Aptasia vs. Starfish

[haus]

I've heard that aptasia sting corals. Do they also sting inverts. I have a choc. chip star that had a number of small white lacerations on him. I thought he was dying, but I just went in the tank about a week ago and killed almost all the aptasia (except for a few tiny tricky ones) and the starfish has seemed to heal. There was a small patch of hair algae that was growing under the aptasia that he wanted to get to, but never did. After I killed the aptasia he ate all the hair algae in a few hours. He seems a lot healthier since the aptasia died.

[TCTFish]

Good observation. I would imagine aptasias can sting anything without a protective shell. The fact that the starfish has healed shortly after the aptasias were killed it's very possible there is a link there. Can't be too sure but the probability is likely.

Copperband butterfly fish are known to eat aptasias...and they do a good job with that long thin snout to even get to the ones in those tricky little crevices.

[mjvincent]

Don't forget peppermint shrimp... My shrimp took care of all of my aiptasia within a few days.

[dianeww]

I've had several aptasia in my tank ever since I added live rock in April. They don't seem to be spreading, and haven't been a problem so far. I have a coral banded shrimp. Would he be a danger to peppermint shrimp if I add some, or might they be OK together?

[TCTFish]

That's what I was trying to think of. Tahnks for the reminder...lol.

Whether a coral banded shrimp would pester the peppermint shrimp or not is very dependent on the individual coral banded shrimp. We've had them in together before but I've also heard of them getting a bit pushy too. The more you add, the less likely the coral banded would pick on all of them if any at all. The peppermint shrimp are a lot easier overall to keep alive than the copperband anyway.

[gilraen]

I ordered 3 peppermint shrimp online (lfs out of them here) and when I received them I was surprised to see they were only about 1/2" of course they are hidding and the aiptasia still there (only have 2 small ones). Sooooo, I ordered Joe's juice and that's on its way.
Sorry, just had to share...

[TCTFish]

Peppermint shrimp don't seem to go after larger aptasias, but rather eat the little baby ones and keep them from growing up. And...it is only the Caribbean peppermint shrimp known to eat the pesty critters.

[schoeplein]

To comment and unpuposefully thread-jack on TCT's signature: Its funny -- we can protect ourselves from nothingness, yet we can't do the same with 50 billion metric tons of water weighing on us.... there's so much in such a small space when referring to the ocean - whereas space has just as much - just over lightyears of space. Both very intriguing... yet, I can't keep an exploding star in my own personal container .. maybe one day.

[TCTFish]

[mjvincent]

My peppermint grew fast... He started about 3/4 " and now is well over 1 1/4" in just a couple of months. He ate all of my aiptasia (both big and small).