# Need an ID guys



## AKSkirmish (Jun 24, 2005)

Said pic is a friends-Needs an ID on what this stuff is exactly and how to get rid of it please-

Thanks in advance everyone-

View attachment 181368


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## Wide_Eyed_Wanderer (Aug 22, 2006)

maybe hydroids?


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## His Majesty (Apr 5, 2005)

oh my. i have a few of those growing in my LR. they are natural to be there but not in these numbers
never seen it this bad before. i suspect something has spiked in his tank.
he should take some readings and see whats gone wrong. he may have to test for some of the other things that he may not test on a regular basis such has calcium, phosphate and so on.
unfortunatley i dont actually know what they are called. some organism you usally get on LR. 
ill do some reading see if i come up with anything


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## AKSkirmish (Jun 24, 2005)

E-THUG said:


> oh my. i have a few of those growing in my LR. they are natural to be there but not in these numbers
> never seen it this bad before. i suspect something has spiked in his tank.
> he should take some readings and see whats gone wrong. he may have to test for some of the other things that he may not test on a regular basis such has calcium, phosphate and so on.
> unfortunatley i dont actually know what they are called. some organism you usally get on LR.
> ill do some reading see if i come up with anything


Please do-if you dont mind that is

It's something I have not experienced before in my salt adventures-so any info to cure what ever it is would greatly appreciated.


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## His Majesty (Apr 5, 2005)

ok well after some reading this is what i got
what hes got growing is aiptasia. its a form of anemone. as i said never had a problem with them. just a few growths here and there. just part of aquarium life.

natural ways to cure it:
Butterflyfishes: Auriga (Chaetodon auriga), Raccoon (Chaetodon lunula), Klein's (Chaetodon kleini), Long-Nosed (Genus Forcipiger species), Teardrop (Chaetodon unimaculatus), and Copperband (Chelmon rostratus).

Filefishes: There are four species of Genus Acreichthys filefishes, but the Bristle-Tail Filefish (Acreichthys tomentosus) from the Indo-Pacific region is said to be the ultimate choice aiptasia eater.

Puffers: The Guinea Fowl (Arothron meleagris) may eat aiptasia, but it grows to a very large size, therefore the Tobies, or Sharp-Nosed species of the Canthigastrinae sub-family might be more suitable.

Shrimps: The "true" Peppermint Shrimp (Lysmata wurdemanni) is by far the top choice of aquarists for eating aiptasia anemones, but the trick with this one is making sure you get the right species. Although the Camelback Shrimp (Rhynchocienetes uritai) is very often misrepresented and sold as a true Peppermint Shrimp, it is the L. wurdemanni species that usually preys on aiptasia anemones, whereas the R. uritai will most likely ignore them.

Hermit Crabs: Almost always reef safe, and benefical algae eaters as well, in particular one or two of the more common Red Legged Hermit Crab (Dardanus megistos) might do the trick.

Chemical cures:

Bottled Lemon Juice Concentrate 
After some experimentation we discovered this liquid gave us immediate results. It is a reef tank safe, effective, and easy procedure that costs only pennies to perform. Just follow these simple instructions on how to eliminate aiptasia with lemon juice injections, which includes our before and after comparison photos so you can visually see our results.

Calcium Hydroxide 
Injecting aiptasia with calcium hydroxide (kalkwasser) in a concentrated solution is one of the most common methods used. The consensus we get on this method is that is does work, but is not very efficiently unless done properly. The kill rate is low if the anemone is not directly injected with it and if the solution is not strong enough. Another problem is that if you try to kill to many aiptasia at once, this can cause a problem with the pH in your tank from adding to much CAOH2 at one time.

Sodium Hydroxide 
When using this chemical for injection it can be mixed strong enough for a certain kill. Beware, there is a WARNING with this one. When mixed in a concentrated solution it can remove the skin off your hands or other body parts. Removing the rock from the tank and dribbling the sodium hydroxide solution over the anemone it gave 100% mortality rate. When having to get to an anemone that had it's foot imbedded into a crevice, the mortality rate was only about 50%. This was due to having to guess where to put the solution and the target was not right on.

hope this helps. i also posted the pic in another forum. hope you dont mind. this is very unsual case and no one has seen it this bad.


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## His Majesty (Apr 5, 2005)

oh and also what lighting is your friend using?
this may also be contributing to the excessive growth

if possible post up the following
are they killing anything?
how long are your lights on. 
how much do you feed. 
recent params

these will also help with determing the cause


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## Lifer374 (Dec 5, 2003)

Thanks everyone for the help figuring this out.

This is my aunts tank thats in the picture. I sent her a link through email of this thread and will post any details she can give.

