Bulk Reef Supply Franks Tanks Faiptasia works great nothing has worked for me but this miracle product. I still have it I need to buy more but the areas I’ve hit which were biblical plague amounts have not come back and it’s been a month all my corals are looking happy and healthy now that they aren’t getting stung.
Kenan Bakin Bergia is your best option, been in the hobby 15 yrs, have had aptasia at least 3 times and berghia ALWAYS does the trick. Only thing is it will die at some point so only get a cpl small ones, especially if it’s a tank less than 75 gallons. They will eat them all just give them time.
I definitely had this problem, but 2 real peppermint shrimp did some MAJOR damage to them. I still had a hunt and peck but nothing compared to what it had been.
I’m gonna keep commenting this.... guys! Branch out to the UK / Europe. We NEED you. All your advice and equipment is relevant and needed here, it’s just the voltage/current change on electrical. There’s a couple of really good coral places here that would benefit from your presence here too. Your approach to the hobby and sales/service will change the game here.
I had a tank full of aptasia. The more I tried to eradicate them the more they multiplied. I was disgusted and ready to give up. My last shot was an Australian Strippy. He wasn’t cheap but, in 4 weeks I have ZERO aptasia and he’s only a little guy. He is my absolute hero and I will always keep one in my tank. Took forever to find one but we’ll worth the effort and the cost.
I bought 5 peppermint shrimp and added them to my sump for a few days. First I let them get hungry for a couple days. Then I started adding small rocks/frags with aiptasia on them. I wanted to make sure they went for the aiptasia and not the corals as I've heard stories of them nipping at your corals too. Long story short, they went to town on the aiptasia, didn't touch the corals, and got promoted to the display tank. This was last week and I'm already seeing a significant decrease in aiptasia.
WOW! That is an awesome plan! That way they they will be forced to go after them and cant get attacted by any predators! only problem is my sump is only about 10 to 15 gallons and have a few big rocks that wont fit:(
I have a number 21 for you! Don’t use tweezers! My first coral tank, and my first aiptasia. My local shop told me to just try to get it out with tweezers. I pulled two chunks out and 5 min later I saw it back in full bloom. Pissed off so I looked to TH-cam and found this video. I freaked out and immediately pulled the candy cane plug out and isolated it and ordered X. Fortunately it was sitting alone and not permanently placed. I pray I didn’t stress it and send babies everywhere, so I’ll BOLO for sure! Thank you @BRStv for your awesome channel…
Love that BRS goes into detail about how Aiptasia killing products can actually make the issue worse. I had a system that was at "break down the tank" levels because of those so called "cures". Started off with 10-20 and went to literally hundreds (maybe more) within a few months while using them. I've tried them all and only watched the problem get worse. Never plugged them the way that BRS suggests, but for certain just using the goop made what was initially a nuisance into a near disaster. Berghia nudis did the trick for me. Two orders of nudis cleared out the entire tank of any noticeable Aiptasia. Money well spent and my go to for Aiptasia.
Wild-caught Gulf of Mexico (Florida Keys) Peppermint Shrimp (Lysmata wurdemanni, perhaps?) absolutely eradicated my Aiptasia. However, after the aiptasia were gone, they immediately went on to devouring my Euphyllia (Fimbriaphyllia) - I witnessed this first hand investigating the tank at night. I ended up deciding to move the Euphyllia to another tank. They didn't bother any other corals I had in the tank.
Mostly have to learn to manage it. Have had it for 7 years in my 180 reef. Never got out of control and so far the best have used is boiling water in a syringe. Even used a high powered laser beam at one point. It burned paper and other things immediately. When I added the shrimp my marine grouper ate them. Ordered LARGE ones and of course received miniature. Another thing that works was soaking the rock in a bucket of vinegar for 30 minutes and all done. But have a LOT of rock and that is expensive but it does work.
As a new reefer I accidentally solved my aiptasia problem by getting a coral banded shrimp and corals that had berghia in them, neither of which I knew were useful for managing aiptasia. Aiptasia was gone within weeks. I got lucky!!
I shall. Just for fun I did zap one with diluted H2O2 a couple times. Then syphoned it out when it fizzled. Wish your channel was around when I built my 180 reef in the early 90’s. Thanks!
Watched this video, 1 week later got a live rock with aiptasia, glad I watched this video. Rock was pulled from quarantine tank... spread was stopped at giving up live rock....
Everybody hates on Aiptasia X but it worked perfectly for me. That said...next tank I will be curing dry rock instead of buying live and dipping everything that goes into the tank
Hi , I have used the laser and it has actually worked for me. You do have to take precautions and it takes time , but I caught my aiptasia early which made it easier
Have had small aiptasia outbreaks in three separate tanks. 2-3 peppermints in a fluval 5, two to three weeks , all gone, none seen for 2 years. Aiptasia eating filefish - leather jackets in two other tanks. Gone! Weir on my display was a forest, cleaned in 3 days, none seen anywhere for months. Another one in a 30 long, cleaned up a scattered amount. Never had much luck with copperbands though.
I got some new Chaeto for my refug and there was one on it the next day. I left it because I was gonna take care of it the next day but that morning, there were 4!! I took the chaeto out. Lol
Great video! Recently found one aiptasia on a Cynarina base. After watching this video I will tackle eradicating it this morning! Glad you covered all the topics I've heard about since getting into the hobby.
I have tried Aiptasia X worked until new little ones started growing everywhere. I tried the File fish, it looked like it worked then the file fish died because that is about all it ate (the other fish were more food aggressive). So now I am using F-Aiptasia, it does seem to work for reducing the numbers. F-Aiptasia is like Randy's idea of using Aiptasia X then adding epoxy. F-Aiptasia you cover the Aiptasia and the F-Aiptasia turns hard. I believe that you need to keep the hard crusted area in the tank undisturbed for a month or two. Because I did disturb the crust a few days after and the Aiptasia returned after a week or so. So the places where I left F-Aiptasia undisturbed seem be staying Aiptasia free. One thing to say GOOD LUCK to anyone who has Aiptasia !
