Reef Discussion

[VaultBoy]

I have a bit of an oubreak of aptasia on one of the rocks in my tank. I would really like to use peppermint shrimp to control them but given that I keep a rather aggressive mantis shrimp in here and the pepps would be long gone before the aptasia were even threatened.

What would you recommend to control them... They are starting to sting my dendro coral and i am stuck for ideas...

Thanks.
Jack.

 

[macca_75]

If you can remove the rock throw it in the sump and let the pepps go nuts. If not I have a Kliens butterfly that kicks the ads out of Astapia. Not the prettiest fish but very effective.

 

[VaultBoy]

How much space does a kleins butterfly need? The actual volume for swimming in this tank is only about 50L the rest of the space is sand bed and rock pit.

If I remove the rock the dendro goes with it... I might need to get some pepps and put them in the rock pit and the dendro can have a holiday at the back of the tank!

 

[macca_75]

For such a small tank then pepps are your best bet.

 

[VaultBoy]

The biggest problem is the main display area is where I keep my mantis... They wont last long in there!

I will have to put the rock and the pepps in the rear section of the tank (2 baffles packed with rocks - pepp heaven) they would never be able to be seen but would be doing important work!

 

[Ian G]

I personally have only used peppermint shrimp to control them and they did a good job but others have experience where peps don't eat them. What does seem to be commonly agreed is that peps will only eat small ones, Once they get big they are not palatable to them. Other methods include:

• You can make up a kalk (lime) paste and inject them, you can get syringes from most pharmacies.
• Injecting them with white vinegar.
• A commercial product called Joes Juice.
• Chiselling off just enough rock to remove the apstasia.

In a 50 litre tank, you really don't have the fish option.

 

[MTG]

aptasia x works a treat.

 

[firebird]

Did you see that aiptasia zapper on reefbuilders?-was on there fairly recently

 

[Ian G]

Yeah I did actually, it cooks them. looks clever.

 

[megsez]

Yeah I did actually, it cooks them. looks clever.

I have used white vinegar and it works a treat. It is also very cheap. Just got a syringe from the chemist and away I went.

 

[DAY1]

I have used white vinegar and it works a treat. It is also very cheap. Just got a syringe from the chemist and away I went.

I use Kalkwasser or builders lime , Mix it up into a paste , then cover their disc's , Works very well , Just don't do too many at once , If you can remove the rock , even better , Just place rock into a plastic tub with some of the old tank water and go for it :D

 

[slin1977]

I always inverted the rock they on and scraped them off with a needle over a bucket or kitchen sink works fine if you dealing with a couple at a time. In an outbreak situation , aptasia x would be the go to product, as others have mentioned, the ingredients of this product would be builders lime.

 

[VaultBoy]

Thanks for the replies... I now need to get off my ass and try some of these solutions out....

 

[DgrMouse]

Joes Juice or White vinegar for me

 

[mscott]

the problem you will have at trying to remove them by hand is you will think you get them all, then they pop back up in a week or so, a neverending cycle unless you can find a natural remover, like pepps ect.

 

[chimaera]

I saw one on the blastos frag I bought recently, so whipped out the frag and torched the mother. Haven't seen it since funnily enough.

 

[Priscacara]

I finally decided to hit the few I had in the tank so got aptaisia x, seems to have worked as no reappearance in a week now.

 

[Buddy]

I had a couple on my clam causing its mantle to retract so I got a 70 cent needle from the chemist and injected the buggers with white vinigar. They haven't come back in a week now.

 

[Priscacara]

Was going to try the needle and vinegar but the bloody blenny would have been stabbed when it rushed to check what I was doing so decided the non sharp attachment that comes with the aptaisia x was better for now. If the fish didn't get it you know I would have trying to keep it away from him :)

 

[Buddy]

I was worried about that too, my female clown attacks my hand and anything im holding. I had to shield the needle from her biting it.