# Aptasia problem



## acksonl (May 8, 2012)

Bought some live rock which was clean at first, turns out it was full of tiny aptasia now it has spread rapidly. I see tiny clones all over my tank. Im reading that I can get a solution which I need to inject into the aptasia to kill it but i dont think i can reach into the crevasses of the rock to get em.

Another solution is to get a peppermint shrimp to handle the situation. However im reading online that there is a really good chance the peppermint shrimp might attack my elegant corals/hammer. 

I don't want harm to come to those corals since they are very large. But im leaning towards the peppermint shrimp solution. 

Any of the members here have issues with peppermint shrimp attacking tenticley corals?


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## thmh (Mar 17, 2011)

peppermint shrimp is not 100%, if its on only one rock then i would just boil that rock. if its spreading all over and you cant take it out then i would use putty to cover them up and they will die. if you can take the rock out but dont want to kill your live rock by boiling it then use thin superglue and glue the infected area.


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## loonie (Mar 29, 2008)

My experience, the shrimps do not work. I used vinegar to inject, it also did not last long. Finally I decided to redo my tank., I took out all live rock and wash them in freshwater n leave them in a bucket with freshwater for three week, I change water every second day. Now the rocks are clean and does not smell. Meanwhile I kill those on corals with vinegar by checking daily. Now, slowly I will introduce the rocks back to tank and check daily any new growth before adding more rocks. Just sharing what I have done so far.


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## darthvictor (Aug 16, 2011)

what corals do you have on the rock? if it is just mushrooms/soft coral, just cut them out then boil the rock...


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## smcx (Mar 31, 2012)

Get a pack of diabetic needles from the drug store, and inject them with hydrogen peroxide?


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## acksonl (May 8, 2012)

thanks for the tips guys, but i kinda need an intank solution. i have a mandarin goby so i dont want to take the LR out and kill all the pods hence the need for a continuous solution.


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## Kooka (Feb 8, 2011)

Get some Berghia nudibranches. Once they're done in your tank, sell them to me


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## RR37 (Nov 6, 2012)

^ that is the best bet. They do a really good job !

Peppermint shrimp have always worked for me. I find how well they work depends on how well fed your tank is. I have always fed sparingly and this may be the key to success in the peppermint solution


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## loonie (Mar 29, 2008)

Anyone here had experience with Leather File Fish. I just bought one and keeping it on standby incase they grow again. I read in some website that they are good for eating aptasia.


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## pat3612 (Jan 29, 2008)

Do not ever boil rock it might only happen once in blue moon but it can explode on you  It is far more safe to pour boiling water on it I do not know about File fish but my copper banded butterfly sure cleaned up my tank do not know how big your tank is though.


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## immafool (Oct 7, 2011)

*Peppermint Shrimp*

i have a 45gal cube that was INFESTED with aptasia... i tried all those injection/spray methods and I found no matter how hard i tried to kill everything, i always missed a few and within a week or so my tank would be infested once again...

so i got fed up and bought 10 peppermint shrimp from a lfs... its been 3 weeks now and i'd say about 90% of the aptasia is gone... the only ones left are the really big ones (which are easy to inject with lemon juice)...

my coral list includes elegance and zoos and mushrooms which are all fine...

my shrimp list includes a blood shrimp, a pair of cleaners and 10 peppermint... all of which are accounted for, alive, and thriving...

so i can vouch for peppermint shrimp.. its just you have to be sure not to feed your fish ( i know this is hard esp if you have cute hungry ones)... this will force the shrimp to eat the aptasia.. also a good friend of mine who happens to know a lot about the hobby told me that you need to keep them in a group..

i'm sure 10 shrimp was overkill for my tank, but hey, at the end of the day, an aptasia free tank is well worth it...

just my .02$


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## acksonl (May 8, 2012)

thanks for your input!



immafool said:


> i have a 45gal cube that was INFESTED with aptasia... i tried all those injection/spray methods and I found no matter how hard i tried to kill everything, i always missed a few and within a week or so my tank would be infested once again...
> 
> so i got fed up and bought 10 peppermint shrimp from a lfs... its been 3 weeks now and i'd say about 90% of the aptasia is gone... the only ones left are the really big ones (which are easy to inject with lemon juice)...
> 
> ...


