Does Aiptasia affect fishes?

[Seek828]

Hi all,

I'm having a lot of trouble fighting Aiptasia ever since I set up my 90G.
I thought I finally got rid of them until I found a huge one coming out of the base of one of my live rocks a bit earlier tonight.
It is the biggest I have seen in my tank. It is almost as wide at an $1 coin (~1inch wide and slightly less than 2 inch long from base to tip)

I have read a lot about how Aiptasia affects reef tanks but most people tend to ignore FO/FOWLR setup and the fishes.

So does fish get affected by Aiptasia?
For example, does it stings fishes?
I'm guessing it will also eat really little fishes if it gets bigger and bigger?'

Thanks

[michika]

No it dosen't bother them. You can get rid of them by covering them with epoxy, injecting them wtih kalk. paste, or in some cases certain fish will eat the smaller ones.

[digital-audiophile]

Aptasia is a pain in the but... once it gets it it seems to be a constant battle to get rid of them.

I've read of bigger aptasia eating small fish but have never witnessed that myself.

Persoanlly I use the tailored aquatics aptasia killer and it seems to work well, you just need to stay on top of it and zap them as soon as you see them.

People talk of peppermints being an aptasia eater, but once again I have never had any luck with them myself.

I hope this helps a bit?

[Treebeard]

My tank was aiptasia free until I purchased a toadstool from a fellow Canreefer. I don't blame him...I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later. Just when I think I have it eradicated, I find a bunch more hiding under a crevice somewhere. I have a couple of peppermint shrimp but I have no idea if they are helping or not. I have never seen them actually dining on aiptasia so who knows?

[Seek828]

Originally Posted by Treebeard

My tank was aiptasia free until I purchased a toadstool from a fellow Canreefer. I don't blame him...I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later. Just when I think I have it eradicated, I find a bunch more hiding under a crevice somewhere. I have a couple of peppermint shrimp but I have no idea if they are helping or not. I have never seen them actually dining on aiptasia so who knows?

Damn, sorry about your toadstool.
My Aptasia came from two pieces of live rocks that I purchased when I was restarting this 90G tank after a 2 years break.
I used to have around 90lb of live rock with it but they were all dried up during those 2 years so I had to go get new ones hoping to kick start them back.

Well I think it worked, but so did it bring the Aptasia....

[Seek828]

Originally Posted by digital-audiophile

Aptasia is a pain in the but... once it gets it it seems to be a constant battle to get rid of them.

I've read of bigger aptasia eating small fish but have never witnessed that myself.

Persoanlly I use the tailored aquatics aptasia killer and it seems to work well, you just need to stay on top of it and zap them as soon as you see them.

People talk of peppermints being an aptasia eater, but once again I have never had any luck with them myself.

I hope this helps a bit?

Ya thanks for your help.
I heard about the shrimp too but I can't really keep one with a Trigger, can I?

[Seek828]

Originally Posted by michika

No it dosen't bother them. You can get rid of them by covering them with epoxy, injecting them wtih kalk. paste, or in some cases certain fish will eat the smaller ones.

Well I'm at least glad to hear that it shouldn't be bothering my fish that much.
But this new big one that I just found is just too big its scary.

I gotta get rid of it, even if it mean getting much more smaller one.

I don't have kalk at the moment but i have read a lot of mix comments about lemon juice concentrate.
Does it really work?
anyone tried it before?

[Seek828]

Along the line of controlling Aiptasia with peppermint shrimp, which I don't want to risk keeping with a Trigger, have you guys or anyone have experience with the Copperbanded Butterfly?

There seems to be quite a lot of mix reviews on their willingness to eat Aiptasia as well.

Should I give the butterfly a try since I can't keep a shrimp?
But I heard the Copperbanded is quite a passive one, will it be okay with the Trigger?

Thanks

[DragonBallZ]

Originally Posted by Seek828

Along the line of controlling Aiptasia with peppermint shrimp, which I don't want to risk keeping with a Trigger, have you guys or anyone have experience with the Copperbanded Butterfly?

There seems to be quite a lot of mix reviews on their willingness to eat Aiptasia as well.

Should I give the butterfly a try since I can't keep a shrimp?
But I heard the Copperbanded is quite a passive one, will it be okay with the Trigger?

Thanks

copperband butterflys eat aiptasia like theres no tomorrow.
my tank at one point was overrun with aiptasia and once i threw in a copperband, the next morning 98% of it was gone. not saying that itll work that quick for you but over time the copperband will get them all.

how big is the trigger and what kind is it?

[pluff]

I used a racoon butterfly a few years ago, worked like a charm.. I also herd and read that a longnose butterfly will also eat it....

good luck!!