Does this aiptasia removal method work?

[Gibbo]

Hi,

I have some anoying aiptasia's in my tank and have found this removal method. Does anyone know if this works?

http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/msubpe ... 061903.htm

Or if there is a better method that works in NZ?

Also how do I get rid of Fireworms? got them from the LFS and they are breeding like crazy

[Lucid]

Try Kalk.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcium_hydroxide

HTH.

Lucid

[TM]

Also how do I get rid of Fireworms? got them from the LFS and they are breeding like crazy

A wrasse, i had a six line and never had a problem. Worms can be a sign of a high food source in the tank, they may just burn themselves out over time. How old is the tank?

[livingart]

lemon juice or boiling water works

syringed directly onto the aipstasia

make sure you get right into the base of it though

i boil the lemon juice and do it that way

there is also a product called aipstasiax available i think

[suphew]

IME all the injection methods (Kalk, lemon Juice, vinegar, etc) just cause the anemone to break up and spread.

The only successful method's I have used are to completely cover the whole Aiptasia with kalk while the rock is out of the water, or natural predators like butterflyfish

[Sally J]

I use a massive syringe and a drawing up needle and sqirt boiling water into the middle of them....it works really well. I havn't had anymore in the tank since.

[chimera]

dont expect to rely on any natural predators (wrasse, butterfly's etc as listed above) as they can be hit and miss. best thing i've found is joe's juice - around $30 for a small bottle from the shops but it nukes them pretty well. if you have a considerable number of aipstasia, then remove the rock and use boiling water / basically start over curing the rock again.

the key to killing them is injecting a small amount of paste into the mouth - they MUST digest the paste in order to kill them. if you just get the tentacles or outside of the mouth, it'll melt that area but wont kill it.

[cookie extreme]

redsea aptasia X

can't get it yet in NZ but you can import some from the states. out of all stuff i have tried this one works best. aptasia melts away within 5 minutes. but do follow instructions and turn powerheads etc off to get the best result.

[shaneo]

My racoon butterfly is eating my aptasia BUT also my sps, joes juice is my choice

[Ira]

IME all the injection methods (Kalk, lemon Juice, vinegar, etc) just cause the anemone to break up and spread.

The only successful method's I have used are to completely cover the whole Aiptasia with kalk while the rock is out of the water, or natural predators like butterflyfish

I also found sodium hydroxide to work well. I never had much luck with covering them with kalk. Seemed like the little blob would eventually drop off and out pops the aptasia again. Sodium hydroxide worked great for killing them, though it also kills anything nearby or downstream.

[Swampy]

if you only have a few then joes juice or aiptasia X will do the job.if you have alot(like i did)take out the rock and start again(like i did).best thing i ever done,but i had thousands.

[reef]

best to get them early before they spread,

Joes juice works, but you should redose 2-3 day later to make sure.

[Gibbo]

Thanks all.

I finally got time ot try the lemon juice and a small syringe from the chemist. Injected about 1ml into the base of the aiptasia and it shrank back into the nook it was anchored to, and then after a few hours was dead. I scraped the area clean and its been 4 week now and not a single one has returned.