copperband butterfly...

[BCOrchidGuy]

Theres another threat about aiptasia on the board, some people inject kalk mix, some inject lemon juice, I just squirt them with vinegar one day and then a second time the next day, someone pointed out though that I should keep an eye on my Alk though so keep that in mind.

I'm pretty certain that scarlets aren't known for eating aiptasia although I could be wrong.

Doug

[canadawest]

I've had my Copperband for about 4 months now, and he's FANTASTIC!

Got him primarily as an Aiptasia wrecking crew but also because they are so beautiful.

You can't imagine how much Aiptasia I had in my tank, it was a freakin plague for almost a year. I'd easily guess more than 100 heads.

The Copperband (Cooper) didn't seem to touch the stuff for weeks, just grazed among the rocks. Now 4 months later you would need a microscope to find a single Aiptasia. Cooper is the fattest Copperband you'll ever see too! The Aiptasia just started to dissapear week to week.

And I consider myself really fortunate because he also eats pretty much any other frozen food I feed the tank, mysis, enriched brine, mixed, etc, which is good because there isn't any more Aiptasia for him to feast on.

This was also my second Copperband as I lost my first to a tank poisoning in the summer. The first one was a juvenile (about 1.5-2" long) and didn't seem to ever eat the Aiptasia in the 3 months I had him. The second one (Cooper) I got a little larger (about 3") as I read that adults were more likely to eat Aiptasia than juveniles (didn't know that at the time of the first purchase). Now Cooper is 4"+ and looks very happy and healthy.

PS.. I also have added several Peppermint shrimp over the past year and feel they also have contributed to the demise of the Aiptasia. Although I'm certain they seriously couldn't keep up with it before Cooper arrived, and also they seem to have no interest at all in the larger Aiptasia, whereas Cooper took on any sized foe. It was a one-two punch that the Aiptasia just couldn't win against.

But good advice has been given. Do not attempt another Copperband unless you find one that has been in the LFS for at least 1-2 weeks, is eating frozen foods and is an active swimmer/grazer with good coloration/markings. Once you find one that fits that description, you should have yourself an excellent tank inhabitant, and hopefully one that finds Aiptasia as yummy as Cooper!

[Pisces]

I had a similar experience as 'CanadaWest'. My tank was sooooo overrun with aptasia that you literally couldn't see rock. I'm sure there were thousands. I tried peppermint shrimp, with no luck.....they probably couldn't keep up.

I finally got a CBB, and the first 2 died , but the third one I got did great, and now I can't find a single aptasia in my tank anywhere (except the sump), and he's doing great!

I don't know why the first 2 died, but I know the LFS was having a hard time keeping them alive at the time too.