5:45 Gwad...... I wish you guys were the angel on my shoulder at the store when I got the bogo sale of coral..... ended up with a leather I felt bad for, ended up having a pyramid snail which killed my 6" clam!!!! $^#%#% LOVE YOUR ADVICE, wish I heard it sooner.
Started with just1 in my 7 month old tank, by the time I realized it might become a problem I could see around 10. I ordered aiptasia x and blasted about 15 of them but that only pissed them off and soon I had about 20. I then picked up a file fish and 2 peppermint shrimp from LFS. It took about 4 or 5 days before they got to work but after about 10 days I have none.
There a lots of live options to help eliminate them. I've aiptasia X for a few small one's but the live options help to keep them under control for the long haul.
have had aptasia 3 or 4 times during my career. none for the past five years or so. i've always used 3 or 4 peppermint shrimp, tank is about 120 gallons. They come out at night and in about a month or two they are gone, each time ive used them. have done all the glue stuff etc., but they don't go away. The shrimp love them. don't waste your time with anything else.
Tried a whole bunch of things, aiptasia x, F aiptasia, joes juice, nudibrachs, manjo wand. What really killed them off is the peppermint shrimp. I've must of been lucky and got a good hungry batch.
@@carlosmontenegro8501 As of today, I've had a trio in my 65g tall for a month. Two in the display and one in the refugium in the sump. So far they had not bother any corals except for when I spot feed. That's when they steal food.
I bought a zoa frag that ended up having aptasia on it, it was not visible in the store and did not see it until after 2 weeks of having it in my tank. I did manage to get the aptasia off and out of the zoa frag, BUT, it did spread. Now when I do see them, I will pull the rock and scrub that area under hot tap water with an old tooth brush. Last one I seen was a couple of weeks ago.
boy is this timely. I found one aptasia in my sump, and it looks like three sprouting up from my sand bed in my display last night during a water change.
I would add another line: not understanding corals that can fight aipstasia. You can get galaxea, hydnophora, elegance coral... those can flourish even if you have aipstasia. I’ve gotten to the point I’d rather limit my coral selection than keep worrying about aipstasia to some degree.
I had a ton. I bought a filefish and some aiptasia x. Its 99% gone. BUT it remains in my overflow box. Any suggestions to get them out of there? Too tight for syringe.
Maybe consider taking the overflow box off to treat the aiptasia. Run some kalkwasser or citric acid through the overflow box to kill it off. Hot water would probably work too but I wouldn't recommend it. Then rinse it loong with fresh water to get all possibly released babies out and put the overflowbox back on
@@multykiller007 thanks. Thats what im planning on doing. Ive been afraid to upset the balance as theyre finally out of my display. But they gotta go. I was gonna vlean it as suggested and leave it out of water overnight to kill all of them.
I actually noticed one hanging out in my refugium a couple weeks ago. It's the first and only one I've seen in the tank. I know if there's one there's more, but I'd hate to disturb him and risk them spreading to the display. Ive been looking everyday all over the tank to make sure I don't see them. But I know it's inevitable that it will make its way someday, so I'm torn on what to do haha. It's been over a year and this is the first I'm having this issue with this tank!
Never tried anything else, but I added a matted filefish and he went straight at the aiptasia. He's a voracious eater and the pest is gone. He eats frozen food well and two years in, no aiptasia at all. Guess I'm lucky, but I'll take it!
I have a sixth sense for finding them, propably out of fear for them.. I really hate them after loosing to them 20 years ago.. My solution is discovering them in time when there is still a sinle one or two, and act the same minute, no matter if you dont really have time for it.. I have a 1 ml syringe filled with extra strong vinegar. Here in Norway we can get 40% and I think really 15-20 will work. I tip the syringe with the blue ekstra thin needle meant for intramuscular injections, the green meant for adults is just giving to big doses. I just prick them right in the mouth and press, holding the stamp part, not the tube part. If you try to hold it normaly you will miss, these devils are too fast for a normal injection method. That is also why I use the small syringe, since if I miss I havent destroyd my water chemistry, and 1 ml is enough for the strongest biggest hulking aptasia if you hit and fill him. So far in my latest setup 65g cube with mix of real live rock that I knew could have some aptasia I managed to keep them of, just killing 2 babies and its now months since I saw ANY at all.. I learned this trick from an really old reefer who died now from Corona (may his memory be a blessing) and I saw it worked on my old tank, but it was too late when I learned it, they had me cornered.
I trained my filefish to eat aiptasia by quarantining it with a rock full of aiptasia I got from a buddy before adding it to the DT. It quickly figured out that they made for a tasty morsel.
I had one or maybe two on a rock so I covered them with super glue and now I have about 15 or so all around the same spot! I dont get it! I did take rock out once and scrub off bubble algae so is it possible I spred it scrubbing out of the tanks and rinsing well with tank water? Nudis always seem to leave one or two behind so I cant seem to ever eradacate them and when I scrubbed the rock I dont think I had the aptaisia at that time either! Franks gets so thick and you end up having to throw away! I think Ill do the joes juice and maybe try thicker glue and then epoxy! . Is BRS glue thicker then super glue? I am also scared of treating that whole area. Is it going to mess with my chemisty(alk)since its basically kalk? Should I not dose soda ash the same day I treat it?
I recently purchased a wild collected porites. Didnt notice the tiny aiptasia until a day or so.. Ended up supee gluing it and most of the rock just incase there were smaller ones
Kents Part B from the 2 part dosing completely disintegrates aiptasia instantly (and coral) if you squirt it directly on them. Luckily I had some space between all my aiptasia and corals so this worked great. Proceed with caution. Lemon juice on a few at a time for a couple days will burn them to death also and is less risky.
