Aiptasia Anemone Fun

[Sarnack]

Hello all, I am fairly new here (just been reading a lot) and thought I would share my aiptasia story with all of you and see if anyone has had a similar incident.

 

I got about 16 pounds of live rock from 2 stores. About 6 pounds from one store was premium rock almost completely covered in purple coralline algae and each of the 2 pieces had a nice mushroom (stripped on one and spotted on the other) However the rocks each had a good sized aiptasia as well. So I started reading of all the ways to kill these neat creatures and decided to get a pepermint shrimp but he died. (tests for ammonia was at the lower detection limit, nitrites and nitrates were 0) so I am assuming it was a salinity problem (1.020 - 1.021) or a temperature issue (80 - 82 F) Anyway, I decided to try and pull one of them off with tweezers. The aptasia has a head about the size of a quarter. I brought the rock close to the surface and tried to get him but his hole was way too deep to get at him. The next day he did not come out hardly at all. The day after that I came home to find him moving to a new spot so I qickly grabbed my tongs and pulled him out. He is now sitting in a flower vase next to the tank (I don't have the heart to kill him just yet, but it is probably crewl to keep him in suck a small vase about fist sized)

 

Anyway just thought I'd share and see what people have to say...

 

Dave

[Satchmo]

Tweezers aren't the best method, becuse you end up tearing the animal and leaving some behind on the rock. This will grow into a new aiptasia. Kalkwasser is a better way to off them.

[printerdown01]

...and if you left two seperate (or worse yet several seperate) patches of tissue -even just a couple of cells) they will each generate into thier own little aptasia :*( ??? SCARY HUH!! These little guys are almost impossible to get rid of!

[Sarnack]

Yes I know all of that. My surprise was that the aiptasia was moving to a new location. He was detatched. So I did not yank off any part of him, just snatched him up and took him out of the tank. And so far he is still alive in the little bowl. hehe

[JSinger884]

what is aiptasia??

[BustytheSnowMaam]

Aiptasia (aka glass anemones) are nuisance anemones that often hitchhike on LR. Given the right conditions they can spread and will sting corals.

 

Tasha

[Crakeur]

search back and you will see my post for an easier solution than kal. I have found a reef safe chemical that you inject into the beast and they dissolve instantly.

[NanoReefer53]

boiling water of kalk water will be good to inject into them.

[Dave ESPI]

I use these when it hits plague porportions... I cant stand it anymore.... I had to get rid of them ALL !!!!!!

[gobies]

I have a bunch in my 10g, and can't find pep. shrimp at a reasonable price. And I can't find pickling lime, and kalk's just plain overpriced. So when one of the &%$# things showed up practically ON my leather coral, I took the day's dose of B-Ionic part 2 and squirted it ALL right into the aiptasia in question. It kinda withered, and it hasn't come back. I've since made it a point to always dose the part 2 into the largest or most obnoxious aiptasia. Sloooow way to get rid of them, but it's working.

[Goofnut]

gobies.. you can't find pickiling lime anywhere?? You live in the Chicago area. Isn't that what Ditka injected intravenously to keep his arteries from collapsing?? I figure SOME store has to carry it...

 

What price do you consider to be reasonable for a peppermint? I bought one for $7.99 here in Dallas, and he was worth every penny. You can buy them online at some places for like $3-4. (plus shipping, but maybe you could combine orders with someone in your area who is already ordering?)

 

Sarnack -how quickly did he die? Your salinity is quite a bit low for a reef, but I don't figure that or the temp issue killed him by themselves. I run my tank at 1.025 and 82F during the day. My pep has been in there over a month and doesn't seem to mind. If he died in the first couple of days, I'd suggest that you didn't acclimate him properly. Shrimp are very sensitive to quick salinity, ph, and temperature shifts. He could also have been dying before you got him.. Ya never know.

[Mnesarchus]

You can get a syringe from you local vet clinic or doctors office for free and inject them with boiling water. You dont actually need Kalkwasser.

[Crakeur]

Originally posted by Mnesarchus

You can get a syringe from you local vet clinic or doctors office for free and inject them with boiling water. You dont actually need Kalkwasser.

 

Um, don't they avoid giving out syringes for fear of aiding heroin addicts? Perhaps you should go to your local methadone clinic and sign up for needles.

 

http://www.marinedepot.com/a_ad_cm.asp?CartId=

 

They sell you a needle to inject the aiptasia with and I swear by this stuff. I have one little bugger left that I have trouble reaching but whenever it gets big enough to be seen I nail it with a tiny spray and away it goes. This stuff works and you don't need to mix anything, boil anything, or add risk of death to your tank. This will be the last time I mention it in an aiptasia thread, as I have mentioned it numerous times (Starting to understand why Senor ESPI gets so annoyed by the repeated threads).