aiptasia treatment???

[kui loach]

What is the best treatment for aiptasa ? I have a 60 gallon with goby, yellow tang 2 ocellaris, green chromis, multiple snails, and hermit crabs with different coral and anenome? Will peppermint shrimp destroy the crustaceans? Will chemicals be too strong?

[graphixx]

you can try peppermint shrimp but they are hit and miss. if the tank is well fed then the peps will eat the food. I would get some vinegar and boiling water and inject them with a syringe for starters. you can use pickeling lime too if its available. and kalkawasser works awesome!!! mix it into a paste and coat the aptasia with it and it melts them away. but the sooner youget started the better, these suckers grow quick

[kui loach]

Thanks for the info. I have many of them. While waiting for an answer on this site, I read some info on berghia slugs. Have you ever heard of them?

[mtodd001]

I would try Peppermint Shrimp first, I have had good results with using them.

[graphixx]

berghia are good but they strictly eat aptaisia, and they are very blind and slow eaters, what usually happens is that they do a good job when the aptasia is plentiful but as it starts to thin out they literally starve to death while seeking out another aptasia to feed on. in a small tank they do well but in anything over 20 gallons they will work in a very limited capacity. that and they do not ship well at all.

You can also try a copperbanded butterfly fish, I had one of those and he wiped the tank out in literally 2 weeks. but your tanks biolode is almost capped I would try kalkawasser or an injectable solution. you can get joes juice too which is literally kalkawasser paste.

[kui loach]

Thanks you gave me a lot of options :D

[Whoyah]

I have used the kalkwasser method before. It works very well. I actually used pickling lime (same stuff). You can pick up a giant can of Mrs Wage's Pickling Lime in the canning section of most Wal Marts for just a couple bucks. Mix with water for a thick paste and squirt on to the aptasia. Make sure to pile it on, covering the thing. The paste will disolve over the next week.

ANother option is to pull the infected rock out and go to work with an ice pick/screw driver. Make sure to complete blast the area leaving a sizable crater. Rince and return the rock to the tank.

[Reef_Angel]

Grapphix has ya covered on the how to's! They are the weeds :alien: of salt water reefing, so be consistent with the little buggers! I noticed a few in the 180G, and also in my 20G soon to be seahorse tank. I have a small Rubbermaid of kalkwasser made up for just those times! It will harden over time in the bowl, but just add a little water and loosen it back up to the right consistency. I like it to be similar to toothpaste...maybe a bit thicker. If they're in a hard place to reachable, make the paste into a super thick consistency, roll it into a ball to stick it into the hole it dwells...making sure to cover the entire beast! Snare 'em when ya see 'em, but please don't share 'em Good Luck!
~Ange! ~ :angel7:

[Amphibious]

kui loach

You can use the suggestions above but there's an easier way. graphixx22 mentioned it, Joe's Juice.

But, graphixx22, it's not, "literally kalkawasser paste". Aptasia retract into their hole when you use Kalkwasser and you have to inject it into the Aptasia. With Joe's Juice you feed it to the anemone and in minutes it's dead.

I use it successfully and have dozens of satisfied customers who use it. Here's a link to Joe's Juice. (http://www.theculturedreef.com/joesjuice.htm)

[pettee86]

I've used Joe's Juice on Majanos and it knocked them out in minutes and haven't returned. Had about seven in my tank.

[graphixx]

its pretty dang close the the same thing!!! you can add a little bit of oyster egg or some juice from thawed mysis shrimp with the kalkawasser paste and this "tricks" the aptasia into ingesting the paste. I have never injected them. you just give them a good coat of the paste and it melts them away!!!!!

[Reef_Angel]

I like my kalkwasser paste. It does the job, and can be mixed into the consistency for any particular place. Everyone has their own way, and if it works for you it's a great way! :) I'm a penny watcher, so I like to do as much as I can without spending all the time. If I go in an LFS for "just one thing", I come out with $200 or more less in my wallet. lol

[ReefNeck]

I use it successfully and have dozens of satisfied customers who use it. Here's a link to Joe's Juice. (http://www.theculturedreef.com/joesjuice.htm)


So I take it that is your site you linked to? I'm looking over the site now. Interesting. Another Florida site is always welcome.

[Tanked]

1. 1 tsp. pickling lime - food grade calcium hydroxide
2. 2 tbls. tap water.

boil water and lime in microwave for 40 sec.
keep closed plastic container in cool place.
You will need a vet syringe from a pet store that sells vaccinations

This mixture comes out of the needle very thick. You do not need to inject the Aiptasia. Just release a small amount on to the aiptasia and it will take it in. This mixture seems to stick to the anemone, but it does not stick to the other inverts. We also use this mixture on problem hair algae

I found this recipe it really works and it is cheap.I have used it several time in my tank. The pickling lime is Kalkwasser, and you do not have to inject them to kill them. When they go back in a hole shoot the mixture in the hole with them.



Here is the detailed recipe .I have to agree with the other that have used it it works and its cheap and u DO NOT have to feed them to kill them with this recipe .When they go back in to there hole spray the paste in the hole with them they are died .I have killed many this way.