Copperband Butterfly or Matted Leatherjacket Filefish

[Istrom]

Hello everyone,

So I'm having some aiptasia issues in my mixed reef tank, and I don't have time to do Aiptasia-X every day. I've tried Berghias, but I've got a Molly Miller blenny that eats them every time I get them. Peppermints just don't seem to eat the aiptasia. So what it comes down to for me is this: I'm willing to take the risk of introducing a fish that may or may not nip at my corals, as long as it eats aiptasia. Does anyone know the pros/cons behind a Copperband, and the pros/cons behind a Matted Leatherjacket file fish? Thanks in advance! :]

P.S: I'm not concerned about the difficulty of feeding the copperband, I can take care of that.

 

[Sniperhank]

Fish that eat aiptasia will put holes in LPS and soft corals...most likely eat the polyps off of SPS. Adding livestock is not a solution towards problems in the system. When it comes to the difficulty of copperbands, the difficulty is getting them to and keeping them eating.
I'm not sure why you need to use aiptasia-x daily? It is simply shooting it down their throat and covering them with it. Have you thought of covering their hole with putty or superglue gel? Can you take the light off and burn them with a lighter?

 

[cgthebeast]

Have you tried the boiling lemon juice method, works great for me when I see a few

 

[melosu58]

I am with all due respect concerned with the feeding of the copperband. They are finicky eaters and most die in captivity. A lot of folks get them for aiptasia and they never touch them and die weeks later from starvation. I would skip on the copperband.