Aptasia?

[oatyfruitybar]

So I was looking over my rocks today and I saw an itty bitty thing that looks like an anemone. Poked at it with a piece of airline tubing and it retreated back into the rock. I haven't poked at it with a finger to make sure it stings, but I'm very suspicious that it's aptasia. I have no pictures as I don't have a camera high enough quality to capture a clear image. It's only about a centimeter wide but has long (for it's body) pinkish white tentacles.

I'm wondering if I should try and take care of it now or if I should wait for some reason (on the off chance it's not aptasia?). Are there any anemones that sometimes come with live rock that aren't bad, even?

Also, if I do need to get rid of it, I've read up on a bunch of methods - peppermint shrimp, syringes of boiling water, Aptasia-X, and was wondering which ones might be a good choice given that I already have invertebrates in my tank and don't want any chemicals or boiling water to harm them, but I will also want to keep clams and corals later and I've heard that peppermint shrimp can start eating them. Which method would y'all recommend? I'm considering boiling water, but am wondering where to get a syringe that won't melt if I try it.

 

[Off The Deep End]

If it looks like this, you dont want it!

Any method used in the tank will most likley lead to more aptasia. I would say if you can get the rock out and boil it would be your best bet. If you cant get the rock out then peppermints are hit or miss, there are a specific kind that has had a better sucess rate i just cant remember which one. Maybe someone will chime in with that. HTH

 

[oatyfruitybar]

Oh damn... that's exactly what it looks like.

Okay. So what's the best way to kill it? I'm hesitant to get something to eat them because as far as I can see there's only one.

 

[Jfaiii]

if you can pull out the rock and slowly drip some boiling vinegar directly onto the aptasia and in its hole in the rock. Then use a toothpick or something to pull it out. By doing this I can usually get the entire thing to come out in one piece and they never come back. also could add a peppermint shrimp and hope it takes care of it.

 

[Off The Deep End]

There are a million options for killing aptasia, the only problem is most of them are hit or miss(not proven). The biggest thing is you dont want to irritate it to the point of it releasing spores(offspring). If you can get the rock out that would be your best bet for ridding your tank.

 

[oatyfruitybar]

Okay. If I take the rock out is there any way to get rid of the aptasia on it and not other life (such as coraline algae)? Or is the best thing to do just let it dry and become base rock?

 

[Off The Deep End]

You could inject it with kalk, burn it with a blowtorch or just plainly try to scrape it out and/or super glue it, but when your done it may still have had a chance to release spores onto the rock... rock back into the tank= spores back into the tank. I still to this day do not have aptasia(crossing fingers) i have had luck with a blow torch on the aptasia and an inch diameter around the hole(hopefully) killing the aptasia and any spores that were released. Then to top it all off i fill the hole with superglue. Not guaranteed and not proven but it has worked in the past. HTH

 

[oatyfruitybar]

Okay. Rock is out of the tank now. I'll try the blowtorch and superglue I think. Fire on an aquatic organism seems like a good choice, esp. since I took the rock out to work on it. Although I kind of like the new rock work in my tank without that one stone. Maybe I won't put it back.

 

[Off The Deep End]

Okay. Rock is out of the tank now. I'll try the blowtorch and superglue I think. Fire on an aquatic organism seems like a good choice, esp. since I took the rock out to work on it. Although I kind of like the new rock work in my tank without that one stone. Maybe i wont put it back.

That would be the best option for not getting more aiptasia

 

[oatyfruitybar]

Did not think this one through... since I took the rock out the aptasia went back it it's hidey-hole and now I'm not sure which one it is. Updates will come as soon as I find and torch the little bugger.

 

[oatyfruitybar]

Oookay... forgot that blowtorch was out of fuel. But you're probably right anyway. I'm just going to let it dry out. It'll still be good aragonite rubble if nothing else. Or after I let it dry for a few months maybe I can put it back in as base rock or something.

 

[kmcmurtry]

I wonder how long it would take to dry out - like do the spores stay viable for a certain amount of time out of water? I have to admit I bought a coral recently that had 2 baby aptasia on it and I picked away at it for a goodly amount of time with a toothpick, rinsed it in fresh tank water and then stuck it in my tank. The coral was unharmed and the aptasia appears to be gone but I am sure I just helped it propogate more. However, I didn't want to lose the coral and I couldn't look at those pests in my tank.

 

[hurrafreak]

It may have been worth it to get a peppermint shrimp or two. I guess there are certain types so you have to get the one that they say eats them? I got some recently and they took care of my problem almost overnight, it was awesome!

 

[oatyfruitybar]

Yeah I know that peppermint shrimp are supposed to do a good job. I was just concerned about that option because I only saw one aptasia (and believe me, I looked HARD for other ones). Once it ate that it wouldn't have anything.

 

[kmcmurtry]

Maybe we should start a peppermint shrimp trading club where we loan them out to each other in a big chain. Whomever has the largest infestation gets them next. It'll be like Netflix but NetShrimp?

 

[rangerbobb]

I have had good luck with Aiptasia-X. Sometimes it didn't seem to work as well, but I wasn't turning off my flow while I did it and a few minutes after.

 

[kyuubichan218]

I have also used Aptasia-X, and while it seems to kill the aptasia just fine, I almost always get them back within the next couple of weeks. As far as I can tell, there are a lot of mixed reviews on it, works for some but not for others.

 

[Mityboognish1]

I had a small rock with a dozen or so of them on it. I took it out and let it dry for a couple of weeks and then put it back in the display tank and all aptasias where gone and then it took it a couple of weeks for bacteria to repopulate the rock. I also have had great luck with peppermint shrimps, have three in my tank for the last 6-8 months and have no aptasias.

Okay. If I take the rock out is there any way to get rid of the aptasia on it and not other life (such as coraline algae)? Or is the best thing to do just let it dry and become base rock?

 

[oatyfruitybar]

That's all cool. Maybe I'll put it back, but probably not. My tank looks better without it anyway, and I was going to trade with Wicked Demon at the frag swap on Saturday anyway. Thanks for all the advice though, you guys.

 

[saltymichigan]

I agree! These things are probably the worst bastards we come across in the aquarium. I would take him out with the rock and dump it if you can, especially if this is the only one ( very lucky).. What I usually do is wait for it to get big without disturbing it, to minimize the likelihood of spreading and then get some lemon juice with a needle syringe and inject about 5ml into his stalk.. if done right.. will certainly kill him, but you wont see 10 others around him growing afterwards.