kevan Posted March 8, 2004 Report Share Posted March 8, 2004 Anyone out there with any good methods of getting rid of aptasia ,I know about Copper Bandeds but has anyone got any save chemicals to inject them with. 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted March 8, 2004 Report Share Posted March 8, 2004 Aipstasia. My area of expertise Kevan, these things really are the spawn of satan and must be delt with. Those who know me know I have been fighting Aipstasia from day one. I started with about 120kgof live rock, and it was infested with Aipstasia. I did nothing and thought it would sort it self out. It won't. You must get in there and do it yourself. Copperbands work sometimes, as do some wrasses, but other than that there are no real predation options in NZ (there are some shrimp and some nudi but none are available here and the importers can't be bothered trying). I actually killed some more last night. I have the numbers in my tank down to single digits. Infact I am only aware of 4 in my tank after last night, but I am sure there will be a few more. The trick is to kill them weekly. I often killed heaps, then left it for a month, giving them enough time to breed and spawn and create more. You need to keep pressing the attack, making an effort to get each and every one until there are none left. I have been doing this since christmas, started of killing dozens a night twice a week. Now I get less than 10 every 2 weeks. And I hope soon less than 5 once a month... How to kill them? I have tried everything, lime juice, hot water, copper wire and Kalkwasser. I havn't tried hydrochloric acid but some do use it. I needed a soultion that I could use in the tank. Ultimatly the Kalkwasser paste works best for me. How to use it? Get a small glass (I use a shot glass) and put some Kalk powder in there, then mix in some RO/DI water until its a thick liquid, not quite paste (I find this works the best). Not really runny, but not as thick as say toothpaste. Just a very thick liquid. I then have a 10ml syringe with a piece of plastic hose on it (the stuff from hospitals they use for drips, but any hose thats thin and will fit the end of the syringe will work), its about 2mm diamater. Suck the kalkwasser mixture into the syringe. Turn off ALL circulation pumps and wait for 5. Get lots of towels and rags Depending on the size and configuration of the tank you may need help, my partner Jane often acts as a spotter for me as it can be hard to do both. Locate aipstasia. Squeeze a little kalk out onto the aipstasia, it will eat it, often wrapping its tenticles around the paste and drawing it into its mouth. Depending on the size and position of the Aipstasia I try and cover the little bugger with a lump of kalk. This stuff burns the aipstasia to death melting it away. WARNING - If the kalk mixture touches anything else, clam, coral, sponge etc it will burn it too so be carefull. I use a turkey baister on standby, if I drop some on a coral I use this to blow it away. Continue this method until there are none visible. Repeat every week. If you have an infestation like I had, limit the number you do in one sitting as the PH will spike very high with too much kalk mixture in the water. I use no more than 2 10ml syringes per sitting in my 900 litres of water, this spikes my PH to about 8.35 from 8.3. If you can use some filter wool, then put some in before turning the pumps back on as the water will be milky for a few hours. I often kill some before a water change. So I kalk them, then I use a syphon to suck out the lumps of kalk before I put fresh water back in. Just helps stop the PH spike. This method works 14/15 times. Ocasionally you have to attack the same aipstasia twice. I have killed hundreds of Aipstasia and am confident that I now have them under control. Not sure if I will ever be free of them, but I will get their numbers so low I will only need to kill a few once a month, which won't be to bad. Good luck and if you need any more help let me know. Pies PICTURE - I typical piece of infested rock in my tank. You now need to look VERY closely to even see one Aipstasia, I am only aware of 4 which I will kill this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 9, 2004 Report Share Posted March 9, 2004 Kind of off on a tangent...If you wander around the rock pools locally, there are lots of small anemones. Those wouldn't happen to be a species of aptasia, are they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetskisteve Posted March 9, 2004 Report Share Posted March 9, 2004 Ira,no thank god! And as for the Apstasia all as pies sez but for me.................My copperband Also Jansens North shore shop had thousands in their reef and recently put in a copperband now they are down to about 50. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted March 9, 2004 Report Share Posted March 9, 2004 OK, here is my sure fire way, 100% success rate, never to return again method. Use a saturated solution of Sodium Hydroxide (Drain Away, Draino, whatever you like to call it) and water. Using a syringe, squirt about 0.5 mL into the mouth of each aiptasia. This will kill even the stubborn foot tissue. I initially used kalk paste like pies, by found that the success rate wasn't that great. Sodium Hydroxide is much more soluble than Calcium Hydroxide, and is more alkaline, completely nuking the aiptasia. Again don't dose too much at one time. It is not harmful to your reef, unless you directly squirt it onto corals. Just a warning that Sodium Hydroxide will cause sever chemical burns if handled, you can tell if you have it on your hands 'cause they will feel "soapy" and slippery. If you feel your hands becoming slippery, wash with a LOT of cold water. Preferably wear gloves when handling. As dangerous as the chemical sounds, it is really quite safe for your reef. It's great to see some different people on this board too, from what I hear, the hobby is really starting to grow. Layton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted March 9, 2004 Report Share Posted March 9, 2004 You put draino in your tank? I thought that method was for people who were treating the Aipstasia then rinsing off under a tap before returning it to the tank? If its so potent that you need to rinse if off your hands, whats it doing to your water and inhabitants? I'll stick with my kalk... Steve. How about some photos of this Aipstasia eating monster? Surley a fish that eats brown pest anemones much be pretty ugly IRA - Like Steve said, no they are not Aipstasia or Aipstasia like. Pies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted March 9, 2004 Report Share Posted March 9, 2004 Pies, draino is surprisingly pure sodium hydroxide, and is really no more dangerous to your tank than calcium hydroxide (kalk). Any tank with a reasonable alkalinity (greater than 2.6) should have no problems adding it. The hydroxide ion reacts relativly quickly with dissolved carbon dioxide producing, there are also other mechanisms for the neutralisation of the free hydroxide. Which reaction is most significant is determined by the pH. 2(OH)- + 2CO2 ---> H20 + 2(CO3)2- The only difference between this and the kalk method is the spectator ion (Ca2+ as opposed to Na+). Kalk will do the same thing to your hand as sodium hydroxide, at a much much slower rate. If anything this method is easier on the fish, I had problems with fish eating, or trying to eat the white kalk paste. I for one wouldn't like a mouth full of kalk. The sodium hydroxide method is much safer in that it is completely soluble, such that any solution which doesn't make it into the aiptasia, is quikly netralised by surrounding water by the above reaction, and no solid remains to be eaten by fish. Layton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 9, 2004 Report Share Posted March 9, 2004 Didn't think they'd be aptasia, but some of them look really similar. I suppose practically everything looks like, "Small with tentacles." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicks Posted March 10, 2004 Report Share Posted March 10, 2004 I can remember going into Jansens in Mt Albert quite a few years ago and seeing Aptasia for sales. A Big mother on a rock for $20. I am still staggered that we see Aptasia and flat worms in retailers tanks. But the flatworm would only be $1 each based on Jansens price for Aptasia. On a serious point I use Kalk to deal with Aptasia. Nick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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