Aiptasia treatment success or failure.... A poll

[Carly Knight]

So I used Aiptasia X and managed to reduce them dramatically.. I tried peppermint shrimp and they didn't help at all!
I replaced the rock and sand. Thought I'd got them all. Display was clear of them for about 2 weeks. Then I saw a few reappear.

Coincidently I fell in love with a Lemon Peel angel fish. After a few weeks I went back and bought her... Knowing she MAY nip at coral but I'm just starting out so only just bought 2 x zoas. Well I was very surprised when she obliterated any remaining aiptasia!! She has never nipped any the zoas or the leather I have in there... And I've not seen a single one since!

I imagine the risk for some is too great due to the fact there's no guarantee they're going to be reef safe but she's awesome and I don't regret anything!

 

[brandon429]

Aiptasia are easy to beat if the keeper is willing to access the rock. I had one once show up on the side down low of my biggest display rock.

I lifted out the rock and set it on the counter. used a flathead hobby screwdriver to simply wedge up under it and take a little of the attachment base as a chip. set rock back. coralline covers chip in 3 mos / gone not a single one since.


fragmentation abounds when using chemical (partial kill/degrades in aquarium) means or those electrical zappers I tried those too. nothing beats complete removal in one pass externally.

for curved tonga get in there and scrape, be a dentist and you got the unlucky curve zone same attachment habits, can be dislodged with will.

aiptasia are literally of no concern to me whatsoever or any other anemone. i have a thread of 200 mushrooms invading my nano, and then 4 hours later not invading a single one onward. same as aiptasia, discosoma removal.


The cause of aiptasia problems is any excuse we make not to access the rock directly outside the tank on the counter with a hammer and flathead: rocks are stacked in place ill never get it back the same (precarious perch excuse/classic) corals locked in place. tank too big. rocks glued. I dont want to stir up the system...all are reasons to keep the offending anemones. once those blocks are gone, rock can be anemone free rather quickly. all the above options for the poll are fragmentation options though I know hunting fish will never allow emergence. no pedal tissue left behind with metal rasping.

 

[Joe Rice]

I recently really let an infestation fester to the point where I'm sure I had several hundred in the tank. I bought two filefish and a Klein Butterfly. 2 weeks later and not a single aiptasia that I can see in the tank. The Klein Butterfly then went to town on many of my corals and thus is now in the sump. Different story in the overflow and in the sump. I'm thinking of getting some Berghia for those areas.

Previous to that I tried 6 Berghia for the tank but 3 months later it was clear they didn't make it.

And several years ago I tried Peppermint Shrimp. They worked quite well but then something ate the shrimp.

 

[jkr]

I use Red Sea aptasia-x, works great for me.

Yes I did got rid of about 15 very quickly !

 

[Katrina71]

Nudis will eat them all! Disclaimer...every Fall I have some that pop up after nothing new being added. I theorize it's a seasonal spawning.

 

[Jase4224]

Aiptasia X worked for me. Follow the instructions = success. Over a year later and no recurrence and I feed heavy.

 

[ThRoewer]

I keep these pictures for this reason... To show how bad it can get, and what the treatment options are... There is only one.. treatment for me. It was a beautiful, awesome personality fish, called a CBB.

Wow! I wish I would have that many Aiptasia for my Berghia culture...

 

[Treefer32]

Wow! I wish I would have that many Aiptasia for my Berghia culture...

I actually thought about starting a Berghia tank and just moving a rock in at a time to breed them. But, the CBB was cheaper, prettier, and fast! I can't find a single aiptasia and a lot of my corals were being surrounded by the buggers before the CBB! 340 gallon display full with thousands.. They were growing in the sand bed because the rocks were all full!

 

[TDEcoral]

Berghia completely annihilated the aiptasia I had in my tank. I was kind of skeptical that they'd work, but I was at my wits end so I gave them a try. I think I bought six originally for my 40b and I started seeing juveniles fairly quickly. It's been months since they wiped out the aiptasia and I haven't seen another since then. It takes them a while to get the job done, but in my experience berghia are very effective.

