Elizzy Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 I've got a nasty little aiptasia on a rock right above my Australian Spider Sponge - Joe's Juice requires feeding the nem (I don't have a syringe handy) and some of that food gets in the water column. Supposed to be reef safe, but I'd hate to hurt anything, especially that sponge. Advice? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonSequitur Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 The trick is to get the water as still as possible before applying it to minimize collateral damage. I've used both Joe's Juice and Aiptasia-X to kill majano anemones, and they both work well and didn't seem to damage anything else. Joe's juice is Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) in water, which reacts thermally when it dissolves in salt water, creating very localized high temperature area that kills the anemone (or anything else it is deposited on top of) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derekreefer Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 I bought a couple of peppermint shrimps and I no longer have aiptasia. Peppermints eat them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afgun Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 We tried peppermints but they ignored the aiptasia. Joe's juice worked very well for us though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medi Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 You can buy syringes at cvs or walgreens. Also, buy a TB needle. You may have o ask the pharmacist for that, but they'll sell them for sure, very common for diabetics. Then mix up some kalk in tank water and nuke it in the microwave. Then draw it up and inject it straight into the little booger. Works like a charm everytime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+o0zarkawater Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 I tried using insulin needles with aip-x, but it is too thick to go through the superfine needles. Ive used plenty of aip-x around non-ornamental sponges with no ill effects. But as long as you are careful with it you can easily hit just the aiptasia without making a mess. If you hit them right they shrink right up and don't expel anything, just melt. If you haven't already bought the JJ and want to try some aip-x shoot me a PM I have plenty and can let you have some and borrow a syringe. However, I do endorse peppermint shrimp for smaller aiptasia, and to help keep them in check. In my experience they wont touch the larger ones, but really help eliminate smaller ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonzobob Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Plus 1 on peppermint shrimp. I've had aptasia at one time or another in almost all of my tanks. Had being the operative word, I just drop a pep or two in the tank and wait. I have found that they sometimes seem to ignore particularly large aptasias. The only nuisance nems I've ever needed to take active steps with were very large aptasia and majanos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medi Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 AiptasiaX or JJ won't go throught the TB needles, but the kalk water will go through just fine. I've used this method several times and it always works, but I do agree about the pep' shrimp. They work the best if you can get one that eats aiptasia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Back when I was first starting out, my tank ended up being about half covered in aiptasia. Got 3 pep shrimp and in no time the aiptasia were *all* gone, except for 2 large ones. I always figured it was their way of ensuring a continuous food source so I've left those 2 big ones alone and in 2 yrs haven't seen an additional one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizzy Posted February 5, 2011 Author Share Posted February 5, 2011 Y'all rock, thanks so much!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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