Need help with this problem!!!! Please take a look :Update

[bulldog12]

Hey guys,

new to the forum. would appreciate some advice. What is this brown polyp looking stuff? It came from 1 piece of live rock in the back and has taken over the tank!!!!! Please help if you know what to do with it. It is ugly and I want to get rid of it. Please help me.

Update:

Thanks guys for all the help. I will be picking up my Copperband butterfly fish in a couple of weeks. I have some friends in the biz and they fix me up with some good quality stuff.

Thanks again!!!!

 

[captivereefs]

It s called aptaisia. It is a colonial anemone and is a very big nusiance. Looks like you have a ton of it. Thats actually the most I have ever seen in a tank before. Peppermint shrimp are said to eat it. I believe copperband butterflys will to. There are also chemicals to get rid of it. Whatever you doi you need to move on it ASAP or it will cover every surface of your tank. Heres a link to my medication page the chem-marin products I sell combat it.


http://captivereefs.com/captivereefs/listcat1.asp?CatID=md

 

[bulldog12]

Thanks

Captivereefs.... Thanks man. You don't know how much that helps me. I will go to the local fish store tomorrow to hopefully get some peppermint shrimp. I think i need a couple of hundred.... .

But again thanks.

 

[bulldog12]

By the way which would you recommend shrimp or butterfly fish in a reef tank?

 

[reefrunner69]

I might go with a copperband butterfly for that kind of infestation. That is a serious crop you got goin there Most of the aips I can see in the pic are too big for the peps to do anything about. Peps are great for smaller aips, but the larger ones need better methods. I would also start using a syringe (can get one at the feed store) and start nuking them with kalk, vinegar or lemon juice.

 

[Guest]

My God! I have never seen it that bad....sorry, just freaked me out...I am with the syringe method on that one... I don't think a Copperband would tackle that by itself.. Some of those look like they would kill it if it tried to eat it..

 

[captivereefs]

Amber waves of aptasia! If you get a butterfly spend the money on an austrailian caught fish. The standard indo pacific butterflys are usually doomed from cyanide. Around here a indo butterfly cost's about $30 and an austrailian fish costs $80. Prettysteep but worth the cost for frustrations sake!

 

[stresco]

Wow!!! 8O 8O 8O

My tank didn't have that many. I just tried some stuff called JoesJuice to combat my Aiptasia problem, and i think that it worked wonders. Ive been using a seringe, with kalk, for a while and never been able to get ahead of them. Then somebody turned me on to this stuff and in 2 days i have all but eridicated them, accept for the few that i cant reach. This stuff is supposed to be reef safe, and i have not noticed any detrimental effects in my tank. You may want to give it a try. WWW.joesjuice.com

 

[AndySmithers]

Second that on the JoesJuice. Works wonders.
But.... shake the bottle before filling the syringe and DON't do what I did and forget to turn off the PH's when you nuke the aiptasia. The stuff goes everywhere and, although it does seem to be reef-safe, corals don't like a lot of it getting on their surface...

Andy.

 

[HoopsGuru]

Just wanted to point out too that aiptasia will normally only proliferate to that extent if their is an overabundance of food and nutrients available. You may want to evaluate if conditions in the tank helped contribute to your field of aips., it may help your tank in other areas for the long run.

 

[bulldog12]

Thanks for all the help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks to everyone for getting me out of this crisis. I will be picking up my Copperband Butterflyfish from the lfs in a couple of weeks. I have some friends that hook me up with some good quality stuff.

Again thanks guys.