Also, I had tried a CBB before the berghia but it didn't show much interest in the aiptasia. I fed it frozen food several times a day and it ate well/looked healthy, but ended up slowly wasting away for whatever reason.

 

[Treefer32]

Sorry to hear that about the CBB. I've never had luck with them in previous tanks. Refused to eat whatever I fed, and slowly died. However, this one, is not skinny at all, has grown by 30% in the last 8 months I've had him, and eats from my hand. I feed home made frozen food, and I just dangle the food in the water to let it melt, and the CBB is the first to come to me and start chomping bits of frozen food from my hands. He'll eat none-stop for close to 5 minutes. Once the food is fully melted he loses interest. I think he likes it fresh and frozen. Heh. He follows me all around the tank, just worships me. I need to get more rock with Aiptasia, because he's lost interest in hunting now. It was fun watching him scour the rocks for stuff. Now he just waits for me to feed him...

 

[User1]

Berghia are the best hands down, but they are also the most expensive option. I also feel bad letting them starve to death afterwards and try to rehome them.

The funny things is they do not need to be the most expensive solution. It really is price gouging for lack of a better word. Captive bred and raised 100 times easier than most if not all captive bred or raised fish.

 

[Fudsey]

The funny things is they do not need to be the most expensive solution. It really is price gouging for lack of a better word. Captive bred and raised 100 times easier than most if not all captive bred or raised fish.

Only reason I have not bought any.....

Tried Peppermints, worked one time but not the 2nd. Tried a file fish, he ate my zoas. Tried a CBB, worked at first, cleaned the tank of them, now he don't care about them any more.... Tried all the remedies - Kalk paste, Aiptasia-X, Frank's F-Aiptiasia. All work for a bit but then they just come back. Also tried lemon juice and boiling rodi, same thing, they just come back....

 

[ThRoewer]

The funny things is they do not need to be the most expensive solution. It really is price gouging for lack of a better word. Captive bred and raised 100 times easier than most if not all captive bred or raised fish.

Any insights on the breeding you could share?
I'm trying to breed mine but so far with not the greatest success.

 

[20 gallon nano]

 

[cjb428]

I’ve tried it all, even rebooted a tank and still managed to get them back after a complete tear down. Just seems hard to avoid unless you never put anything new into your tank. I have peppermint shrimp, behergias, file fish and use aptasia x, will go thru phases where I don’t see them then one day I’ll find 4 or 5‍, they’re like dandelions only worse because they have no season and always come back

 

[MnFish1]

Any insights on the breeding you could share?
I'm trying to breed mine but so far with not the greatest success.

They breed in your tank - except for good water conditions - there is not much 'you' can do. They need food (and their only food is Aiptasia). The best way to get them to breed is having plenty of aiptasia in the tank - which is what you're trying to avoid. AFAIK - there is nothing they except Aiptasia at least in tanks. Somehow I think that in the wild this doesnt make complete sense.

 

[ThRoewer]

They breed in your tank - except for good water conditions - there is not much 'you' can do. They need food (and their only food is Aiptasia). The best way to get them to breed is having plenty of aiptasia in the tank - which is what you're trying to avoid. AFAIK - there is nothing they except Aiptasia at least in tanks. Somehow I think that in the wild this doesnt make complete sense.

It makes complete sense because in the wild (and in a reef tank) there are predators eating them, their eggs, and their fry. So in the wild there will be a balance which prevents that there are too many Berghia or too many Aiptasia.
In a reef tank the odds are generally stacked against the Berghia with amphipods going after eggs and fry and shrimp and certain fish (wrasses) going after the adults.
I had success with them cleaning up the rocks I put them with in a low flow tank without fish and shrimp but they were unable to reproduce there due to the abundance of amphipods in the rocks.
I only got my guys to reproduce when I put them into a separate tank without fish, shrimp, and amphipods and plenty of Aiptasia. However, all the juveniles I dropped into my infested system were never seen again and the Aiptasia only get more.
What I'm looking for is not general information but specifics on their incubation period, larvae development,... basically, how to breed them most efficiently.

