watch it at night with a LED flashlight (with red lens if available) and see what comes crawling out of the crevaces.
 

jawfish101

Member
Originally Posted by socal57che
Bad idea, IMO.
Aip reproduces by every means known to man. Crushing them will create a colony so invincible even Superman would pee his pants. :scared:
I concur...Aiptasia/Glass Anemonies.
Inject a drop of lemon juice near the base with a hypodermic needle. Use only one drop. If they return repeat process with 2 drops. Monitor PH while treating.
ps your rock shows coraline growth. It is alive. Live means it has bacteria present that helps break down the detrimental compounds in your water column. If it already has coraline it has bacteria and other organisms as well. Watch it at night with a LED flashlight (with red lens if available) and see what comes crawling out of the crevaces.

May I ask what this does? My tank has been dubbed Aiptasia Mountain, and we have tried everymeans possible to kill them (i.e. Joes Juice, boiling water, CBB, Peppermint Shrimp, Berghia Nudis, etc..), but they refuse to go away.
Is it just the acidity that kills them, or something else?
Thanks
 

socal57che

Active Member
I just assumed it was the citric acid. Never gave it much thought. It kills 'em, so I keep using it. Never had PH probs, but I don't use much in a single battle. My 100 gal has quite a lot and I inject 2 or 3 at a time with a follow up in a couple days if they don't die the first time. I do this every few months. I kept one for a year. I fed it regularly and it grew to nearly 6" tall with a 5"-6" tenticle span. It reproduced and overwhelmed the tank in just a few weeks. Now I keep them in check.
 

jimmy 4

Member
Ive heard you can inject them with calcium additive like the kent calcium stuff. I think that it would be safer than adding an acid to a basic system. Although i have never dealt with galss anemones before. So im not positive that it works, but it whouldn't cause any major problems to try it. Let me know if you do and if it works please.
 

socal57che

Active Member
I've heard mixed results with using a Kalkwasser paste. Same goes there...too much in a single dose and you start killing stuff you don't really want to kill. Best thing I've ever used was a Threadfin Butterfly. Borrow one from a friend or buy one then return it fotr credit...when the Aip is gone he will look elsewhere for food, i.e. the coral you paid for.
 

jawfish101

Member
Originally Posted by earlybird
joes juice or boiling water works too supposedly.
There is only a 1 in 7 chance that you kill them that way. And if you don't kill them, they just get mad and go asexual, ergo, spreading more.
 
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