who makes the best aiptasia killer

This topic has been discussed on several boards and I am sure several will offer their opinion on a particular product or item. What I can tell you from my research and observation is once you start attacking it with various concoctions it appears to spawn before or as it is dying and you end up with a larger outbreak. We have experienced this ourselves in one of our Nano's. We used Joe's juice and it worked but we then had aiptasia springing up everywhere. It killed the aptasia (or appeared to) that we were treating but eventually had to take down the Nano as it was overcome with the pest.

I have 3 in my 140g reef (1 about medium size 1 - 1.5 inches when open) and I left it alone and only have seen one or two very small offspring localize to the rock that it is on.

IMHO if you leave it alone it may not spread as much. When it becomes an issue I will attempt to remove the other corals off the rock (a few softies) and take the rock out of the tank and let it die off by drying out the rock for a week or so. Then the plan would be to reintroduce the rock to salt water in a bucket and then acclimate it back into tank.

I have also tried the peppermint shrimp (they just keep disappearing) and the Fox Face (who wouldn't go near it) as natural predators of Aptasia.

I just keep my fingers crossed an hope it doesn't spread any more.
 
Hi,
If you wound them they sense the end and replicate. I have had 100% success with injecting a strong kalk solution directly into the aiptasia using a syringe. I put enough into them that they start melting almost immediatedly and only do a few at a time, so as not to impact ph.
 
God makes the best in the form of Peppermints but you have to purchase a lot of them, ie I put 30 in my 60 cube and had a huge outbreak gone in no time, just using a few does not do the trick. I have done this over and over on tanks in the past with great success.

Blamm
 
I agree that peppermints work the best, but you have to be careful with them. They can sometimes wreak havoc on some corals after the aiptasia. They are known to sometimes go after zoanthids, and in my own tank they constantly harrassed my duncan and killed several Tridacna clams. This is also true of any of the other "natural" solutions like the copperband, kliens, auriga, and racoon butterflies (although I must say I've never heard of using foxfaces before, to my knowledge they are typically herbivores). Some people will have a certain kind of butterfly that never nips at other corals, while others with the exact same kind of butterfly will report that it went straight for their coral and never once touched the aiptasia. This is not to say that "natural" solutions don't work, but I'm just saying be forewarned. FWIW I've also had good success with the kalk injections, but its not always an easy process.
 
Peppermints are the best. But, if you do not want Peppermint Shrimp in your tank then I would highly recommend Aiptasia X made by Red Sea. I started using it about 4-5 months ago and I think its 100 percent better than Joes Juice because you DO NOT have to inject the Aiptasia. Instead the Aiptasia takes it in as a food source and within about 15 minutes the Aiptasia is gone. Aiptasia X has been the best I have used so far.. Not only that, for the amount that you get in the bottle its extremely cheap and includes everything you need to get the job done.
 
I tried aptasia X and it doesnt work well.


Frank you must not have had corals because dont aurigas go after zoanthinds and LPS corals?
 
@reefpets.com wrote:
Sorry to hear that. It has done great for me. [I]@DaveG99 wrote:[/I][quote="I tried aptasia X and it doesnt work well. Frank you must not have had corals because dont aurigas go after zoanthinds and LPS corals? said:
"]

it shrunk them up for a day but they came back.
Click to expand...
 
i use it and think it works, but u have to stay on them and retreat like in a week ,then maybe do it again in a week your not going to get them all the first time or second time but cant give them that long to move or reproduce
 
@the floor guy wrote:
i use it and think it works said:
It depends on if the pest actually ingests the aiptasia-x or not. I had three and only one required a follow up dose. The other two wrapped their tentacles around it and apparently tried to eat the stuff.
Click to expand...
 
I had a 75G full of aptasia. I went and bought a bunch of peppermints and every single one of them were gone within a couple of months. I also never saw anymore after that point. Some people havent had that same success but if you get alot, some are bound to do the job.

Good luck
 
I make my own 'Juice' with lime and vinegar. The aips eat it up and die. Just use table vinegar, I used cider vinegar and add pickling lime until it is a very thick cream. I use either an eye dropper, or, a length of rigid airline with a squeeze bulb attached to drop the mix onto the open aiptasia. They will close up on it and eat it. I then apply a little more to the base of the aiptasia or even completely cover it with the mix. They tend to collapse and die immediately. No need to inject, they like it... :twisted:
 
AIPTASIA X is very effective. It is important to cover the entire oral disc to prevent the release of planulas.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top