What is this growing off my Candy Cane Coral?

[spoonman]

Can someone please tell me this is a small feather duster on my candy cane coral and not an aptasia! It is about 2x the size of a pin head.

 

[spoonman]

Anyone?

 

[joy13]

On the right side looks like an aiptasia.

 

[spoonman]

Anyone else have an opinion? It is so small, I dont think I could get to it to kill it. Was hoping it wasnt aiptasia. It is the only one that I see in the tank.

 

[AquaRick]

+1 Aiptasia

 

[spoonman]

I was afraid of that. Best method to kill it? I dont know how to get to something this tiny. I dont think I could hit it with a syringe even, it is so small. But, if I dont, they will multiply, right?

 

[Zer0]

Syringe with kalkwasser or lemon juice, or Aiptasia X, joes juice, boiling water, whatever works for you.

And yes, if you don't kill it now, it will multiply and grow in to a huge mess of destructive anemone force. Seriously though, it will.

 

[spoonman]

ARGGHHH! First thing I have found in my tank that I didn't want. Gonna check out the Aiptasia X tonight. Thanks for the help!

 

[Zer0]

Yup. I recommend the Aiptasia X as well. It will kill the pest anemone without harming your coral.

Just remember, if you plan on killing more then one aiptasia in your aquarium to space out the time between the killings. I say this because if you kill them all at once, you could mess up your water chemistry with all of the solution used to kill them.

 

[spoonman]

Thanks. So far, this is the only one I have seen. So, hopefully an easy kill. Aren't some crabs or inverts supposed to eat them?

 

[Spotted]

Peppermint Shrimp?

 

[Zer0]

Peppermint shrimp have been known to eat the really small ones, but it's really a hit or miss with those guys. Berghia nudibranches also eat them, but they need tons of aiptasia to consume otherwise they will perish, so that's hardly a worthy option. Trust me, the Aiptasia X will work for you better then any creature could in this situation.

Also, just a word of advice, when it comes to aiptasia, chances are if there's one, there's more somewhere in spots you can not see/reach. I'm not saying this is always the case, I'm just saying be wary, and keep an eye out for more.

 

[don_chuwish]

Wow, isn't Search handy. We have little aiptasia on our candy cane too. We've killed them several times with AipasiaX but they keep growing back. Maybe I'll try lemon juice next time.

- D

 

[Reefpete]

aiptasia ughh hate that stuff lol use what others said ...i had it break out too and got me some peppermint shrimp and they ate all them only the little ones though they dont like the bigger aiptasia

 

[Rndy]

I have two peppermints and they got rid of all my aiptasia in a snap. I love them cause they are cleaning my tank too.

 

[Keeler]

If you have recurring issues with Aiptasia I would highly recommend a peppermint shrimp. Yes, something they will not eat them but the majority of the time it seems like they will.

 

[don_chuwish]

Not a significant issue in my case, just a couple of places where they grow back after being Xed. We have a Peppermint but just for a few days now. We'll see.

- D

 

[Rndy]

I heard that an lfs will try to sell false peppermints that do not eat aiptasia.

 

[Reefpete]

They kind of look like camel shrimp but don't have a hump in the back area just make sure when buying they look like candy canes lol

 

[don_chuwish]

Looks like ours has found the little aiptasia around the tank, cuz they're gone. Busy bugger this one!

- D