Controlling Aptasia in the Reef Aquarium

Aptasia are a type of rock anemone that can very quickly spread and infest a coral reef aquarium. Action should be taken right away to ensure that the anemones do not spread. We have seen many new hobbyists get excited about all the new living critters growing on their live rock, only to find out later that some were not as cute and fun as they thought. Make sure this does not happen to you!

Aptasia will spread throughout the entire coral reef. They will live on and under live rock and as they spread they aggressively compete for space. This means that they sting anything near it that would take up real estate. This could be your corals! These nasty little anemones are quite capable of inflicting massive damage to a coral reef tank.

When you are buying live rock at a local fish store, make sure you check their tanks to see if you might be bringing some unwanted pest home. If there are aptasia, then make your own decision if you want to purchase the live rock. A tank with Copperband Butterflies or Peppermint shrimp will be able to control the anemones so this might not be a problem for you.

One of the easiest ways to eradicate and control future outbreaks is through predation. There are several animals that will gladly eat these pesky anemones.

You need to determine if each predator will fit your needs and the needs of your aquarium though.

Peppermint shrimp can be fantastic at both cleaning up an outbreak as well as controlling future outbreaks. Peppermint shrimp are not always good at eating very large anemones though. Also, peppermint shrimp can be a little on the delicate side. Make sure you give them a good change through proper acclimation when adding them to the tank. Peppermint shrimp also become prey to many fish.

Copperband Butterfies are also good at cleaning up these nasty little pests. Generally Copperband Butterflies are reef safe and will not cause damage to your reef. The biggest problem with all butterflies though is that they are delicate and demand clean water. Nitrates can really cause problems to them.

There are several other species that will also prey on pesky anemones. There are many pros and cons to some of them.

This is a great topic to talk to your local fish store about. There are several very good products on the market that will control outbreaks. All of them use a target method of treatment, meaning you actually have to put the chemical into each and every anemone's mouth. Your local fish store should be able to show you the product and demonstrate how to use it. You need to be careful around other corals and even around some fish to make sure that the product is not introduced to them as well. It would be horrible to watch a great colony of zooanthids get destroyed by improper use of these chemicals.

http://www.tropicalfishresource.com/aptasia.html