# First Aiptasia Anemonie Found



## Klinemw (Dec 13, 2009)

I have found my first Aiptasia Anemone in my (120 gallon/50 gallon sump) mixed reef tank. Things have been going so well that I have not added anything at all new to the tank for months and months. Suddenly, I found what I would consider a large Aiptasia Anemone on the back side of a piece of live rock that has been in the tank for over a year. I can't figure out where it might have come from?

I have not changed any of my maintenance or feeding routines. Have not added anything to the tank in a very long time. How long can these little monsters live on/in live rock before developing into an actual anemone shaped anemone?

So far, I have only found one of these anemones. I will try to eradicate it this weekend and plan to quarantine that piece of live rock for further inspection. Hate to do that though, it is a signature showpiece in the tank.

Is it possible for it to be introduced through the frozen food? That's the only thing that goes into the tank that hasn't been otherwise processed or quarantined, and it is rinsed.

I have no other explanation unless they can lie nearly dormant for extended periods and then start growing. Any ideas?

Klinemw


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## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

Not a clue. they will grow dependant on what you have in the water, nutrients. Is it possible that you just missed it? Be careful when trying to kill the thing, if you mess it up in the tank, its liable to split and grow like mad.


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## whitetiger61 (Aug 2, 2011)

if it is a large one..it has been in the tank for a very long period of time..you just havent been able to notice it..i would take the rock out to get rid of it..once they start growing there is no stopping them..

Rick


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## Klinemw (Dec 13, 2009)

Thanks for the response. 

My tank has always been "nutrient rich" and I don't think that has varied much over the last year. I have been fighting a small patch of red cyano for about six months, I'm sure the nutrients contribute to me not being able to get rid of that completely either. I've tried all the lighting changes without much impact on the cyano. A phosban reactor will be on the tank by the end of the week. While my nitrates and phosphates appear very low to none existent on the test kits, I think that is what's fueling the cyano.

I'm sure that I missed the anemone and given its size, it has been in the tank for quite some time. But, I still can only find one, even though I am now looking for them. I thought that I would take the rock out of the tank to "cook" the anemone with a shot of pure lime and get rid of it. I think that I can spot sanitize the area on the rock without killing the entire rock.

What I find curious is that if it has been in there as long as must have been to get that big, (a) how on earth did I overlook it for so long, (b) why aren't there more, and (c) how did it get in the tank? I guess some questions will never be answered.

Klinemw


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## whitetiger61 (Aug 2, 2011)

a) very easy to overlook them
b) count your blesings there arent more than 1 although i suspect there are..just cant see them
c) it was probasbly sucked back into the rock when you got it..it is very hard to kill those things..i have left rock completely out of the water for long periods of time and they still come back. they are saltwater's version of cock roaches.

Rick


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## Lego Star Wars (Mar 13, 2012)

can you break off the piece of rock in the surrounding area and put it in your overflow? Aptasia are a nightmare in your display, but they are excellent filters. I keep my overflows full of them and with filter socks and good skimming, they never make it back into the main display. My overflows are aptasia farms and I haven't seen one in my main display for years. Your overflows take in the nastiest water in your tank allowing them to grow and thrive where they eat up excess food & detritis. Their is a 2 tier sump system where they actually use aptasia and pineapple sponges in conjunction with skimming, filter socks and refugium for filtration. If I find the link for it, I'll post it for you. IMO, aptasia are nothing to be afraid of and controllable.


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## Lego Star Wars (Mar 13, 2012)

Reefvideos - The "Duplex" Sump/Refugium
Check it out, see if it works.


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## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

Lego Star Wars said:


> can you break off the piece of rock in the surrounding area and put it in your overflow? Aptasia are a nightmare in your display, but they are excellent filters. I keep my overflows full of them and with filter socks and good skimming, they never make it back into the main display. My overflows are aptasia farms and I haven't seen one in my main display for years. Your overflows take in the nastiest water in your tank allowing them to grow and thrive where they eat up excess food & detritis. Their is a 2 tier sump system where they actually use aptasia and pineapple sponges in conjunction with skimming, filter socks and refugium for filtration. If I find the link for it, I'll post it for you.  IMO, aptasia are nothing to be afraid of and controllable.


I have to disagree here. You mess with one by chance, and it losses a tentecle, and your screwed.


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## Lego Star Wars (Mar 13, 2012)

reefing madness has helped a lot of people here. I agree very much of with most of what he says. All I'm saying is, aptasia are bad in your display. No doubt. But they are controllable. As are nutrients. You've said yourself that you run a high nutrient tank. Aptasia love those areas where nutrients are high. So I keep them in my overflows. Very nutrient high area.
Get your nutrients under control. If you have cyano, you can easily keep aptasia in your display. Increase water movement in your display. Slow down your turnover a bit. Aptasia and cyano don't like water movement much. Slower turnover increases skimmer time and other nutrient removal you may be using. Aptasia are nothing to be afraid of and they are controllable.


