Jump to content
Pod Your Reef

what is so bad about aiptasia anyways?


amphipod

Recommended Posts

Because they multiply extremely quickly, are voracious feeders when large, sting everything around them, can survive in a wide range of environments. That's all I can come up with for now. Its not like algae where you just control nutrients and the pest stuff goes away. Aiptasia thrive in everything. A 120 gal tank at my local Petco has aiptasia. The aquatics people try to get rid of it and it just comes back again and again and again. The stuff can even out compete xenia. Once they get large enough, even peppermint shrimp can't control them, they just get eaten by them. That is why people hate them.

Link to comment

They reproduce very quickly and can sting other corals and fish nearby.

I've seen big aiptasia take down clownfish and other fish.

 

Not everyone hates them tho. Some actually keep a pest tank just to have them. It's a matter of personal preference.

Link to comment

I see they can do quite an expensive toll to somes aquariums. Couldn't control be simple as cropping the large polyps and discarding them. With mine I can see how they can snatch fish up but I realize that they'd have to be a extremely considerable size which most likely can be removed before hand with ease, even though there will be dozens of really little ones coming from the severed base, the little ones (1/16-1/4 inch) couldn't possibly be that destructive

Link to comment

I see they can do quite an expensive toll to somes aquariums. Couldn't control be simple as cropping the large polyps and discarding them. With mine I can see how they can snatch fish up but I realize that they'd have to be a extremely considerable size which most likely can be removed before hand with ease, even though there will be dozens of really little ones coming from the severed base, the little ones (1/16-1/4 inch) couldn't possibly be that destructive

 

They are hard to kill... cropping them won't kill them. When they grow in a spot hard to reach.... then.. SCREWED! Little ones can damage coral and continue reproducing.

 

Right now I keep one alive but it isn't a true aiptasia but a relative and so far hasn't reproduced. It has pretty stripes.

Link to comment
Deleted User 8

"which most likely can be removed before hand with ease"

 

Whoohaaahaaawhoooogaaahoooman! Yeah, right!

 

"little ones (1/16-1/4 inch) couldn't possibly be that destructive"

 

Fhaaahaaahaaaa! Stop it! You are killing me! I splooged my scotch and soda out my nose at that one!

 

Seriously fellow reefer, they suck. But hey, grow some and report back. Forget about having anything else nice in the tank

 

Buzz

 

Link to comment

"which most likely can be removed before hand with ease"

 

Whoohaaahaaawhoooogaaahoooman! Yeah, right!

 

"little ones (1/16-1/4 inch) couldn't possibly be that destructive"

 

Fhaaahaaahaaaa! Stop it! You are killing me! I splooged my scotch and soda out my nose at that one!

 

Seriously fellow reefer, they suck. But hey, grow some and report back. Forget about having anything else nice in the tank

 

Buzz

Lol relax man. If OP likes them and he wants to keep them, that's his decision. No need to make fun of him lol
Link to comment

I have an aiptasia only tank at present its actually very fun lol, I crop the tops usually to transport them, the bases many times spread out to be the micro aiptasia you find spread out all over the tank. I think it is awesome how you can watch the food be digested and absorbed from your chair

Link to comment
Deleted User 8

Sorry if I was being harsh. Aiptasia are horrible pests IMO. They are not easy to control. A single cell is enough to create an overrun tank especially nano reefs. One one of the small ones gets blendered by a powerhead it seeds your whole tank. I am not convinced this may be a bit of a troll, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. If you want to keep them, cool. Start up an aptasia only tank and post the progress. I'd be interested in seeing your results.

 

Buzz

Link to comment

I took no offence. lol I already have an aiptasia tank one of them is nearly an inch and a half tall. Do they ever stop growing bigger? How can i stop them from vomiting some of their snacks I give them?

Link to comment

Seriously why do so many hate the little beauties, I've found them to be pretty awesome pets.

 

was about to ask the same question after seeing many commented that how evil Aiptasia is, lol, glad that you asked.

 

Because they multiply extremely quickly, are voracious feeders when large, sting everything around them, can survive in a wide range of environments. That's all I can come up with for now. Its not like algae where you just control nutrients and the pest stuff goes away. Aiptasia thrive in everything. A 120 gal tank at my local Petco has aiptasia. The aquatics people try to get rid of it and it just comes back again and again and again. The stuff can even out compete xenia. Once they get large enough, even peppermint shrimp can't control them, they just get eaten by them. That is why people hate them.

 

other had peppermint shrimp, is there any other methods that we can remove them from growing? what if one had already infested one of your main rock?

Link to comment

They reproduce very quickly and can sting other corals and fish nearby.

I've seen big aiptasia take down clownfish and other fish.

 

Not everyone hates them tho. Some actually keep a pest tank just to have them. It's a matter of personal preference.

many of our Anemonies can eat fish, Carpet Anemonies for example.

Link to comment

Butterfly fish will eat them, so will file fish. My local club passes a file fish around for this issue. I would say aiptasia would be great to keep in a dark tank with slow flow with other feeders. This way its growth is contained and you can keep sponges and NPS gorgs with them.

 

Edit: This is the idea behind cryptic zone filtration.

Link to comment

pretty sure their photosynthetic needs are minimal though hence their plague like numbers in some tanks. You can note them growing in the dimmest of places.

Link to comment

many of our Anemonies can eat fish, Carpet Anemonies for example.

Yes they do. But carpets don't reproduce as fast as aiptasia. Meaning its easier for a fish to avoid a single carpet than 100 aiptasias.

Plus, let's not forget that not everyone keeps anemones in their tank. So having a pest that can potentially sting others will keep you up at night lol

Link to comment

I like Aiptasia. They look really cool when they get large.

 

I do feel that a couple of my local stores could benifit from Berghia verrucornis being added to their tanks though. ;)

Link to comment
  • 2 weeks later...

Come to think of it I've been hand feeding, I repeat HAND FEEDING!! my aiptasia nearly daily and they still grow very slow, like couple millimetres per month slow, just wondering how can't they be noticed in time

Link to comment

I would like to hand feed my aptasia to my peppermint shrimp! I had a huge outbreak of them a while back - seemed like they went from 1 to 1 million.

Link to comment
Deleted User 8

Come to think of it I've been hand feeding, I repeat HAND FEEDING!! my aiptasia nearly daily and they still grow very slow, like couple millimetres per month slow, just wondering how can't they be noticed in time

Becasue you have an atypical variant. Most all regular aiptasia grow very fast and multiply quickly. Yours does not.

 

Buzz

Link to comment

Come to think of it I've been hand feeding, I repeat HAND FEEDING!! my aiptasia nearly daily and they still grow very slow, like couple millimetres per month slow, just wondering how can't they be noticed in time

 

They need a better environment for rapid growth.

Link to comment

I don't think Aiptasia would do good in a dark tank as they are Photosynthetic.

 

the reason they're so prolific is that they can switch from hermatypic to simply surviving off plankton growth, so even a lights out period doesn't deal with them in the same way it clears algae

Link to comment

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recommended Discussions

×
×
  • Create New...