Sahin Posted June 4, 2002 Share Posted June 4, 2002 Are Aiptasia really a pest? I know their growth and spread is very good, and that they have very good stinging capabilities, but I have never experianced a complete tank takeover, so are they really that bad? Devil; if they aint, how many do you have in your tank and how does it affect other corals? I am really interested in knowing this as it seems to me they pose no problems in your tank, so why is it then that so many people depict them as tank/coral destroyers? Link to comment
Asterix Posted June 4, 2002 Share Posted June 4, 2002 I like the way they look....But they do sting corals!!!!!!! In fact, The will actually grow in to some corals, Like Polyps for example...I had about 5 that made there home inside the polyp, they just kind of drilled in...All the polyps that touched the Aptaisia were retracted and looked bad...So I took a pear of tweezers and pulled out all the aptasia that I could see, Within 3 hours they were all extended again and in good health. Be careful if you use the tweezer method though! be gentle and do not puncture the skin of the Aptaisia or else there could be eggs everywhere....also, On another thread someone said that Perpermint shrimp control aptaisa...They do, But not BIG aptaisia, you gota take them out yourself...Peper Shrimp are a prevention, not a cure, They will take out any new Aptasias before they get big...then if the shrimp dies, Chances are it will come back (All of this written here is from my personal experience) Link to comment
gabe3eb Posted June 4, 2002 Share Posted June 4, 2002 They serve no benefit to the tank and I think that they are ugly. Their stinging is very real and you have absolutely no control over where they are in your tank. They decide where they will go and often times, it will be next to a coral... In a small tank they are a pest plain and simple. I had one who burrowed in a chili coral and it almost killed it... I would recomend getting a peppermint shrimp to take care of them... gaber Link to comment
Sahin Posted June 4, 2002 Author Share Posted June 4, 2002 I have no problem with them. I had a few of them in my tank about 10 days ago, but I nuked them all pretty good with kalk paste. Didnt inject them or anything, just squirted kalk paste right into thier mouths. Dead followed very soon. RIP dear aiptasias for you will all be missed...NOT! I just wanted to know from DEVIL why he likes them so much. I think he has them in his tank, and I was wondering if they present any problems in his tank. Just being curious I guess. Link to comment
Crakeur Posted June 4, 2002 Share Posted June 4, 2002 I had a problem with aptasia recently and found this nifty liquid that destroys them on contact and is reef safe. I had a blast zapping the little (and big) buggers: http://www.marinedepot.com/a_ad_cm.asp?CartId= Link to comment
printerdown01 Posted June 4, 2002 Share Posted June 4, 2002 Ok, this is only a personal opinion here: I HATE APTASIA! lol -no seriously! These little buggers multiplied like rabits in my tank and grew quickly! -And I did not feed my tank heavily!! They bumped up against everything and stung everything! I got 2 peppermints to get rid of the cursed plague that had been brought upon my tank... They within a matter of days consumed ALL of the little pests... I felt like a lottery winner! I took the peppermints back to the store, and did a little victory dance... But the d*mned grew back. I picked up another peppermint and kept him in the tank for about a month, before I returned him. This guy wiped everything out (save one lone evil little bastard that still resides in my tank). I guess I can deal with one anemone -its much better than the problem I had before! I think they are not only the most evil thing that I have ever encountered in the hobby (well maybe I'll make an exception for the mantis shrimp) but also the most difficult problem to get rid of. Honestly the best cure is prevention (sorry if I sound like 6 grade sex education here -but it is true). Try not to get these guys! If you do get them, try getting them out! The longer you leave the peppermint in the tank the less likely you are to have anything grow back... REMEBER PEPERMINTS WILL EAT BABY SHROOMS AND YELLOW POLYPS! -and when I say eat I mean devour! If you have aptasia and yellow polyps you might want to consider using kalk or some other form of posion! -I have hear that burrying them works too?? Link to comment
devil Posted June 4, 2002 Share Posted June 4, 2002 why do I like them so mutch? because I had no problems with them! actualy that is because I have no corals currently... because of my camel back there is only one glass hook apitasia left in my tank... but I am planning on getting more! I think I will get some thick leg and some yellow if Il find any.... they do look nice in a FOWLR! and they aren't parasites! just colonial rock stinging anemones not mutch more! it's like all other anemones in a reef-not a reef safe animal... Link to comment
Toyfreek Posted June 5, 2002 Share Posted June 5, 2002 Your camel-back shrimp will not eat aptaisia, nor will it controll it. you are heading for a headache if you encourage aptaisia growth IMO GL, Toy Link to comment