I have two Aptasia that I keep blasting with aptasia x but they keep coming back, probably had them for a couple of years and luckily they haven’t spread. I’m going to try the Kalwasa and putty you guys mentioned. Thanks for all the advice, love your videos 👍
As one who has PTSD from aiptasia, and seriously... I felt a cold clammy chills overtake me just watching this video, I have fought the beast many times, and have lost just about as many. I feel physical removal is the only way to remove it, everything else just manages it got it on a coral, can you chop off half the coral? is it on rock? gonna break off a good chunk of that rock? Aiptasia just as crazy good regenerative qualities that it doesn't take much for it to grow all again. Oh yeah at 6:49 that's not aiptasia that's a tube anemone. And #19, yeah sump/fuge, but also overflow boxes, in pipes... if you have an infected tank assume you always have it.
there’s one particular lfs in my area who likes to keep aipatasia in their fish tank. lol. guess he sells them? he used to have rampant amount in his coral tanks... but i haven’t been there for over a year. lol. and people wonder why he keeps relocating.
Hey BRS, have you guys had any experience with using ChemiClean. I’m considering it due to a Cyano problem but am wondering if it is safe? I’ve read lots of good reviews but also some bad ones.
I just bought some live rock and i believe it has some baby aiptasia. I have not yet added anything else in the tank. What should I do? This is my first saltwater tank.
If you confirm that it is indeed aiptasia, you can either treat it (knowing that you'll never be able to rid the tank of them 100%) or you can take all of the rock and substrate out, dry it out, and start over. Neither option is fun, but the good news is that you caught it early.
I got one of those file fish the day I saw my first aiptasia, he ate it within 20 minutes and I literally never saw another one. I kept the aiptasia there just to see if he’d eat it and he sure did.
I purchased a ricordea on line and dipped it. 4 months later an aptasia popped up out of no where. I’m like what the hec!! It is now in a super glue tomb!
My old tank was over run with aipstasia and what we did was get nudibranches they will kill aipstasia until there is no more but they will die when there is no more so you will have to buy more if you get it again but I would say it only takes a couple weeks to kill
I'm new to this hobby but I have a question. You mentioned these things have tubes? So how do you tell the difference between them and little feather duster? I think I found one in my tank but there was no tube? Oh no!
If you poke a feather duster, it's feather part (called the crown) will retract very quickly. If you poke an aiptasia, it will retract, but much more slowly. If you're on Facebook, join the AskBRS group and post a picture. We'd be happy to take a look and see if we can get you an ID
One critical point people should be aware of when dealing with Aiptasia is that the most common and effective cure is Peppermint shrimp....please note that they will only eat the small ones, so you have to deal with the big ones yourself. What people don't realize is that once the Aiptasia are gone, the peppermint shrimp will often start consuming healthy live corals. Many claim this is the result of misidentified species and that the culprits are not actually true peppermint shrimp. This is is patently false. Not all peppermint shrimp consume corals...they are like people some of whom don't eat meat. But I have had these shrimp destroy many corals so I was forced to set traps to get them back out of the reef tank...and once they are gone, the Aiptasia will likely come back. Its a tough balancing act. There are no easy quick fixes.
I had a plague of aptasia in my little red sea 20 cube. Covered the rocks, the back wall, everywhere. Think it came in on a Trochus snail. Only removed with Berghia, and then when all aptasia were gone, a peppermint shrimp has kept the tank free since then. Now I have a plague of bubble algae. Hoping this doesn't turn into a biblical 7 plagues thing.
I like to use a combination of the methods that you have mentioned and you can easily keep on top of these anemones. I can sometimes just lift them of the substrate if they land there :)
There is multiple peppermint shrimp in the industry. Lysmata wurdemanni Animal Description DescriptionLysmata wurdemanni, commonly known as the peppermint shrimp, is a species of shrimp. Wikipedia Scientific name: Lysmata wurdemanni Phylum: Arthropoda Higher classification: Lysmata Order: Decapods Rank: Species Species: L. wurdemanni. Peppermint Shrimp Lysmata wurdemanni - Aquarium Depotaquariumdepot.com › peppermint-shrimp-lysmata-wur... The Saltwater Peppermint Shrimp (Lysmata wurdemanni) is also known as Veined Shrimp and Caribbean Cleaner Shrimp. It is a natural predator of the nuisance anemone- aiptasia, while some peppermint shrimp may have more of a taste for the anemone than others. MINIMUM TANK SIZE: 30 gallons CARE LEVEL: Moderately Easy FOOD/DIET: Carnivore
"if you buy propogated corals from a reputable propogation facility" I got all my corals from WWC and trusted that i wouldn't get aptasia but here I am.
I put in a Klein Butterfly fish into a tank filled with aiptasia. It took about 4-5 months, but the tank was fully eradicated and years later no sign of aiptasia. Klein are much easier to feed and keep than copperband butterfly fish. They are also typically coral friendly and an overall nice addition to the tank.
I got a file fish a month ago and now my corals are suffering. All parameters are good. Fresh water changes. Could the fish be attacking my coral? I've started putting my corals in my frag tanks to if that will fix it.
It's really worth monitoring the Filefish closely to see if it is actually the culprit. If all your corals are affected, I would suspect something else is happening in your tank.
I had an aiptasia problem, I took the rock out and scrubbed the heck out of the rock with fresh water running it down the drain scrubbing with a wire brush, I put the rock back in the tank and dayum and it spread like wild fire
We've got a couple of options on our website. This one is my personal favorite! 🙂 www.bulkreefsupply.com/blue-lagoon-garden-reef-art-18-in-x-12-in-canvas-print-jps-zoas.html
I used AptasiaX for my couple I've had...saw it...nuked it straight away with ApX. I never let them get a foothold. Years later never had them come back.
Well I am glad youtube recommended this to me. I am new reefer and my Kenya tree has a piece of this on it. I have seen it for last 2 months but didnt realize thats what it is.. =/ I guess I need to just remove it which sucks its one of the only coral I have right now
What worked best for me was a raccoon butterfly. You need to watch it, obviously, when the aiptasia are gone, because it may start to go after your corals.
