Aiptasia or something else?

Squeven · Jun 28, 2020

Hello everyone,

I saw this on a small piece of live rock, and I think it’s Aptaisia. I’m new to saltwater, and was wondering if I can just remove the rock and put another in its place.
This has me worried because I heard they can be bad for coral, and I was preparing to get my first coral within the next couple of weeks.

SPR1968 · Jun 28, 2020

It’s not very clear but yes it looks like aiptasia.

I personally use Red Sea aiptasia X when required to remove them otherwise they can spread

And welcome to R2R as well!

F i s h y · Jun 28, 2020

Looks like aptasia to me.. I like natural methods for removal. Peppermint shrimp worked well for me.

User1 · Jun 28, 2020

Friendly suggestion when asking for an ID. Take a second out to edit the photo and put an arrow, circle, box, something to help draw attention to it. Otherwise some of us are going to be playing Dora the Explorer trying to find it.

In any case yes, this is Apitasia. You have at least one in the tank probably more that are smaller which you cannot see. Peppermint shrimp are one option although hit or mess and what I'd suggest to try first. If this isn't an established tank and you can remove the rock that is an option. Remove it and you have more options for removal. What you do not want to do is try and scrape it off in the tank.