# Majano Anemone predators?



## Kooka

A friend of mine has a significant majano anemone infestation and I was wondering if anyone here has had any experience with exterminating them using predator fish, shrimp, snails, etc... His tank size and infestation numbers make manual removal impractical.

I have read that file fish potentially go after them. Klein's butterflyfish are also a good candidate but they are listed as not reef safe (eat soft corals). 

Any tips/help would be appreciated!


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## coldmantis

Methods that didn't work for me
Boiling water in syringe
Hydrogen Peroxide in syringe
Vinegar in syringe

Methods that worked for me
Lemon juice from no frills in syringe
Peppermint shrimp


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## Kooka

None of the manual injection methods would work in this situation, way to much rock to cover and the infestation is far too widespread. 

I've seen peppermint shrimp decimate Aptasia but read that they ignore majanos. How bad was your infestation and where did you get the shrimp from?


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## tom g

*Nuke tank*

I think if it's heavily populated u may have to remove the corals manually inject or let the required fish try .. may have to sacrifice some corals to the cause
Remove rock and nuke something tells me there's too many...
Jmho


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## mmatt

Don't know of anything that will actually eat them. I've had success with making kalk paste and injecting it over them with a siringe but I wouldn't do a lot in one shot. Will throw of parameters. I also tagged them as soon as I saw them. Didn't let them get out of control. Don't know if drying out the rock is an option? Pain in the dick for sure, depending on how much coral is in there.... That just sucks period.

Peppermint shrimp is a new onefor me that's for sure. Maybe he was a one off and a gluteness S.O.B. lol


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## coldmantis

Kooka said:


> None of the manual injection methods would work in this situation, way to much rock to cover and the infestation is far too widespread.
> 
> I've seen peppermint shrimp decimate Aptasia but read that they ignore majanos. How bad was your infestation and where did you get the shrimp from?


You know what my Bad, I saw Majano and for some reason I thought of Aptasia. Disregard what I wrote it was for Aptasia.....


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## loonie

For Aptasia, file fish is the best but have to remove after it has done its job otherwise it will eat your zoa polys. But then again depending on the size of your tank and amount of rocks in the tank whether its easy to catch the file fish.

______


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## appak

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=191170

apparently bicolor angels will eat them. can't confirm from personal experience as i've never been "lucky" enough to get majanos.


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## Jeepcarpenter

I don't have any expierience with saltwater/reef but if all else fails, could always build a shock or fire probe, does involve having to get to each one over time though. Could always place something to block light like a shell; over them so they move, hopefully onto said shell (for easy removal). If you do go shock route, please make sure you know what you are doing or get someone who does. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Kooka

I will look into the angelfish for sure. There are a few butterflyfish that apparently also like to chow down on these things, but again they tend to munch on other soft corals as well. 

Manual eradication would be a PITA as the tank is 250 gallons and the anemones cover almost all available rock. Thanks everyone for your tips and suggestions, I'll update with any progress!


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## mmatt

Kooka said:


> I will look into the angelfish for sure. There are a few butterflyfish that apparently also like to chow down on these things, but again they tend to munch on other soft corals as well.
> 
> Manual eradication would be a PITA as the tank is 250 gallons and the anemones cover almost all available rock. Thanks everyone for your tips and suggestions, I'll update with any progress!


Damn. All the rock?? Maybe remove all roxk and start off fresh. Pricy but will keep the sanity.

Or just learn to love them? Lol


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## tom g

*aptaisia*

agree with matt...

nuke her &#8230;.. try to save as much of the corals u can, remove and isolate and try manual removal or have fish in separate tank with fish that will eat &#8230;

then nuke remaining rock &#8230;.


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## Kooka

I don't think nuking the rocks would be an option at this point. It's an established tank and the owner would prefer to deal with the nems without blowing everything up. I think a multipronged approach of manual removal and getting a natural predator to slowly put a dent in their numbers would be the best way to proceed.


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## loonie

The best solution is file fish, they will not go after the corals until they have finish with what they want to eat. Its a big tank, so it is easy to catch the fish after he has done the job. I have one in my sump, I only use him for my 100gal tank when necessary.


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## Kooka

Loonie: I've heard of filefish going after aiptasia, but do they even touch majanos?


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## Matt1997

If there’s something I know it’s how to take out Mojanos. My tank was infested approximately 4 months ago. You have to be persistent. Hit them with Aiptasia X, it works very well. In my 100 gallon tank I did around 15ml worth everyday. Clear out the areas you want to put corals first. Spot treat each mojano. They will disappear. Here is before and after pics of my reef.


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## Matt1997




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## Kooka

Hey Matt, what a difference! I will try the Aptasia x but like I mentioned before its a big tank and the process will be arduous....


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## Matt1997

It’s definitely not easy. I cleared most of them out within a week by hitting them daily. I still find a few every now and then in my reef. I started with easily over a thousand and now I struggle to spot 10. Once I noticed their numbers dwindling I added the Aiptasia x as part of my weekly maintenance. You will likely never get them all


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## wtac

AiptasiaX is a mix of Kalk powder and a wee pinch of potassium permanganate (KMnO4) in that bottle.

The hard part is finding KMnO4 powder but Kent PolyOx liquid should still be available.

The PolyOx-Kalk recipe, in a container, put some Kalk powder mix and enough water to make a sludgey paste consistency like drywall plaster. Add PolyOx to get it to a thin paste like crepe batter. Add water so when it settles you get an overlying water of about 1:4.

Turn off all the pumps and nuke away. With a syringe and optional 16ga tip give a gentle mix and starting nuking from the bottom and work your way the top. Move slowly after you cover them as not to disturb the kalk.

Let it sit for about 30-45 mins and let the mix fry the [email protected][email protected]$. 

If you have alot of SPS, do small sections at a time as the kalk paste may not have changed CaOH to Ca(HCO3)2/CaCO3 and may cause issues with the SPS.

Overall I dont suggest doing more than 25% as the amount of PolyOx will raise the redox too high and your LPS will look strange with polyp extension. If you wish to do more, add Prime when the pumps turn on to counter the oxidative activity of the KMO4.


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## Flexin5

i have them in my tank. i've tried aptasia-x, and while it works, they just come right back in a week. tossed in a file fish. dude just looks at them. next step is peppermint shrimp. anyone see any for sale?


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## Kooka

Peppermints won't work on majanos, I wouldn't bother


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## Flexin5

well i'm not too sure if it's aptasia or manjoes...looks just like this


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## Matt1997

Flexin5 said:


> well i'm not too sure if it's aptasia or manjoes...looks just like this


This is an Aiptasia


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## Flexin5

oh nm i'm an idiot i googled the wrong thing.


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## cica

wtac said:


> ........
> The hard part is finding KMnO4 powder but Kent PolyOx liquid should still be available.
> ........


Your pharmacist can order it for you. The minimum order is 100 grams. Can't remember the exact price but I think it's around $20 for the 100 g (at least it was a few years ago).


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## Kooka

cica said:


> Your pharmacist can order it for you. The minimum order is 100 grams. Can't remember the exact price but I think it's around $20 for the 100 g (at least it was a few years ago).


Good to know! I will check it out, thanks.


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## littletnklvr

This is funny and sad! Sad that you have something that you don't want and could take over your tank, I wish you all the best, and funny because I love the look of the colorful green majanos so much that I searched for them and finally found some and added them to my softie tank!


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