I had same thing in my tank had one then had hundreds tried joes juice and it worked but couldn’t kill them all kill one and 10 more popped up tried copper banded he didn’t last wouldn’t eat anything. You guys didn’t mention Klein’s butterfly fish put 2 in there and couple weeks all gone and never came back
I was at a LFS and saw a giant aiptasia in the corner I thought was an anenome I wanted (Im brand new to reefing) I took a pic of it and later saw this video and realized it was a monster 5 inch parasite
I got a few from zoa frag I thought I had it really cleaned off but I guess I didn't. I have a few in my tank but before they get out of hand I bought three B nudis to eat them.
not mentioning at all that filefish very high percentage they start eating coral, copperbands and peppermint shrimp eating coral and anemones as well. also not mentioning scats, they will clear aiptasia from a tank in one day. some eat coral as well but others are in big displays and are used as rental fish.
Fair point. There are several comments sharing the same sentiment, however we've been pretty fortunate to not have experienced coral pecking from either of those. Likely related to how heavily we feed the tank and just how many aiptasia were there to begin with.
I just recently eradicated it from 3 tanks(all connected) and it took a long time. I tried Joe's Juice and Aptasia X both of these killed and spread it. I tried peppermint shrimp, but didn't realize the Neon Dottyback in the DT was killing them. I also got a Copperband , but my Sailfin & Purple tangs would casually bully it and died after 3 months without touching any aptasia. Went to LFS to purchase a Filefish and the guy told me he didn't recommend it and that I was better off leaving the aptasia in the tank(wtf). I was so discouraged the aptasia got outta control and killed well over $1000 in coral. I was ready to just shut it down and then I found Berghia Nudibranchs. I bought 7 nudibranchs let them run its course. It was very hard to look at the tank, but then it just slowly started to disappear and its finally gone after 4 months!!!
Another issue - it seems everything bloody eats nudis! Brittlestars, Bristleworms, amphipods eat nudi eggs.... 😢 this battle could get the better of me 😖
First saltwater tank, purchased a live rock from petco. Noticed this weird anemone on the rock. It looks exactly like aptasia. Removed the rock, I will not be buying my aquarium needs from petco from now on.
I wouldn't suggest a lighter as it could release fumes into the air. Some reefers have reported success with lasers, but we prefer using other methods like natural predators or even covering the aiptasia with epoxy or super glue gel.
I brought a coral then noticed the pest so the new coral went in the bin to protect the tank my hubby went spare because of the waste of money but I had no hesitation in the bin it went
I had one little aiptasia in my 38gal bow front. Saw it one day and then it was gone the next day. I had a bullet head goby in there and I assume he ate it.
Shrimp ate all of mine and then they died. My other shrimp were fine. But the Aiptasia were erradicated. I'm restarting a 710 liter and this time I'm going really slow. One, I'm lazy. Two, I just want to get it really right this time.
I live in a major metropolitan area and there is not a single reef store I’ve found that doesn’t have Apitasia in their systems. So I feel like I’m done before I even start.
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What's your best trick for eradicating aiptasia? Have you made the same mistakes we did?
Bulk Reef Supply Franks Tanks Faiptasia works great nothing has worked for me but this miracle product. I still have it I need to buy more but the areas I’ve hit which were biblical plague amounts have not come back and it’s been a month all my corals are looking happy and healthy now that they aren’t getting stung.
What about berghia nudis? I just noticed aiptasia in my tank that's about 7 months old and I may go this route...
Bulk Reef Supply I was lucky enough to get a peppermint shrimp that ate the only small aiptasia I had.
Kenan Bakin Bergia is your best option, been in the hobby 15 yrs, have had aptasia at least 3 times and berghia ALWAYS does the trick. Only thing is it will die at some point so only get a cpl small ones, especially if it’s a tank less than 75 gallons. They will eat them all just give them time.
I definitely had this problem, but 2 real peppermint shrimp did some MAJOR damage to them. I still had a hunt and peck but nothing compared to what it had been.
I’m gonna keep commenting this.... guys! Branch out to the UK / Europe. We NEED you. All your advice and equipment is relevant and needed here, it’s just the voltage/current change on electrical. There’s a couple of really good coral places here that would benefit from your presence here too. Your approach to the hobby and sales/service will change the game here.
Been waiting/hoping for that for years
Dan Lenny I’m sure you can buy it in the u.s and get an adapter and have it shipped over.
@@CloudDayLight probably but it’s just not worth the effort and extra money
I had a tank full of aptasia. The more I tried to eradicate them the more they multiplied. I was disgusted and ready to give up. My last shot was an Australian Strippy. He wasn’t cheap but, in 4 weeks I have ZERO aptasia and he’s only a little guy. He is my absolute hero and I will always keep one in my tank. Took forever to find one but we’ll worth the effort and the cost.
The best part about having aptasia is you no longer worry about getting it. #onSale
Hahaha! That's one way of looking at it!
I bought 5 peppermint shrimp and added them to my sump for a few days. First I let them get hungry for a couple days. Then I started adding small rocks/frags with aiptasia on them. I wanted to make sure they went for the aiptasia and not the corals as I've heard stories of them nipping at your corals too. Long story short, they went to town on the aiptasia, didn't touch the corals, and got promoted to the display tank. This was last week and I'm already seeing a significant decrease in aiptasia.
WOW! That is an awesome plan! That way they they will be forced to go after them and cant get attacted by any predators! only problem is my sump is only about 10 to 15 gallons and have a few big rocks that wont fit:(
@@karennation3580 think bigger. Pick one of the aiptasia and throw it in the sump.
I have a number 21 for you! Don’t use tweezers! My first coral tank, and my first aiptasia. My local shop told me to just try to get it out with tweezers. I pulled two chunks out and 5 min later I saw it back in full bloom. Pissed off so I looked to TH-cam and found this video. I freaked out and immediately pulled the candy cane plug out and isolated it and ordered X. Fortunately it was sitting alone and not permanently placed. I pray I didn’t stress it and send babies everywhere, so I’ll BOLO for sure! Thank you @BRStv for your awesome channel…
Love that BRS goes into detail about how Aiptasia killing products can actually make the issue worse. I had a system that was at "break down the tank" levels because of those so called "cures". Started off with 10-20 and went to literally hundreds (maybe more) within a few months while using them. I've tried them all and only watched the problem get worse. Never plugged them the way that BRS suggests, but for certain just using the goop made what was initially a nuisance into a near disaster. Berghia nudis did the trick for me. Two orders of nudis cleared out the entire tank of any noticeable Aiptasia. Money well spent and my go to for Aiptasia.
