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Aiptasia
Aiptasia pallida and aiptasia pulchella
Aiptasia are generally dark brown to transluscent brown anemones and are commonly called glass anemones because of their semi-transparency. Aiptasia in aquariums are usually less than 2" tall but with favorable conditions can reach 4". They are photosynthetic but will eat things that are small enough for them to catch. The stalk is attached to a hard substrate, usually in a crevice. This allows the anemone to quickly retreat into its hole when it is disturbed. Aiptasia are introduced onto our aquariums as hitchhikers either on the LR or attached to a coral. They can and will reproduce quickly in some tanks while in other tanks they may not. These anemones reproduce by pedal laceration, which occurs when baby anemones develop from small bits of tissue left behind when the anemone wanders around.
Aiptasia pack a powerful sting. The toxins produced by the stinging cells of this anemone are more potent than many of the corals kept by aquarist. Aiptasia can quickly irritate and kill the desirable corals and clams in the tank.
Aiptasia are most easily controlled when first discovered in the tank, before they have a chance to multiply. There are two methods of controlling these pest anemones; Chemical Control and Biological Control.
With Chemical Control, the anemone is either injected with or slathered with a caustic substance.
1.) Stop Aiptasia made by Chem Marin is made of pepper juice which when injected into the anemone, rapidly kills it. It is totally reef safe and will not harm other corals, fish or inverts. It must be injected with a syringe which is generally sold in conjunction with the product.
2.) Injecting the anemone with a caustic substance such as a concentrated Kalkawasser solution is effective as well.
3.) Injecting with hot, near boiling water is another option.
With Biological Control the approach taken is to introduce animals into the tank that will eat the Aiptasia, however there are not a lot of animals that like to eat them.
1.) Peppermint shrimp Lysmata wurdermanni are known to eat Aiptasia however, some will not. There have been reports that peppermint shrimp will eat corals that look similar to Aiptasia such as yellow polyps or zooanthids, so this is something to be aware of.
2.) Nudibranches of the species Berghia verrucicornis will eat Aiptasia, but the only drawback is that they will eat nothing else. Once there are no anemones left the nudibranch will starve to death.
3.) Copperband Butterflyfish will sometimes eat Aiptasia. The Raccoon Butterflyfish is another Aiptasia eating fish but will also eat soft corals.
Adrienne Stanton 10/15/2003
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