dandelion Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 I am new to the hobby. I went to my LFS to get some chaeto for my hang-on-back refugium today. I noticed some pods and a bristle worm, but I cannot identify these guys. Can someone identify these? Thanks! Link to comment
Alexraptor Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Aiptasia perhaps? do they react if you disturb them? Link to comment
dandelion Posted May 22, 2015 Author Share Posted May 22, 2015 Yea it seems like they moved a little bit. I didn't put them into my system yet but I'm not yee if I missed any when I put in the bulk of the chaeto ball. Link to comment
najluni15 Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Looks like aiptasia. Avoid putting them in the tank. They're invasive anemones that you don't want. If they start establishing in the tank use a syringe with lemon juice or joes juice to kill them Link to comment
amphipod Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Does look like an aiptasia, there are two particularly disliked species of them in aquariums, Aiptasia Pallida, and aiptasia pulchella, in my experience pallida is usually slightly less invasive for me, and pulchella likes to move around more. Yours looks like either pulchella or a less common but less invasive species. I'd say don't let them get in your main tank. They are perfectly fine on their own in their own tanks, but their stings are irritating to quite a few corals. Link to comment
dandelion Posted May 22, 2015 Author Share Posted May 22, 2015 Yea I let it sit for a while and noticed one of them anchored itself to the bottom of my Tupperware. Pretty sure it is aiptasia. I am glad I asked before deciding what to do! For a second I thought about putting them into my tank. I just hope I didn't miss any when I put in the chaeto. If I did I surely hope they're anchored well in the chaeto ball and never get flushed out into my tank. Thanks everybody for the fast replies! Link to comment
ndrobey Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 There could still be some very tiny aiptasias in that chaeto. I would take that chaeto back to the store and get some clean chaeto somewhere else. Link to comment
DurocShark Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 There could still be some very tiny aiptasias in that chaeto. I would take that chaeto back to the store and get some clean chaeto somewhere else. This. Link to comment
patback Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Am I the only one that thinks aiptasia isn't the end of the world? I would only not use the chaeto if there were tons mixed in it. Maintenance is key to keep them from spreading, or just buy an animal that eats them. Link to comment
Veng Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Am I the only one that thinks aiptasia isn't the end of the world? I would only not use the chaeto if there were tons mixed in it. Maintenance is key to keep them from spreading, or just buy an animal that eats them. I've had infestations before, but I've never managed to 100% eliminate them from my system afterwards, despite trying several of the animals that eat them. Every couple of months I suddenly find I have 1 or 2 and if I take care of them, then I go another couple of months without seeing any, but then one pops back up. On the other hand, if I don't, I find a month or so later I've got a handful and I go to town with the syringe. Annoying little buggers, they just add to the amount of maintenance work required on the tank. For that one reason I'd avoid them if it was as simple as not introducing a ball of chaeto to my system. Link to comment
dandelion Posted May 22, 2015 Author Share Posted May 22, 2015 Well it's already in my system for about 24 hours isn't it too late now? The live rock I got from them is clean (or so I thought) but I never thought aiptasia would hitchhike on a ball of chaeto I guess if it's only once a month I have to get rid of them I'll live with it. I'm not planing on introducing corals into my system yet so I can find some consolation there Link to comment
amphipod Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Am I the only one that thinks aiptasia isn't the end of the world? I would only not use the chaeto if there were tons mixed in it. Maintenance is key to keep them from spreading, or just buy an animal that eats them. finally one who speaks sense! We all at some point will likely get these little fellasfellas, especially if we buy Pacific rocks corals etc, we should just be ready for them. Link to comment
dandelion Posted May 22, 2015 Author Share Posted May 22, 2015 I took the chaeto out and removed all aiptasia that I could see. I'll leave the rest out to my syringe in the future. Thanks all Link to comment
teajay33 Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 A nice little peppermint shrimp will keep those things at bay. The only time I haven't seen them do it is when it's a huge one. Link to comment
ajmckay Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 Does look like an aiptasia, there are two particularly disliked species of them in aquariums, Aiptasia Pallida, and aiptasia pulchella, in my experience pallida is usually slightly less invasive for me, and pulchella likes to move around more. Yours looks like either pulchella or a less common but less invasive species. I'd say don't let them get in your main tank. They are perfectly fine on their own in their own tanks, but their stings are irritating to quite a few corals. Do my eyes deceive me?!? amphipod agreeing that aptaisia pose a nuisance to a display tank?!?! Hahahaha! finally one who speaks sense! We all at some point will likely get these little fellasfellas, especially if we buy Pacific rocks corals etc, we should just be ready for them. I dunno... I think that if you are careful you can avoid introducing them all together. One of my first pieces of live rock was infested with them and I bought it thinking "Cool, life!" I'm sure the LFS was all too happy to sell that rock! Of course it ended up taking quite some time before they all were removed and I lost at least 2 corals due to an aptasia "dropping by"! While I agree that they don't always infest a tank, I'm not sure I'm so bold as to take the chance. Am I the only one that thinks aiptasia isn't the end of the world? I would only not use the chaeto if there were tons mixed in it. Maintenance is key to keep them from spreading, or just buy an animal that eats them. Maintenance is important, but not introducing them in the first place IMO is the #1 way to prevent infestation. Not the end of the world but I'd rather spend my maintenance time doing other things than nuking aptasia. There are a few animals which eat them, however, either that animal is an obligate predator and won't survive very well after the aptasia are gone or it's an animal that may or may not take care of the problem and stands just as good a chance at going after desirable polyps. To the op, you're probably okay.. Go through the chaeto as best you can and remove what you see - err on the side of removing too much but I think you should be able to "save" the wad of algae. If they grow bigger you can deal with them then. IMO they're not ideal for sump refugium because if they infest the area they'll eat your pods too - which is sort of counter productive for a "refuge" if you're using it to cultivate pods to feed your fish and stuff. Link to comment
Alexraptor Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 finally one who speaks sense! We all at some point will likely get these little fellasfellas, especially if we buy Pacific rocks corals etc, we should just be ready for them. Pretty much. I only deal with them if they start encroaching on my corals, then I drop some Joe's juice on them. Usually I will also take the opportunity to nuke any other that grabs my attention while i'm at it, but otherwise I tend to let them be. Link to comment
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