Have used aiptasia x with great success only have one but few weeks later another appears not a real problem at the moment
Wild-caught Gulf of Mexico (Florida Keys) Peppermint Shrimp (Lysmata wurdemanni, perhaps?) absolutely eradicated my Aiptasia. However, after the aiptasia were gone, they immediately went on to devouring my Euphyllia (Fimbriaphyllia) - I witnessed this first hand investigating the tank at night. I ended up deciding to move the Euphyllia to another tank. They didn't bother any other corals I had in the tank.
This video is 1 year to old, RIP to my beautiful reef tank. Pour some glue on the curb for me boys.
On my first SW setup, I remember being excited when an aiptasia showed up! I was happy to have something"Free" growing.. That excitment ended quickly!
Oh wow!
I felt the same way about the "bonus" mantis shrimp that came on the first piece of live rock I ever bought.
chuckschilling I had one of those also!! It destroyed my cleanup crew in about a week!! Never could catch it! Tore the whole thing down and sold it! 😢
Mostly have to learn to manage it. Have had it for 7 years in my 180 reef. Never got out of control and so far the best have used is boiling water in a syringe. Even used a high powered laser beam at one point. It burned paper and other things immediately. When I added the shrimp my marine grouper ate them. Ordered LARGE ones and of course received miniature. Another thing that works was soaking the rock in a bucket of vinegar for 30 minutes and all done. But have a LOT of rock and that is expensive but it does work.
As a new reefer I accidentally solved my aiptasia problem by getting a coral banded shrimp and corals that had berghia in them, neither of which I knew were useful for managing aiptasia. Aiptasia was gone within weeks. I got lucky!!
Great video. Aiptasia is the bane of having a reef tank. Don’t put off dealing with it, it will take over almost over night!
I shall. Just for fun I did zap one with diluted H2O2 a couple times. Then syphoned it out when it fizzled. Wish your channel was around when I built my 180 reef in the early 90’s. Thanks!
Watched this video, 1 week later got a live rock with aiptasia, glad I watched this video. Rock was pulled from quarantine tank... spread was stopped at giving up live rock....
Everybody hates on Aiptasia X but it worked perfectly for me. That said...next tank I will be curing dry rock instead of buying live and dipping everything that goes into the tank
Hi , I have used the laser and it has actually worked for me.
You do have to take precautions and it takes time , but I caught my aiptasia early which made it easier
Once you have aiptasia either learn to like them or tear down the tank and start over
Have had small aiptasia outbreaks in three separate tanks. 2-3 peppermints in a fluval 5, two to three weeks , all gone, none seen for 2 years. Aiptasia eating filefish - leather jackets in two other tanks. Gone! Weir on my display was a forest, cleaned in 3 days, none seen anywhere for months. Another one in a 30 long, cleaned up a scattered amount. Never had much luck with copperbands though.
I am happy to be your 500th like on this video. Thanks for the advice guys!
I got some new Chaeto for my refug and there was one on it the next day. I left it because I was gonna take care of it the next day but that morning, there were 4!! I took the chaeto out. Lol
Great video! Recently found one aiptasia on a Cynarina base. After watching this video I will tackle eradicating it this morning! Glad you covered all the topics I've heard about since getting into the hobby.
Glad it was helpful!
I tried everything-only one thing ultimately worked.
PEPPERMINT SHRIMP!
I really appreciate the effort you guys put in to educate and share wisdom. It's priceless.
Can i just take the live rock out of the tank that its on?
I have tried Aiptasia X worked until new little ones started growing everywhere. I tried the File fish, it looked like it worked then the file fish died because that is about all it ate (the other fish were more food aggressive). So now I am using F-Aiptasia, it does seem to work for reducing the numbers. F-Aiptasia is like Randy's idea of using Aiptasia X then adding epoxy. F-Aiptasia you cover the Aiptasia and the F-Aiptasia turns hard. I believe that you need to keep the hard crusted area in the tank undisturbed for a month or two. Because I did disturb the crust a few days after and the Aiptasia returned after a week or so. So the places where I left F-Aiptasia undisturbed seem be staying Aiptasia free. One thing to say GOOD LUCK to anyone who has Aiptasia !
5:45 Gwad...... I wish you guys were the angel on my shoulder at the store when I got the bogo sale of coral..... ended up with a leather I felt bad for, ended up having a pyramid snail which killed my 6" clam!!!! $^#%#%
LOVE YOUR ADVICE, wish I heard it sooner.
Started with just1 in my 7 month old tank, by the time I realized it might become a problem I could see around 10. I ordered aiptasia x and blasted about 15 of them but that only pissed them off and soon I had about 20. I then picked up a file fish and 2 peppermint shrimp from LFS. It took about 4 or 5 days before they got to work but after about 10 days I have none.
There a lots of live options to help eliminate them. I've aiptasia X for a few small one's but the live options help to keep them under control for the long haul.
have had aptasia 3 or 4 times during my career. none for the past five years or so. i've always used 3 or 4 peppermint shrimp, tank is about 120 gallons. They come out at night and in about a month or two they are gone, each time ive used them. have done all the glue stuff etc., but they don't go away. The shrimp love them. don't waste your time with anything else.
Tried a whole bunch of things, aiptasia x, F aiptasia, joes juice, nudibrachs, manjo wand. What really killed them off is the peppermint shrimp. I've must of been lucky and got a good hungry batch.
Have you ever noticed the peppermint touching any coral and how long have you had them for
@@carlosmontenegro8501 As of today, I've had a trio in my 65g tall for a month. Two in the display and one in the refugium in the sump. So far they had not bother any corals except for when I spot feed. That's when they steal food.