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## Lego Star Wars (Mar 13, 2012)

http://www.aquariumforum.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=14241&size=1
bread and butter image of nutrients not being in check. I lost control of mine as well. Feel free to look at my photogallery and you can see what happens when you get nutrients under control.


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## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

Lego Star Wars said:


> http://www.aquariumforum.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=14241&size=1
> bread and butter image of nutrients not being in check. I lost control of mine as well. Feel free to look at my photogallery and you can see what happens when you get nutrients under control.


LMAO. Really?? We can go round and round dude. And, I do not feel the need to explain anything to you as to why you see what you do. But your lack of knowledge is my tank, ......Well, thats all I have to say about that. Your statement here is almost as bad as the statements you were making about Europroctus tank water......Way off base.......


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## Lego Star Wars (Mar 13, 2012)

http://www.aquariumforum.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=14241&size=1
So, you are telling all of us how to control aptasia when you proudly post a pic of a coral that clearly appears to be a bleached coral and a minimum of 6 aptasias? Please tell me how to control aptasias in my main display when you proudly post pic of yours!
I disagree with you. That's all. I'm not afraid of aptasia and clearly, neither are you. I keep them in one place, you keep them in another.


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## Lego Star Wars (Mar 13, 2012)

Only trying to help the poster of this topic. Any one of us can google the information someone is looking for. I like to go by the standard that if someone has the tank you are looking for, take advice from them. Jeeze, I admit my mistakes. IMHO, helps us learn.


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## Kathleen Demers (Jun 27, 2012)

Nice job!


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## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

Lego Star Wars said:


> Only trying to help the poster of this topic. Any one of us can google the information someone is looking for. I like to go by the standard that if someone has the tank you are looking for, take advice from them. Jeeze, I admit my mistakes. IMHO, helps us learn.


No, I see how it goes. I disagree with you, and you take a shot at my tank. Iz all good, to bad I have to put you on the ignore list. You don't know half of what you think you know, and I'm not hear to re-teach someone who thinks they know it all. Good luck.


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## Lego Star Wars (Mar 13, 2012)

I missed the part where I said I knew it all. I'm actually here lurking for new information to set up a tank with my son. I've agreed with you time and time again. Followed your reef octopus skimmer advise. Even told people to listen to you, to a point where I don't even bother replying to your googled information cuz you nailed it spot on (a moth, really?).
It is a hobby that has inconvenienced marine life since long before either of us were born. I really do go off my experiences and mistakes. I'm going to make more, posters on this forum will know when I do. 
P.S., sorry for the hijack... aptasias are nothing to be afraid of, and controllable.


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## whitetiger61 (Aug 2, 2011)

ENOUGH

the only way to control aptasia is not not get them in the first place..Lego you might not be afraid of them but dont go around telling people they are controllable..because they are not..1 tenticle gets away from youroverflow and your screwed..plain and simple..like i said they are saltwater cock roaches..And they are good nutreint export at a risk and thats a risk im not willing to take..they are a nuience and a eye sore in a display as well as stinging other corals..on that note lets end this..im tired of reading all the drama..

How does it look to the forum if someone comes in here asking for advice and all they get in the post is arguements and belittlement between other forum members. Just sad i tell ya

Rick


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## yvr (Aug 16, 2011)

Whenever I see any Aiptasias in my tanks, I inject TM Elimi-Aiptas directly into the stalk as opposed to into the mouth. I find that the product has a better kill rate when injected into the stalk


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## whitetiger61 (Aug 2, 2011)

yvr said:


> Whenever I see any Aiptasias in my tanks, I inject TM Elimi-Aiptas directly into the stalk as opposed to into the mouth. I find that the product has a better kill rate when injected into the stalk


I agree but the problem is finding a needle big enough to get the product though it..unless your in the medical field they are hard to find.

Rick


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## peteyboyny (Oct 18, 2010)

2 Caribbean peppermint shrimp made short work of 9 aptasia anemones in my tank. It took them about 2 weeks, but I do not see anymore aptasia. Apparently, only the Caribbean peppermints eat them, not the Indo ones. Had to starve the tank for about a week to get them to start eating them. It was all down hill for the aptasia after that. That's just what worked for me. GL.


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## JohnniGade (Dec 22, 2011)

Are they bad?