Thanks AK for reformatting the pic getting it up here for me








Appreciate the homework Trigger


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## Murphy18 (Oct 17, 2008)

I know didly f*ck about saltwater setups, but all that hair stuff actually looks kinda cool imo. Also is that a seahorse?!

Awesome


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## AKSkirmish (Jun 24, 2005)

Tango374 said:


> Thanks everyone for the help figuring this out.
> 
> This is my aunts tank thats in the picture. I sent her a link through email of this thread and will post any details she can give.
> 
> ...


Cheers Buddy....Not a problem.

Hope it helps out and she gets to the bottom of it...

Thanks greatly for the info Trigger


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## SeedlessOne (Nov 21, 2006)

That rock will have to be boiled at that point. Thats a really bad case. That stuff Is a bitch to kill.


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## His Majesty (Apr 5, 2005)

SeedlessOne said:


> That rock will have to be boiled at that point. Thats a really bad case. That stuff Is a bitch to kill.


nope. dont boil.
its something some people reccomend however its not very effective at all and just alot of hassle.

no worries AK and Tango
my pleasure :nod:


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## His Majesty (Apr 5, 2005)

more info

go here for instruction on using bottle lemon CLICK

ok also some other suggestion which will help
buy yourself a couple of Berghia Nudibranch. apparrantly some say these guys are the only think which will get rid of them effectivley.


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

WOW, that is about all i have to say... Thats the second largest aptasia infestation i have ever seen! 
Some interesting advice thus far.....

Personally with an infestation this large and out of control, theres only one safe and sure-fire method. i would just take out one rock per week and boil the crap out of it, and scrub the outside with a wire brush, rince and replace. Once you have knocked down the numbers to a small number, you can exterminate them one by one...

If you start using things like kalkwasser paste now (joes juice, aptasiaX etc) you will have to use soooo much your alk and ph will become unstable, even using lemon juice or something like that would screw up things severely when you are adding that much...

Peppermint shrimp will eat them, but it would take an army of them to clear the aptasia forest... so if you want a natural method of control i would try Berghia Nudibranch (they are a sea slug, that will rapidly reproduce)... It may take them some time to put a dent in it, but atleast now theres no room for them to spread









Also tell her to cut back on feedings, those things thrive on excess food in the water column.

AND WHATEVER YOU DO, DONT TRY MANUALLY REMOVING THEM (picking, cutting, whatever) because any small piece will regenerate into another anemone... you are just helping them spread like fire



Trigger lover said:


> oh my. i have a few of those growing in my LR. they are natural to be there but not in these numbers
> never seen it this bad before.* i suspect something has spiked in his tank.
> he should take some readings and see whats gone wrong. he may have to test for some of the other things that he may not test on a regular basis such has calcium, phosphate and so on.*
> unfortunatley i dont actually know what they are called. some organism you usally get on LR.
> ill do some reading see if i come up with anything


Actually, they live in any water from perfect quality, to a bucket of stagnant water... they start with one, and then reproduce rapidly through regeneration... Has nothing to do with "spiking" of anything... Also Calcium, phosphate, and DKH should be tested regularly

They are just a PITA that show up from time to time, and this is what happens when you leave one, because you like how it looks.... They takeover everything and suffocate any other life on the rock


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## redbellyman21 (Jun 27, 2004)

listen not to get on the band wagon, it definately looks like aiptasia, and u should take rock out of tank and use joes juice or lemon extract on it... aiptasia is evil, but at those numbers in that group, I would think more button polyp or snake polyps, they look like aiptasia but are certainly not. I am not saying it is or isnt, but aiptasia, unless there is no current would not typically grow that large in that group without supplemental feedings..


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

redbellyman21 said:


> listen not to get on the band wagon, it definately looks like aiptasia, *and u should take rock out of tank and use joes juice or lemon extract on it*... aiptasia is evil, but at those numbers in that group, I would think more button polyp or snake polyps, they look like aiptasia but are certainly not. I am not saying it is or isnt, but aiptasia, unless there is no current would not typically grow that large in that group without supplemental feedings..


Using that much joes juice or lemon in a tank would be catastrophic... unless we are talking about a large volume system, and i hope we arent because if the rest of the tank looks like that... uh.... yeah.... And i have seen aptasia grow in crazy places, like my overflow U tube with 1200 gph in a 1" opening.... flow isnt something to consider

Like i said earlier, i think your best bet is to remove 1 rock per week and boil it, scrub it with a wire brush, boil it again, and replace it away from the "colony" if you can call it that. The rock will re seed and become live rock within a week, and be aptasia free. Just dont do all your rock at once and it will have little effect on your tank. Once you remove 90% of them using that method, you can target the remaining few with joes juice or lemon, or boiling water, or....