I bought a zoa frag that ended up having aptasia on it, it was not visible in the store and did not see it until after 2 weeks of having it in my tank. I did manage to get the aptasia off and out of the zoa frag, BUT, it did spread. Now when I do see them, I will pull the rock and scrub that area under hot tap water with an old tooth brush. Last one I seen was a couple of weeks ago.
boy is this timely. I found one aptasia in my sump, and it looks like three sprouting up from my sand bed in my display last night during a water change.
Will aptasia x work on polys I have them growing like weeds and don’t want to try and remove them cause of poly toxins
We haven't tried Aiptasia X on paly or zoas. That said, we have used F-Aptasia and it seems to work well. Just do very small sections at a time.
Don't overlook that it can also come on chaeto and anything with a shell - clam, crab, snail, etc.. Live rock and sand, too. Good luck everyone.
I think I wound up using Kalk on the worst of my Aptasiasia, and a copperband in the display ... what can I do about Majanos, though?!
Aiptasia: the herpes of the reef tank
At least with the herp you get one good time.
I would of went with genital warts but to each his own.
bubble algae is the herpes of the tank
I would add another line: not understanding corals that can fight aipstasia. You can get galaxea, hydnophora, elegance coral... those can flourish even if you have aipstasia. I’ve gotten to the point I’d rather limit my coral selection than keep worrying about aipstasia to some degree.
Good point!
I agree with this entire video. And we know Nevis because of the BRS160 series as well as my own experience.
Can you please let me know what the pink spotted fish at 14:30 is :)
Those are Borbonius Anthias
@@BRStv of course i love a $700 fish lol thanks so much!
How much Kalkwasser for the slurry?
Been using the Majano Wand. Hard to reach a few places. Thinking of getting peppermint shrimp.
I had a ton. I bought a filefish and some aiptasia x. Its 99% gone. BUT it remains in my overflow box. Any suggestions to get them out of there? Too tight for syringe.
Maybe consider taking the overflow box off to treat the aiptasia. Run some kalkwasser or citric acid through the overflow box to kill it off. Hot water would probably work too but I wouldn't recommend it. Then rinse it loong with fresh water to get all possibly released babies out and put the overflowbox back on
Probably the only advantage of having an overflow box: you can take it off to maintain it :D
@@multykiller007 thanks. Thats what im planning on doing. Ive been afraid to upset the balance as theyre finally out of my display. But they gotta go. I was gonna vlean it as suggested and leave it out of water overnight to kill all of them.
I actually noticed one hanging out in my refugium a couple weeks ago. It's the first and only one I've seen in the tank. I know if there's one there's more, but I'd hate to disturb him and risk them spreading to the display. Ive been looking everyday all over the tank to make sure I don't see them. But I know it's inevitable that it will make its way someday, so I'm torn on what to do haha. It's been over a year and this is the first I'm having this issue with this tank!
Never tried anything else, but I added a matted filefish and he went straight at the aiptasia. He's a voracious eater and the pest is gone. He eats frozen food well and two years in, no aiptasia at all. Guess I'm lucky, but I'll take it!
I have a sixth sense for finding them, propably out of fear for them.. I really hate them after loosing to them 20 years ago.. My solution is discovering them in time when there is still a sinle one or two, and act the same minute, no matter if you dont really have time for it.. I have a 1 ml syringe filled with extra strong vinegar. Here in Norway we can get 40% and I think really 15-20 will work. I tip the syringe with the blue ekstra thin needle meant for intramuscular injections, the green meant for adults is just giving to big doses. I just prick them right in the mouth and press, holding the stamp part, not the tube part. If you try to hold it normaly you will miss, these devils are too fast for a normal injection method. That is also why I use the small syringe, since if I miss I havent destroyd my water chemistry, and 1 ml is enough for the strongest biggest hulking aptasia if you hit and fill him. So far in my latest setup 65g cube with mix of real live rock that I knew could have some aptasia I managed to keep them of, just killing 2 babies and its now months since I saw ANY at all.. I learned this trick from an really old reefer who died now from Corona (may his memory be a blessing) and I saw it worked on my old tank, but it was too late when I learned it, they had me cornered.
I trained my filefish to eat aiptasia by quarantining it with a rock full of aiptasia I got from a buddy before adding it to the DT. It quickly figured out that they made for a tasty morsel.
I had one or maybe two on a rock so I covered them with super glue and now I have about 15 or so all around the same spot! I dont get it! I did take rock out once and scrub off bubble algae so is it possible I spred it scrubbing out of the tanks and rinsing well with tank water? Nudis always seem to leave one or two behind so I cant seem to ever eradacate them and when I scrubbed the rock I dont think I had the aptaisia at that time either! Franks gets so thick and you end up having to throw away! I think Ill do the joes juice and maybe try thicker glue and then epoxy! . Is BRS glue thicker then super glue? I am also scared of treating that whole area. Is it going to mess with my chemisty(alk)since its basically kalk? Should I not dose soda ash the same day I treat it?
I recently purchased a wild collected porites.
Didnt notice the tiny aiptasia until a day or so..
Ended up supee gluing it and most of the rock just incase there were smaller ones
Mix up a little zooplankton with aiptasia x or joes juice. They dont reject it if they sense theres food in it. Its saved me a lot of aiptaisa x.
How do you do this? I have reef frenzy and spirulina. Do either of these have zooplankton?
Kents Part B from the 2 part dosing completely disintegrates aiptasia instantly (and coral) if you squirt it directly on them. Luckily I had some space between all my aiptasia and corals so this worked great. Proceed with caution. Lemon juice on a few at a time for a couple days will burn them to death also and is less risky.
