Drastic measures for eradicating aiptasia

[Treebeard]

I have a 46 gallon tank which only has two fish in it, some snails, crabs and a sand sifting star. It has about 30 pounds of live rock and a couple inches of live sand, but the aiptasia has gotten out of control. I am considering removing the live rock and cooking it to get rid of the aiptasia. Can I safely do this without affecting the tank, or will it need to cycle again when I put the rock back in?

[Myka]

Ime you will need to cook the rock for a VERY long time to eradicate aiptasia if by "cooking" you mean putting it in a dark container, and not cooking it on the stove. You will affect the tank minimally if you're cooking in the dark. If you're cooking on the stove...that will be a big deal. Can you post a pic of your rock??

[Treebeard]

As I understand cooking live rock means placing it in a dark tub with a powerhead and raising the temp to about 95 F.

I do not have a pic handy, but last night during a case of insomnia, I was shining a red light around my tanks and was shocked by the amount of aiptasia in the 46 gallon tank. I also saw 3 small crabs, oodles of copepods, and various worms in the 90 gallon tank. I am not sure if they were all good or bad, but it certainly was an eye opener!

[mark]

If you're thinking of going through the effort of removing the rock, just might consider hitting the aiptasia with a small butane type torch. Just sitting in a tub they just might like it.

Just a note, I've got a few aiptasia, but never noticed them more at night (they're out all the time).

[Myka]

+1 on the torch, but you would have to cycle the tank (rock) again afterwards (which you could do in bins instead).

Originally Posted by Treebeard

As I understand cooking live rock means placing it in a dark tub with a powerhead and raising the temp to about 95 F.

Yes, although you don't need to raise the temp (I wouldn't). I was just checking because some people DO cook their rock on a stove to kill things.

[jsmth321]

I know not everyone has luck using peppermint shrimp, but so far they have never failed me.

Worth a try and less work if it works.