Please help identify

[ReefFrenzy1974]

Just noticed this in my 40 gallon breeder. It acts like a coral of some kind but I did not purchase this or put it in. Quite literally one day it wasn’t there then one day it was. I’m confused. 

[brandon429]

Aiptasia

 

The easiest invader in reefing to beat 

 

You read about them wiping out tanks because the masses choose ways to deal with them that doesn't work, you can see when searching hundred pages aiptasia threads. 

 

Doing opposite of the masses works best for a few things in reefing... cycling/aiptasia control are two

 

Do this

 

Lift up the rock it's on and set on the counter facing up exposing the anemone. Air doesn't hurt live rock or a few corals while sitting there on the counter

 

Take a flathead screwdriver that is reasonably clean and not cruddy 

 

Wipe it down well, using water and a towel/ clean it

 

Then angle the flathead up under the foot attachment and tap it off the rock. Take some of the footing surface, dig it out in one or three taps

Rinse off the rock with saltwater, put back in tank. Don't treat aiptasia any other way or you'll get the massive problems 100% of aiptasia posts show/ with 5% win rate

 

[brandon429]

Fight these universal excuses aiptasia owners employ, which wind up wrecking their tank:

 

-i can't lift my rocks they're glued (looks like gluing leads to excuses which leads to invasion loss, unglue)

 

- I'm worried about my cycle. (Don't be)

 

- online it says to inject them with something (go ahead lol, if you're determined to learn the hard way)

 

- this sounds like too much work. 

 

It's your #1, how much would this guy liked to have known the rules on anemone #1 vs anemone 1000:

 

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/what-would-you-do-aiptasia-tank-takover.910411/

[brandon429]

If you remove aiptasia and it doesn't leave a notable scrape or divot on the attachment point, you're doing what the masses do. A hammer and flathead + tap rasp takes the foot cells plus the ground they're adhered to

 

All other methods are passive takeover allowance options, don't do that pls

 If you'll remove the aiptasia the right way, the takes control over investment immediately way, I want to add your thread here to a building aiptasia removal thread back over there at reef2reef. 

[ReefFrenzy1974]

26 minutes ago, brandon429 said:

Aiptasia

 

The easiest invader in reefing to beat 

 

You read about them wiping out tanks because the masses choose ways to deal with them that doesn't work, you can see when searching hundred pages aiptasia threads. 

 

Doing opposite of the masses works best for a few things in reefing... cycling/aiptasia control are two

 

Do this

 

Lift up the rock it's on and set on the counter facing up exposing the anemone. Air doesn't hurt live rock or a few corals while sitting there on the counter

 

Take a flathead screwdriver that is reasonably clean and not cruddy 

 

Wipe it down well, using water and a towel/ clean it

 

Then angle the flathead up under the foot attachment and tap it off the rock. Take some of the footing surface, dig it out in one or three taps

Rinse off the rock with saltwater, put back in tank. Don't treat aiptasia any other way or you'll get the massive problems 100% of aiptasia posts show/ with 5% win rate

 

thank you! Now I’m wondering how it got there. I haven’t added ANYTHING, other than water changes, to my tank in quite some time. Very confused as to where it came from. 

[jservedio]

5 hours ago, brandon429 said:

i can't lift my rocks they're glued (looks like gluing leads to excuses which leads to invasion loss, unglue)

Even if you can't lift the rock out you can still do this right in your tank - you just need to take a little bit bigger chunk of rock out to make sure you get it. Half my rockwork is attached together from years and years of SPS growth and I've had no problems knocking out a couple rogue aiptasia that have made it through over the last few years. Sometimes you even get lucky where it's on a tiny protrusion in the rock and you can just use the bone cutters to snip it off.

[Tired]

It was probably introduced as a little baby and has only recently gotten big and noticeable. 

 

Pulling the rock out and either chiseling off that bit, or smothering it in liquid superglue if it's in an easily covered spot, is your best bet. A single aiptasia is pretty easy to deal with, you just gotta get at it when there's only one. Or three.