I have two Aptasia that I keep blasting with aptasia x but they keep coming back, probably had them for a couple of years and luckily they haven’t spread. I’m going to try the Kalwasa and putty you guys mentioned. Thanks for all the advice, love your videos 👍
Once my reef got pretty well settled I went ahead and added 3 peppermint shrimp and haven't seen ap yet
As one who has PTSD from aiptasia, and seriously... I felt a cold clammy chills overtake me just watching this video, I have fought the beast many times, and have lost just about as many. I feel physical removal is the only way to remove it, everything else just manages it got it on a coral, can you chop off half the coral? is it on rock? gonna break off a good chunk of that rock? Aiptasia just as crazy good regenerative qualities that it doesn't take much for it to grow all again. Oh yeah at 6:49 that's not aiptasia that's a tube anemone. And #19, yeah sump/fuge, but also overflow boxes, in pipes... if you have an infected tank assume you always have it.
Nice catch, Mike!
there’s one particular lfs in my area who likes to keep aipatasia in their fish tank. lol. guess he sells them? he used to have rampant amount in his coral tanks... but i haven’t been there for over a year. lol. and people wonder why he keeps relocating.
Hey BRS, have you guys had any experience with using ChemiClean. I’m considering it due to a Cyano problem but am wondering if it is safe? I’ve read lots of good reviews but also some bad ones.
We sure have with good results. Checkout this video here that mentions it as an option. th-cam.com/video/mxOaffELgeQ/w-d-xo.html
Thanks, I decided to hold off on the chemicals for now and take the next step by adding microbacter7. Hope it helps!
I just bought some live rock and i believe it has some baby aiptasia. I have not yet added anything else in the tank. What should I do? This is my first saltwater tank.
If you confirm that it is indeed aiptasia, you can either treat it (knowing that you'll never be able to rid the tank of them 100%) or you can take all of the rock and substrate out, dry it out, and start over. Neither option is fun, but the good news is that you caught it early.
@@BRStv ok thank you for your advice
I do believe there are different varieties of peppermint shrimp. Not all will eat aiptasia and same with the fish options.
If you're going to use epoxy to cover the aiptasia, how long before you can remove the epoxy? How long would it safely take to suffocate and die?
Hard to say definitively. What we normally do is leave the epoxy on and glue corals onto it. Eventually, the epoxy just gets covered completely.
Merci pour cette vidéo !!! 👍👍👍
I got one of those file fish the day I saw my first aiptasia, he ate it within 20 minutes and I literally never saw another one. I kept the aiptasia there just to see if he’d eat it and he sure did.
I purchased a ricordea on line and dipped it. 4 months later an aptasia popped up out of no where. I’m like what the hec!! It is now in a super glue tomb!
My old tank was over run with aipstasia and what we did was get nudibranches they will kill aipstasia until there is no more but they will die when there is no more so you will have to buy more if you get it again but I would say it only takes a couple weeks to kill
I'm new to this hobby but I have a question.
You mentioned these things have tubes? So how do you tell the difference between them and little feather duster? I think I found one in my tank but there was no tube? Oh no!
If you poke a feather duster, it's feather part (called the crown) will retract very quickly. If you poke an aiptasia, it will retract, but much more slowly. If you're on Facebook, join the AskBRS group and post a picture. We'd be happy to take a look and see if we can get you an ID
I found a tiny one on my glass no ida how its got in ther iv not got corul in ther.
Did it possibly come in on live rock?
Hello, thank you for this video. Any opinions on the Majano Wand? #AskBRStv
One critical point people should be aware of when dealing with Aiptasia is that the most common and effective cure is Peppermint shrimp....please note that they will only eat the small ones, so you have to deal with the big ones yourself. What people don't realize is that once the Aiptasia are gone, the peppermint shrimp will often start consuming healthy live corals. Many claim this is the result of misidentified species and that the culprits are not actually true peppermint shrimp. This is is patently false. Not all peppermint shrimp consume corals...they are like people some of whom don't eat meat. But I have had these shrimp destroy many corals so I was forced to set traps to get them back out of the reef tank...and once they are gone, the Aiptasia will likely come back. Its a tough balancing act. There are no easy quick fixes.
I added 4 peppermint shrimps in 30 gallon. It solved my problem
I had a plague of aptasia in my little red sea 20 cube. Covered the rocks, the back wall, everywhere. Think it came in on a Trochus snail. Only removed with Berghia, and then when all aptasia were gone, a peppermint shrimp has kept the tank free since then.
Now I have a plague of bubble algae. Hoping this doesn't turn into a biblical 7 plagues thing.
I like to use a combination of the methods that you have mentioned and you can easily keep on top of these anemones. I can sometimes just lift them of the substrate if they land there :)
Great tip!
In the video you specifically recommend not to buy a piece of coral if you see aiptasia in the LFS tank. What about online ordering?
There is multiple peppermint shrimp in the industry.
Lysmata wurdemanni
Animal
Description
DescriptionLysmata wurdemanni, commonly known as the peppermint shrimp, is a species of shrimp. Wikipedia
Scientific name: Lysmata wurdemanni
Phylum: Arthropoda
Higher classification: Lysmata
Order: Decapods
Rank: Species
Species: L. wurdemanni.
Peppermint Shrimp Lysmata wurdemanni - Aquarium Depotaquariumdepot.com › peppermint-shrimp-lysmata-wur...
The Saltwater Peppermint Shrimp (Lysmata wurdemanni) is also known as Veined Shrimp and Caribbean Cleaner Shrimp. It is a natural predator of the nuisance anemone- aiptasia, while some peppermint shrimp may have more of a taste for the anemone than others.
MINIMUM TANK SIZE: 30 gallons CARE LEVEL: Moderately Easy
FOOD/DIET: Carnivore
"if you buy propogated corals from a reputable propogation facility" I got all my corals from WWC and trusted that i wouldn't get aptasia but here I am.
I just spotted my first one after receiving coral from WWC a month ago. Got me thinking.
Same here. Definitely got mine from wwc.
Yep, just last week for me.
Thanks for all the videos you guys do.
I put in a Klein Butterfly fish into a tank filled with aiptasia. It took about 4-5 months, but the tank was fully eradicated and years later no sign of aiptasia. Klein are much easier to feed and keep than copperband butterfly fish. They are also typically coral friendly and an overall nice addition to the tank.
