aiptasia?

[thetonyage]

i found this in my tank the other day. is it aiptasia? if so what can i do about it?

 

[Joester2k3]

When i had it it was a lil darker with those bands on the arms. I got true peppermint Shrimp... they cleared it up within a week.... Have not had any since. You have to make sure you get the right shrimp tho... If you look them up sites will explain how to tell the difference

 

[Mitchell0605]

Thats definately aiptasia. You can either get a peppermint shrimp (not the best idea really, some eat it some don't) or a special type of nudibranch (I don't recommend this, when the aiptasia is gone, the nudi starves). Try reading this page:How To Eliminate Aiptasia Anemones with Lemon Juice A Reef Tank Safe, Effective, and Easy to Perform Injection Procedure That Costs Only Pennies!

 

[jcmelski]

I've gotten peppermint shrimp before. I got one for my QT tank and it went right after the aiptasia. I then put it in my DP and it went after them again but then I didn't see it anymore. I since then bought 2 more and none went after the aiptasia. I also haven't seen them around either. I guess my water chemistry must be off. I'm going to try the lemon juice to see what happens. $10 a pop for shrimp that don't do what I want or die soon after placing them in the tank isn't cutting it!

 

[Mitchell0605]

Out of curiousity have you heard any clicking noises from your tank or had any other inverts or fish go missing?

 

[jcmelski]

I sometimes hear clicking noises but I've heard that clown fish will snap their jaws and make this sound. I still have two skunk cleaner shrimp and a fire shrimp in there. i haven't lost any fish. I've lost some snails but I think that was due to my water chemistry being off.

 

[cmor1701d]

Shrinp need a long acclimation period (drip method). How long did you acclimated before adding them to the tank?

But getting shrimp that may or may not fix the problem is probably not the best method. Joe's Juice does work.

 

[thetonyage]

do peppermint shrimp mess with coral?

 

[melosu58]

FantasyReef Databases-Viewing item "Aiptasia Removal Methods"

 

[Innovator]

They are scavengers and obligate feeders so they have been known to prey on various corals, usually soft corals and lps.

 

[jcmelski]

The first two peps I acclimated slowly. The last two not so slow. I was in a hurry to get to work and should've held of on buying them, lesson learned.

 

[Dmon1123]

i think i have one of those near my xenia will it sting and harm it? and/or could it possible that it is the xenia growing another branch?

 

[Mitchell0605]

Yes aiptasia will hurt your corals. Remove it with the methods suggested earlier in this thread. Xenia grows new arms or 'branches' from where all the others are attached. Little ones. Your Xenia will form another Xenia by splitting. That's literaly BTW. Mine fragged it's by kind of cutting itself on the coralline algae .