[ZBT3091]

I have a really bad outbreak of aiptasia in my 75 g reef. I just bought a Remora Skimmer and i am ready to add fish + coral + inverts, but before i add i want to put in a fish/invert that will quickly eat the aiptasia and then i could sell. any ideas?

[Reefland]

Hi ZBT3091,

The best predator for Aiptasia's are Copperband Butterfly fish. This would also be a suitable fish long term for your 75 gallon. However, sometimes Copperbands are difficult to adapt to prepared foods. I personally have not had problems getting them to eat mysis shrimp but other people often cannot get them to eat anything. It would most likely go after the Aiptasia pretty quick, but be prepared for a challenge to get it to eat after that.

[CSeaSee]

(True) Peppermint shrimp are also a good removal agent, but can take longer to remove all of them. But, they're cheaper!

[Reefland]

The problem with them is that sometimes what you buy as a peppermint shrimp may not even touch the Aiptasia. But as Carl mentions, for $2-$3 each, it might be worth a try for starters.

[Frag Hag]

I've heard berghia nudibranches also work well on aiptasia, but care must be taken to avoid nudi vs powerhead fatalities.

Have you tried injecting the suckers with Joe's Juice?

Shay

[sihaya]

I also think the peppermint shrimp are worth a try if you're willing to buy at least 8 of them (just because some of them won't eat aiptasia while some will).

To kill the buggers by hand, try a mix of 2tsp Kalk, 2tsp NaOH in 100ml of distilled water. Use gloves and mix it in a glass. It will heat up temporarily and is very caustic. Then just turn off the pumps and use a syringe to squirt the little devils (make sure the solution stays mixed).

[sihaya]

Originally Posted by Frag Hag

Have you tried injecting the suckers with Joe's Juice?

That stuff doesn't work. The aiptasia just shrink up for a day or two and then come back with a fury.

[ZBT3091]

i also have really bad bubble algae... any ideas. i was thinking maybe a temporary naso tang, foxface, or sailfin tang...?

[ZBT3091]

the peppermint shrimp were 9$ on live aquaria. Is that too much? i was thinking about adding a racoon bfly to get rid of the aiptasia. are there any problems with that?

[Clay12340]

I have to agree with Sihaya to some degree. I've got 3 little aiptasias that I thought were gone after using some Joe's Juice. A week later 2 of them seem to have grown back happy and healthy.

[Reefland]

LiveAquaria offers good livestock and I would buy them for that price. I wouldn't do the Racoon Butterfly. For your bubble algae, Emerald Crabs will sometimes work.

[sihaya]

I agree that LiveAquaria has good livestock and if you make a big order with them, it might be worth it... but I think that the $9 per shrimp plus shipping is a bit much. You can usually save some money by going to your LFS to buy them. Salty Critter by me only charges $5/shrimp.

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by ZBT3091

I have a really bad outbreak of aiptasia in my 75 g reef. I just bought a Remora Skimmer and i am ready to add fish + coral + inverts, but before i add i want to put in a fish/invert that will quickly eat the aiptasia and then i could sell. any ideas?

If this is just a 75-gal tank that you have just set up, that has no livestock in it yet, why can't you remove the live rock and clean off the Aiptasia and Ventricaria? Then put the live rock back in the tank and wait awhile for both the Aiptasia and Ventricaria to pop up again before adding livestock. Repeat as necessary.

Carefully remove the Ventricaria (bubble algae) thalli by gently twisting them loose from the rock. The holdfasts will release if you gently rock the thallus back and forth.

There are various methods to deal with Aiptasia but one method, especially if you're removing the live rock to work on it, is to simply seal them over with marine putty. You can always inject them with vinegar or lemon juice or muriatic acid or boiling water or Kalkwasser paste, etc. Another method would be to blast them with one of those little handheld torches that Emeril uses on his show to make creme caramel.

Bubble algae may or may not be eaten by Lysmata wurdemanni (peppermint shrimp) and they will almost always be careful to not eat all of it because they don't want to kill off their food supply. Any tiny piece remaining will regenerate into an entire new animal. In fact, even if you accidentally leave a small piece in the tank, it will regenerate.

Chelmon rostratus (Copperbanded Butterflyfish) will almost always eventually eat Aiptasia in captivity but this can sometimes take weeks. It isn't one of their natural foods and it can take them awhile to recognize the Aiptasia as a tasty snack. I think a 75-gal tank is marginal for this fish.

A Foxface Rabbitfish (Siganus vulpinus, S. unimaculatus) would probably eat the bubble algae but a 75-gal tank is too small for one of these fish. Once they get big (and they are fast growers), they need something larger than that.