I got a file fish a month ago and now my corals are suffering. All parameters are good. Fresh water changes. Could the fish be attacking my coral? I've started putting my corals in my frag tanks to if that will fix it.
File fish do eat coral. Ate my zoas
It's really worth monitoring the Filefish closely to see if it is actually the culprit. If all your corals are affected, I would suspect something else is happening in your tank.
@@BRStv thanks
That exactly what happened when I used Aipstasia X. From having just one for quite a while to a full blown invasion after using Aipstasia X.
How about using glue in a small crack in the rock that has 2 tiny aiptasia starting to show itself ?
That's a great option. We usually use a reef safe epoxy, but super glue gel will work too.
I had an aiptasia problem, I took the rock out and scrubbed the heck out of the rock with fresh water running it down the drain scrubbing with a wire brush, I put the rock back in the tank and dayum and it spread like wild fire
😥 Depending on how many you have F Aiptasia works well. Otherwise, berghia are an option worth considering too for larger infestations.
I need help!!!!
Anyone know where we can get cool coral paintings or prints like those in the background here?
We've got a couple of options on our website. This one is my personal favorite! 🙂
www.bulkreefsupply.com/blue-lagoon-garden-reef-art-18-in-x-12-in-canvas-print-jps-zoas.html
29:53 what fish is that?
borbonius anthias :)
@@BRStv the colour look different. Very nice
This is going to maybe sound insane but I'm really intrigued by someone making a Parasite thriving tank with crazy aiptasia and all weird stuff.
That's what is happening to me without even trying 😅
@@FidelTrask :)
Is it true that aptasia cant reproduce until they're 14 days old, I've had good luck with peppermint shrimp for my tank
I haven't heard that one before.
I used AptasiaX for my couple I've had...saw it...nuked it straight away with ApX. I never let them get a foothold.
Years later never had them come back.
Well I am glad youtube recommended this to me. I am new reefer and my Kenya tree has a piece of this on it. I have seen it for last 2 months but didnt realize thats what it is.. =/ I guess I need to just remove it which sucks its one of the only coral I have right now
What worked best for me was a raccoon butterfly. You need to watch it, obviously, when the aiptasia are gone, because it may start to go after your corals.
I had same thing in my tank had one then had hundreds tried joes juice and it worked but couldn’t kill them all kill one and 10 more popped up tried copper banded he didn’t last wouldn’t eat anything. You guys didn’t mention Klein’s butterfly fish put 2 in there and couple weeks all gone and never came back
I was at a LFS and saw a giant aiptasia in the corner I thought was an anenome I wanted (Im brand new to reefing) I took a pic of it and later saw this video and realized it was a monster 5 inch parasite
I got a few from zoa frag I thought I had it really cleaned off but I guess I didn't. I have a few in my tank but before they get out of hand I bought three B nudis to eat them.
I tried the nudis. Worked great in the sump but once they got into the D/T, they became the feast for wrasses
not mentioning at all that filefish very high percentage they start eating coral, copperbands and peppermint shrimp eating coral and anemones as well.
also not mentioning scats, they will clear aiptasia from a tank in one day. some eat coral as well but others are in big displays and are used as rental fish.
Fair point. There are several comments sharing the same sentiment, however we've been pretty fortunate to not have experienced coral pecking from either of those. Likely related to how heavily we feed the tank and just how many aiptasia were there to begin with.
I had that problem with the peppermints. Ran low on aiptasia and started in on my euphyllia. Out they went.
I just recently eradicated it from 3 tanks(all connected) and it took a long time. I tried Joe's Juice and Aptasia X both of these killed and spread it. I tried peppermint shrimp, but didn't realize the Neon Dottyback in the DT was killing them. I also got a Copperband , but my Sailfin & Purple tangs would casually bully it and died after 3 months without touching any aptasia. Went to LFS to purchase a Filefish and the guy told me he didn't recommend it and that I was better off leaving the aptasia in the tank(wtf). I was so discouraged the aptasia got outta control and killed well over $1000 in coral. I was ready to just shut it down and then I found Berghia Nudibranchs. I bought 7 nudibranchs let them run its course. It was very hard to look at the tank, but then it just slowly started to disappear and its finally gone after 4 months!!!
Yeah the big problem is how to find those damn nudibranchs
Another issue - it seems everything bloody eats nudis! Brittlestars, Bristleworms, amphipods eat nudi eggs.... 😢 this battle could get the better of me 😖
I added 10 baby nudibranchs about 7 months ago, my entire tank was covered in aiptasia... today there's almost zero...
I had algae since month one. I upgraded to a canister filter and now my tank is clear.
Upgraded from what?
reefer madness from nothing
@@reefermadness4891 from his toilet bowl
First saltwater tank, purchased a live rock from petco. Noticed this weird anemone on the rock. It looks exactly like aptasia. Removed the rock, I will not be buying my aquarium needs from petco from now on.
Can you burn of the aptasia with a lighter
I wouldn't suggest a lighter as it could release fumes into the air. Some reefers have reported success with lasers, but we prefer using other methods like natural predators or even covering the aiptasia with epoxy or super glue gel.
I brought a coral then noticed the pest so the new coral went in the bin to protect the tank my hubby went spare because of the waste of money but I had no hesitation in the bin it went
my filefish nipped my corals i had to remove it pity..
Sorry to hear that. Always a risk, but sometimes it pays off.
I had one little aiptasia in my 38gal bow front. Saw it one day and then it was gone the next day. I had a bullet head goby in there and I assume he ate it.
Shrimp ate all of mine and then they died. My other shrimp were fine. But the Aiptasia were erradicated. I'm restarting a 710 liter and this time I'm going really slow. One, I'm lazy. Two, I just want to get it really right this time.
I live in a major metropolitan area and there is not a single reef store I’ve found that doesn’t have Apitasia in their systems. So I feel like I’m done before I even start.
Scott L pick the one that looks like they are trying vs the one that just lets it go :)