Is it ok to have aptasias in a refugium?

[Readingexcalibur]

Yes, quickly tho, it will retract.

 

[PurplePolyp]

Peppermint shrimp.

 

[Sonya]

Peppermint shrimp just cleared mine up!

 

[Ingy]

+1 on da pep shrimp.

 

[paytertot]

If you're doing lemon juice, just put the syringe near where you need to spray and allow it to come back out because like previously stated, it will retract. Once it comes back out, give it a good spray. I read that method on another thread.

 

[Antec]

Stupid question but peppermints are reef safe right?

 

[DWilliams]

Stupid question but peppermints are reef safe right?

Yes they are.

 

[Antec]

So how many should I buy? I have a 90g that is just about to finish cycling

 

[PurplePolyp]

I have a 55 gallon tank with 4 peppermint shrimp. They usually stay hidden so you won't really know they are there. But they will clear the tank of aptasias in a few hours. Awesome critters.

 

[Antec]

Do they eat anything else? Or will they die after the aptasias are done?

 

[Jlsardina]

Do they eat anything else? Or will they die after the aptasias are done?

After the aptasia is gone they will eat frozen food or any other food. Lol

 

[PurplePolyp]

Shrimp are scavengers. They will eat whatever they can find that's tasty. They will other small nuisances, algaes, and excess food. They are pretty well maintained.

 

[Ingy]

Mine runs upside down under the surface and grabs flakes. He also LOVES frozen brine shrimp

 

[Spotted]

Hate to hijack your thread, but I have trouble in my refugium too. I have only LR and Chaeto. I see lots of critters running around too. Also it looks like I've got cyano and hair algae growing. What should I do? Is this normal for a refugium? Seems like a second DT with more trouble.

 

[MacDracor]

Peppermint shrimp will sometimes eat aipatasia, but not always. They will eat prepared foods, flakes, pellets, food you just gave to your corals... Never heard of a pep starving. LOL
They will also eat your pods, though, just in case that's an issue. The berghia nudibranch is an obligate aiptasia eater and if you can find them, they are awesome.
Aiptasia can leave pieces behind as it walks (pedal laceration), let go and float to a new spot (through the pump and into the DT), release spores sexually (and get everywhere), and can regrow from a single cell (so shrimp and fish only control aiptasia, not get rid of them). They are built to survive.
To Spotted:
The fuge is going to be a jumble of life both plant and animal. But cyano indicates that there may be too many nutrients for the macro to keep up, or water flow may be inadequate through the fuge.
Also, different macros absorb at different rates. My chaeto wasn't doing much, so I added gracilliara, halymenia, and three kinds of caleurpa. The caleurpa grows like wildfire., and the Haylmenia has grown about 20x larger, while the chaeto hasn't done much of anything.

 

[Spotted]

Thanks Mac. As far as flow goes, I have a Trigger sys 36 Ruby Elite. I have a Mag 9.5 feeding the refugium from the return section and a Mag 12 for return to the DT.
I would think that would be enough flow for the fuge, no?
I also added a grow flourescent light from home depot. Since then, my chaeto has turned dark green, is that ok? I also have diatoms groeing in the fuge, is that normal? There isn't any in the DT. One last thing should I add an air pump to the fuge section? I just want to make sure I got this set up right.

 

[Spotted]

Anyone care to chime in?

 

[Readingexcalibur]

Diatoms are fine in the fug, dark green cheato is ok, just make sure it's still growing. You want "medium" flow in the fug. Just don't want things stirring up. Cheato should tumble.