 

[Biglew11]

I usually catch mine when i have about 3 to take out. Aptasia-x and coral epoxy over top of them, seems to work. Haven't had any plague proportions yet that needed taken care of.

 

[MnFish1]

It makes complete sense because in the wild (and in a reef tank) there are predators eating them, their eggs, and their fry. So in the wild there will be a balance which prevents that there are too many Berghia or too many Aiptasia.
In a reef tank the odds are generally stacked against the Berghia with amphipods going after eggs and fry and shrimp and certain fish (wrasses) going after the adults.
I had success with them cleaning up the rocks I put them with in a low flow tank without fish and shrimp but they were unable to reproduce there due to the abundance of amphipods in the rocks.
I only got my guys to reproduce when I put them into a separate tank without fish, shrimp, and amphipods and plenty of Aiptasia. However, all the juveniles I dropped into my infested system were never seen again and the Aiptasia only get more.
What I'm looking for is not general information but specifics on their incubation period, larvae development,... basically, how to breed them most efficiently.

Sorry - thats what I was trying to give you - the place where I bought them told me specifically - you need to start with a large enough population - and then wait - they will eventually breed and populate the tank to the point where the aiptasia is gone - this might help

Berghia nudibranchs are hermaphroditic, with each nudibranch possessing both female and male reproductive organs. However, the Berghia requires a second individual to mate with in order to fertilize the eggs. (Image at left is of two Berghia mating)

Young Berghia may begin laying eggs as Juveniles as early as 28 days old. Eggs are laid in a spiraling strip referred to as an ‘egg ribbon’.



In the image to the right, you can see the egg ribbon. The eggs ribbons are typically laid in concealed places, such as on the underside of the live rock, or beneath a large live coral.

While egg laying begins in the juvenile stage of development, egg development is low (approximately 60-80 embryos in an egg cluster) and fertilization often incomplete.

After 60 days, the Berghia reaches sexual maturity and is capable of laying 1000 to 2000 embryos in a single ribbon with near 100% fertilization.



The time required for the eggs to hatch varies by species of nudibranch, as well as the water temperature during development. The Berghia eggs usually hatch in about 10-14 days with the newly hatched Berghia emerging as both free-swimming veliger larvae and fully metamorphosed juveniles. The form the hatchlings take is based on external factors present during their development within the egg (such as agitation of the eggs). This duel form of development allows the Berghia to increase its population within the immediate area, as well as spread to other areas.

Those Berghia nudibranchs that hatch as veliger larvae swim using cilia and are approximately 100 micrometers in size. Usually one day after hatching these berghia larvae settle on the bottom and retract into the larval shell. During the process of metamorphosis, which does not take longer than 48 hours, the beghia then cast off their larval shell. Within 24 hours after metamorphosis the early juveniles start to crawl, though they are not yet actively feeding on aiptasia. At this time rhinophores begin to develop on the larva. As development proceeds, body elongation increases and more pairs of cerata are formed.

Around 48 hours after metamorphosis, the larva, now juvenile Berghia, begin to actively feed on Aiptasia.

At this stage the juvenile Berghia are approximately 600 microns long.

As the image at the right shows, they are nearly invisible, not yet having acquired their pigmentation, which is harvested from the Aiptasia anemones they consume.

The actual life span of the Berghia nudibranch is around 10 to 12 months if provided plenty on aiptasia anemones to eat. Lacking a readily available aiptasia, Berghia will starve to death within 5-7 days.

 

[Deaf clown]

Both file fish and copper band did for my but my file fish has lived longer.

Nudis and peppermint did not do anything for me. Nudis for the price will never be worth it again for me.