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## loonie (Mar 29, 2008)

I have redone my 50gal tank by socking the rocks in fresh water, it took me about three weeks for the clean up, now its all fine. The problem with the shrimps is sometimes they do eat up Zoa corals. As of now I intend to make use of the file fish if it happens again and a number of LFS n hobbist confirm the file fish will do a good job but yet to experience.


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## immafool (Oct 7, 2011)

Hey loonie,

i was considering the fw soak as well.. however i backed out because we pay a premium price for "live rock"... leaving the rocks in fw for a month or so will kill off all your aptasia along with all the beneficial "live" stuff... but this will definitely get rid of the aptasia ...
just for reference, dry rock = 2-3$/lb, the live rock (tonga branch) that i have i paid close to 9$/lb.. i know this is noob pricing as we can find deals online.. but i still paid an arm and a leg for my live rock..

i did also go the file fish route.. i bought it from a LFS.. i think the one i got was the "seagrass" filefish.. it did eat the aptasia.. however, the one i had would eat aptasia as a last resort... he fancied mysis shrimp and my cleaner shrimps a lot more than aptasia... i had him for 2 months in a small 15 gallon setup, he did clear out all the aptasia, my 2 cleaner shrimp and the 3 zoo frags i had... just be carefull with the filefish especially in a reef tank with shrimp...

as a side note: i do have a friend that had another seagrass file fish in his tank with cleaner shrimps... the file fish did not bother his shrimps, nor did he bother the aptasia...

i guess really the only way to get rid of aptasia is to try different things.. as many of us hobbyists know, things that work for some, won't work for others...

goodluck!!



loonie said:


> I have redone my 50gal tank by socking the rocks in fresh water, it took me about three weeks for the clean up, now its all fine. The problem with the shrimps is sometimes they do eat up Zoa corals. As of now I intend to make use of the file fish if it happens again and a number of LFS n hobbist confirm the file fish will do a good job but yet to experience.


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## loonie (Mar 29, 2008)

I agree with Immafool, what work for one will not work for the other. We need to try out different methods to find a solution. Anyway my live rocks are about five years old and they are not the expensive ones, it was about 3bucks a pound when I bought from a hobbist, they are more base rocks. But those rocks with corals on it, I used vinegar to kill them. My idea of FW soak was a last resort for the rocks since it was badly infected and out of control.
Thanks for sharing your views.


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## RR37 (Nov 6, 2012)

Laser pointer ? You can melt them with the correct strength. Something in the 300-600 range is easily attainable. It works really, really, really well.


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## kamal (Apr 21, 2009)

I bought a matted filefish from @damsel_den and she said he wouldn't eat aiptasia and in my tank he cleaned the tank in a few days. I think a lot of factors come to play for this sort of stuff


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## CRJ (Sep 7, 2012)

pepermint shrimp do work, i inject with calcium and a needle. kills em first try and your dosing your tank.


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## duckhams (Oct 13, 2009)

I didn't read the whole thread, so I apologize if someone else already suggested this, but I cover them in superglue gel (cyanoacrylate) and let them sit for a week. Then they just 'pop' out with a slight nudge from a sharp knife. Works well for me.


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## averageguywoodstock (Dec 29, 2012)

how big is your tank 

have you considered the copperband butterfly fish i have one and hes doing a great job wont get it all but keeps it to where you don't notice it


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## oceansalive (Jan 3, 2013)

acksonl said:


> thanks for the tips guys, but i kinda need an intank solution. i have a mandarin goby so i dont want to take the LR out and kill all the pods hence the need for a continuous solution.


Your problem will go away quick with an Aptasia eating filefish. Reefsafe! Work great!
Also Aptasia X works best at killing them. These methods I use on all my customers reefs thst have problems and always works 100% of the time


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## immafool (Oct 7, 2011)

not my thread, but for those who are experiencing aptasia and are looking for a quick fix, check it out:

http://www.gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41006

*i can vouch for a good reliable seller


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