devil Posted June 5, 2002 Share Posted June 5, 2002 belive me he ate them! but when I got my first coral I returned it to the lfs! BTW no pepermints and coperbands in IL! so you can not control it! well as I said have NO problems with them! just a fast reproducing anemone! and they look so cool! Link to comment
gabe3eb Posted June 5, 2002 Share Posted June 5, 2002 I have never heard of peppermints eating small shrooms... My small shroomshave been doing fine to my knowledge.... but I just checked and unless they floated somewhere else, my baby shrooms aren'twhere they use to be.... AAHHH HAHa oh well, I have over 20 shrooms as it is,,, I guess this is shroom control... Willthey eat all sizedyellow polyps??? gaber Link to comment
Toyfreek Posted June 5, 2002 Share Posted June 5, 2002 "belive me he ate them! " Sure he did... Toy Link to comment
devil Posted June 5, 2002 Share Posted June 5, 2002 I saw it my self! what do you want a pic? if I will have more camelbacks in the future I will give you a pic of one eating an apitasia but.... I don't think I will like this pic... Link to comment
Sahin Posted June 5, 2002 Author Share Posted June 5, 2002 I do think that Aiptasia look rather cool. I quite like the glassy look they have. Too bad they have pest status else I would have kept a few. I saw a big one in the LFS today it is about two inches high and about 1 inch across. Looked pretty cool to me. I bet I would have asked its price had I not known it was a pest coral and not for sale Link to comment
devil Posted June 5, 2002 Share Posted June 5, 2002 I think you can keep them in a refugium can ya? a litle rose garden they dont harm any macro from my experience and macro doesn't harm them.... a 2" apitasia??? I have to get one! maybe my lfs have some of the gumbo size 4" ones (I hope they do ) Link to comment
gabe3eb Posted June 5, 2002 Share Posted June 5, 2002 Why are you being so skeptical toy, just because your have never seen one do it or yours didn't doesn't mean anything...??? What gives? gaber Link to comment
Toyfreek Posted June 6, 2002 Share Posted June 6, 2002 Yeah I guess its possible, It's just that Devil always has some pretty good "stories" in his post. I sometimes think he is pulling our legs. Toy Link to comment
Im 12 with a nano Posted June 6, 2002 Share Posted June 6, 2002 I plan on having a FOWLRAA that is (Fish Only With Live Rock And Anemones and i wouldnt mind a few aiptasia here and there. FREE ANEMONES!!!! Link to comment
gabe3eb Posted June 6, 2002 Share Posted June 6, 2002 The think with aptasia is that they aren't even the good type of anenomes that you would buy in a store... 12 - look at the artical that Chris wrote last week about anenomes in tanks... Before asking questions, do some research... I hear you toy, I just haven't witnessed the other cases I guess, but oh well... gaber Link to comment
printerdown01 Posted June 6, 2002 Share Posted June 6, 2002 It is possible that the shrimps sold in Devil's area are the same shrimp you call peppermints! Common names change from area to area, shop to shop. I think we have all run into this at one point or another... I have run into 3 shrimps sold as "peppermints." Camels are also sold as peppermints around here sometimes (not to mention their other popular name hindge backs, or broken back shrimp). Common names change and are useless when trying to ID anything. Not saying this is what happened... just offering it as an explination of observation and disagreement. What I call a camel will probably never eat aptasia, but what I call a camel might not be what devil calls a camel. Link to comment
devil Posted June 6, 2002 Share Posted June 6, 2002 I identified it from the net I live in IL as I wrote before and I have no pepermints in here! it is a rare shrimp here! my camel back was a glassy with red stripes and big green eyes and alump on the back what I have now is a FWLRAAAC!=fish with live rock and apitasias and crustaceans! maybe Il have starfishes in the future time will tell Link to comment
Sahin Posted June 6, 2002 Author Share Posted June 6, 2002 I think that if Devil says his shrimp ate Aiptasia we should take his word for it. All animals are still individuals and there might always be one that doesnt conform to norms. Take this for example: One of my previous setups, a 75G Oscar tank, with one 11inch oscar, one 5inch JD and various bottom dwellers. Now the oscar and JD were never fed live feeders. They took food as anything that floated around on the water surface, aka pellets.... So..when my tetra tank had a major problem, I had to put 4 Black tipped tetras and a congo tetra in this same tank! Not one of the tetras were eaten, even after being in the tank for over a month and half. Neither did the oscar or Jack Dempsey cichlid try to eat these small teeny fishes. Normally I would gave thought such an action was crazy, but I knew my fishes and it work till I managed to sort things out. It just shows that there are some strange shrimps/fish/wahtever else out there. Link to comment
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