Help - I am being infested

[BCReefer]

OK I need some big time help. It seems my tank is being over run by a hitch hiking weed. At least I call it a weed. It looks like the picture on page 180 of Aquarium Corals by Borneman but the base is brown not white; also it is in single colony not batches like the picture. The whole thing is brown and it cannot be killed. There are also no tubeworms in my tank when I touch it shrinks back into the rock/sand and I cannot get it out

It all started about 6 months ago when I saw the 1st one. I wanted to get rid of it but my wife said it looked cute and she wanted to keep it. Well that one turned into many.

I pulled out 1/2 my rock cleaned it off using a scrub brush and tap water then re-inserted it back into the tank. Now it is everywhere including on the glass and my tank looks like a weed farm.

I have not been doing my regular maintenance for the past couple of months due to new baby, couple of jobs etc.

Any help is really appreciated – I would get rid of the fish and start fresh but I have a few corals that I am scared to give to anyone cause I don’t want to contaminate their tank.

I have another 30 G tank that I could rig up the corals and fish in sand then dump my corals sand and somehow clean my rock but how do I start the water over again and how can I clean off my softies without damaging them?

Can't find my camera to take pictures.

Help
Patrick

[Aquattro]

I think you're talking about aptaisia. Get a peppermint shrimp. Problem solved.

[BCReefer]

Reef,

I'm done to store tomorrow and if it works I'm buying you a beer the next time your in town. (or tea if thats your liking)

[Aquattro]

coffee's good. Some people say that they didn't have any luck, but I've bought 7 peppermints over the last two years and every one of them ate the aiptasia. If the tank is heavily infested, it could take up to 2 weeks to clear out.

[DJ88]

Patrick,

Pep's will definately do the job.

If you want to encourage them. minimize the feedings of the tank. Starve 'em into submission.

[BCReefer]

My wife was doing some reading on this topic and she found out that the shrimp will not touch anything bigger than 1" high. The stuff in my tank is 3 - 4" high.

Is there any truth to what she read?

TKS

[StirCrazy]

they did the ones in that were over 3" tall in my tank.

Steve

[Aquattro]

ate all mine, even the big ones.

[BCReefer]

OK I have added a total of 3 pepermint shrimp. 1 2 weeks ago and 2 yesterday but I just can't see them taking care of the "lawn" that has grown in my tank.

I heard a butterfly fish would eat the apitasia. I know I only have a 33G but can I get a small butterfly and trade it back in a year or maybe by then I will have my 75G tank.

I really am getting desperate if something dose not work soon.

Maybe I should take out most of rocks and give it a bath in high concentrated calcium, this is suppose to burn it off. I know that I would also be killing my rock but I don't know what else to do?

[Quinn]

Some people have had success injecting kalkwasser into the aptasias with a syringe. A search on Reefcentral should give you a good number of related results.