I'd on this?..is it bad?

[bmattingly117]

So there are 3 of these what I can see in my tank and this is the biggest one..is it ok/reef safe or shoul I get it out?..and if so how?

 

[fort384]

It appears to be aiptasia - a pest anemone. You can use a few different methods to kill them (Aiptasia X, boiling water, lemon juice, etc) but do not just pull them out as they will divide and spread. You have to kill them in place, or if it is easy to remove the rock they are on and kill them outside of the tank that would be good too.

You do want to remove them asap. They spread like wildfire, kill other reef organisms, and can infest an entire system.

 

[amonk]

I recommend aptasia x it has worked well for me so far. Just make sure to cover the entire mouth area or they will surprise you and be back within a day or two.

 

[bmattingly117]

Ok thanks a lot guys..also there's a small group of like 5 really really small ones. Maybe they're so small that it's hard to tell if that's what it is or not..do you think I should just do away with it just in case?..also that stuff won't hurt anything else in the tank right?..

 

[amonk]

It is reef safe. Just make sure you turn off all your pimps and power heads. I would try and get rid of them sooner than later as they are easier to kill when they are smaller.

 

[Garrett706]

I would recommend getting a couple peppermint shrimp before using aiptasia x or any other chemical, I had a few pop up when I set my tank up and the shrimp took care of them in a couple days

 

[bribo12]

I would recommend getting a couple peppermint shrimp before using aiptasia x or any other chemical, I had a few pop up when I set my tank up and the shrimp took care of them in a couple days

I disagree. Peppermints are more miss than hit and they steal food from corals and sometimes munch on them. Using animals to solve a problem doesn't usually work out. Only add something to your tank if you want it there. Aiptasia x is great and does no harm to your tank.

 

[All_fish]

Peppermint shrimp will eat those so fast

 

[amonk]

I agree I have never had a peppermint shrimp eat my aptasia. Not to say it might not work just not in my experience as of yet. I had one aptasia growing recently in my 75g for the last month or so and my peppermints never touched it so I nuked it with apoptosis x and problem solved

 

[AquaRick]

Ok thanks a lot guys..also there's a small group of like 5 really really small ones. Maybe they're so small that it's hard to tell if that's what it is or not..do you think I should just do away with it just in case?..also that stuff won't hurt anything else in the tank right?..

If the rock the aiptasia is on, is easily removable, you can take it out of the tank and burn them off with a lighter. Also, don't forget to give it a good rinse before you return the rock to the tank.

 

[bmattingly117]

Lots of helpful stuff, thank you. I recently got a cleaner shrimp and didn't even realize my dotty back would tear it apart so tht happened in less than 2 days ..sad day. But I'm goin to purchase some of that and try to take care of it today and I can't remove the rock it's the biggest one but I'll be able to get to them easily. Thanks again folks

 

[bmattingly117]

Is this the same thing?..it's a little hard to tell cause they're so small it's hard to get a good picture but they look very similar..and there is a lot of them on one smaller rock

 

[bribo12]

Is this the same thing?..it's a little hard to tell cause they're so small it's hard to get a good picture but they look very similar..and there is a lot of them on one smaller rock View attachment 215512

No those look more like hydroids. Kinda come and go. Not really an issue

 

[bmattingly117]

No those look more like hydroids. Kinda come and go. Not really an issue

Ok thanks, that's a relief

 

[libimagana]

It appears to be aiptasia - a pest anemone. You can use a few different methods to kill them (Aiptasia X, boiling water, lemon juice, etc) but do not just pull them out as they will divide and spread. You have to kill them in place, or if it is easy to remove the rock they are on and kill them outside of the tank that would be good too.

You do want to remove them asap. They spread like wildfire, kill other reef organisms, and can infest an entire system.

Thanks for the info I wasn't sure I have one small one and I was taking care of it but now im throw it out the window!

 

[bmattingly117]

So I got the aiptasia x and managed to get the smaller one what seemed to be good enough but the big one took for cover as soon as I got close so I'm goin to have to try again when it shows up..this thing won't hurt my other rose bubble nem will it?..I just got it so it's still trying to find it's spot and I'm afraid it's goin to go over to where it might pop up..

 

[Garrett706]

So I got the aiptasia x and managed to get the smaller one what seemed to be good enough but the big one took for cover as soon as I got close so I'm goin to have to try again when it shows up..this thing won't hurt my other rose bubble nem will it?..I just got it so it's still trying to find it's spot and I'm afraid it's goin to go over to where it might pop up..

unless your nem was within a couple inches of your aiptasia that you had I doubt the aiptasia x will have any affect on your nem...all that said I'm assuming you turned off all your filtration and powerheads... This is why I'd rather NOT use chemicals to get rid of pests in my tank

 

[bmattingly117]

Definitely..yea I hated to use it but i just wanted to get it taken care of the best way..everything still seems to be doing fine..if something were to be going wrong that I can't necessarily see is that something I could test for and see a spike/drop in something?