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## Klinemw (Dec 13, 2009)

Mostly, thanks to everyone that responded directly or indirectly to my questions. I understand that we are all passionate about what works or doesn't work, or that some advice might be better than others. The trick is deciphering through the information provided. I will say that if I didn't learn so much from this forum it simply wouldn't be worth listening to all the unnecessary mud slinging and verbal fist fights. The forum would be much more helpful to me if people expressed their opinions, presented whatever facts or supporting documentation and then let others do the same, avoiding claims that somebody else's ideas or experience are invalid. I'm going to weigh the information presented, make my decision and let the chips fall where they may. I might even report back if the method I chose solved my problem or made it worse.

What I understand from all of this is that Aiptasia Anemones can overwhelm a tank in a fairly short amount of time, but that some have been able to control them for the positive filtration effect they can have, but of the variety of control methods some methods work better than others. 

Many have difficulty controlling them because it takes very little for them to reproduce rapidly. The anemones can be hidden from view for a long-time and can be difficult to kill if one chooses to erradicate them. Erradication is the preferred control method for most aquarists.

I've heard from multiple sources that certain varieties of peppermint shrimp, particularly those from the Caribean, may keep the anemone's numbers in check. as will some file fish. The difficulty there is knowing which individuals will in fact eat them.

I have removed my rock to an isolation quarantene tank for further study. This anemone doesn't bother me that much, but I don't want them (ocean cockroach effect) to have a negative impact on my mixed reef environment. If I can get some peppermint shrimp that will eat them, then I will let them eat the anemone and return this favorite rock and the shrimpto my tank. If the shrimp don't eat it then I will try another way to kill it without killing the rest of the rock. If that doesn't work, I'll have to decide something else. Regardless, I'm going to learn a lot about Aiptasia anemones.

Thanks again.

Klinemw.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

I have used aptasia x ( made vy red sea). Not thrilled to introduce such product , but in worked. It not only worked(follow directions) but had no, 0, zero side affects on any thing else in tank(29g, not real big). It comes with ; syringe , 2 needles and what seems to me to be lifetime supply of fluid.I wonder if this stuff is super glue or the like , but thats just my mind wandering. They say it makes apt implode( with in minutes) mine did.


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## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

I still use Lemon Juice to this day. And matter of fact used it this past weekend. Need a medical syringe though. You stick em in the mouth, down the stalk, fill with as much juice as you can, without getting it all over the place. It kills em, you can see the results instantly.
I've heard Kalkwasser has the same effect wihtout messing up the water params.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

I still have some so I will try lemon juice(I have 100% faith in mother nature, and make my own decisions about man). What ever atp x is it (the poison) it did work aparently safely(sometimes it takes 6 or more months to kill something {talking about good stuff AKA; susankats title}). I will try what you say.Thanks.


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## JohnniGade (Dec 22, 2011)

isnt it a coral? But a bad one?


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

they are from cnidaria phylum including,jelly fish, corals and thousands of others. Most noted for symmetry and stinging capabilities(all cnidria).Probably not the answer you were looking for. And yes, considered by most as pest(to say the best abou them). Incidious and aggressive, one should think long and hard about wanting to keep them.And they can move(like other anenomes) so if you didn't kill it, but it's not where you last saw it ,it will turn up again(probably with growing family lurking).


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## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

If they didnt' run around stinging and killing your corals, I guess they wouldn't be considered a pest in the tank. They also multiply like rabbits.


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## Klinemw (Dec 13, 2009)

Well, I moved the rock with the Aiptasia Anemone on it into my isolated quarantine tank in an attempt to learn more about this "pest" and hopefully prevent spread in my display tank. 

A half dozen new peppermint shrimp (supposedly from the Caribbean) have had little to no interest in this tankmate, even with no external source of food other than the otherwise healthy live rock. I'm going to have to start feeding the shrimp or they're going to begin feeding on themselves.

Any other suggestions for natural predation? I've heard that some file fish will eat Aiptasia Anemones as well, so I'm looking for a small file fish that I can experiment with. It is my understanding that they may or may not be "mixed reef" compatible so this may be one for me to borrow rather than purchase with intent to keep. Any suggestions on a particular species of file fish I might try if I end up with a species choice from my LFS?

I plan to test the predation route before I resort to "chemical" means of eradication. May have to try to grow a few more just to sacrifice in the name of science.

There are no other Aiptasia that I can find on the live rock or elsewhere in the isolation tank, display tank or my sump. I'll keep watching to see if or when anymore appear. Now that I know that I could have them I'll watch for them more closely. I still have no idea where this one came from after such a long time going unnoticed.

klinemw


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## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

Peppermint Shrimp, Copper Band Buttflyfish, Berghia Nudibranchs, Matted Filefish.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

madness list is best known aptasia eaters.If aptasia are not small enough they will probably not be eaten(don't have bergia ,or file but butterfly and peppermints seem opurtunist for smaller(tiny ) apt. They don't touch any as large as dime.


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