If you are realllyyyy into a natural control, use the nudibranches i mentioned in an earlier post. but were talking months to eat them prob...


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## redbellyman21 (Jun 27, 2004)

Skunkbudfour20 said:


> listen not to get on the band wagon, it definately looks like aiptasia, *and u should take rock out of tank and use joes juice or lemon extract on it*... aiptasia is evil, but at those numbers in that group, I would think more button polyp or snake polyps, they look like aiptasia but are certainly not. I am not saying it is or isnt, but aiptasia, unless there is no current would not typically grow that large in that group without supplemental feedings..


Using that much joes juice or lemon in a tank would be catastrophic... unless we are talking about a large volume system, and i hope we arent because if the rest of the tank looks like that... uh.... yeah.... And i have seen aptasia grow in crazy places, like my overflow U tube with 1200 gph in a 1" opening.... flow isnt something to consider

Like i said earlier, i think your best bet is to remove 1 rock per week and boil it, scrub it with a wire brush, boil it again, and replace it away from the "colony" if you can call it that. The rock will re seed and become live rock within a week, and be aptasia free. Just dont do all your rock at once and it will have little effect on your tank. Once you remove 90% of them using that method, you can target the remaining few with joes juice or lemon, or boiling water, or....

If you are realllyyyy into a natural control, use the nudibranches i mentioned in an earlier post. but were talking months to eat them prob...
[/quote]
my plan was to remove rock and use juice... not in system, plus when have u seen aiptasia colunize like that?


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## His Majesty (Apr 5, 2005)

Tango any updates?

Skunk, you say that they can thrive from good aquality water to a bucket of stagnant water. 
but very rarely do they infest like they have done here
i have a few of them on my rocks but never have they spread like this. so what is the reason for this massive infestation?


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

Trigger lover said:


> Tango any updates?
> 
> Skunk, you say that they can thrive from good aquality water to a bucket of stagnant water.
> but very rarely do they infest like they have done here
> i have a few of them on my rocks but never have they spread like this. so what is the reason for this massive infestation?


The reason they dont infest like this is because people are typically on the look out for the first ones, and nix the problem when the numbers are managable... some people (like a friend i had) thought that they were "sweet looking" and that they were a "good thing to have" and left the first 10 or so when he started up his tank... Now, it looks like everything (including glass on the back) is covered in what appears to be brown shag carpet from a distance...

i would say the reason is fairly simple, not removing the first few spotted... 3 turn into 6 into 12 into 24 into 48 into 96 and on and on until the entire rock is colonized, drowning out sponges, coraline and other things that should be growing on the rock. Really i would imagine some food from feeding ends up in their mouths, fueling the fire as well... Its not like a problem like this just appears overnight!

As for redbellyman:
Joes juice is injected inside the anemone, the anemone would hold the joes juice and then release it back into the tank after you replaced the rock... that and all of the dying anemones wouldnt help your water quality either.


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## redbellyman21 (Jun 27, 2004)

Skunkbudfour20 said:


> Tango any updates?
> 
> Skunk, you say that they can thrive from good aquality water to a bucket of stagnant water.
> but very rarely do they infest like they have done here
> i have a few of them on my rocks but never have they spread like this. so what is the reason for this massive infestation?


The reason they dont infest like this is because people are typically on the look out for the first ones, and nix the problem when the numbers are managable... some people (like a friend i had) thought that they were "sweet looking" and that they were a "good thing to have" and left the first 10 or so when he started up his tank... Now, it looks like everything (including glass on the back) is covered in what appears to be brown shag carpet from a distance...

i would say the reason is fairly simple, not removing the first few spotted... 3 turn into 6 into 12 into 24 into 48 into 96 and on and on until the entire rock is colonized, drowning out sponges, coraline and other things that should be growing on the rock. Really i would imagine some food from feeding ends up in their mouths, fueling the fire as well... Its not like a problem like this just appears overnight!

As for redbellyman:
Joes juice is injected inside the anemone, the anemone would hold the joes juice and then release it back into the tank after you replaced the rock... that and all of the dying anemones wouldnt help your water quality either.
[/quote]

I agree, but I mean we could treat he rock for longer than a day, I mean all it takes is a bucket/rubbermaid container and a powerhead and heater. and then put in whatever u want even copper for the ultimate kill! BUT my point brings me back to the infestation you see, I agree they could spread if left unattended, but that is a carpet/colony. Aiptasia may split and spread easy, but colonize is not in its benefit... anenomes would never strive in those conditions... plus if u look at the picture there is a powerhead right there... so when they would split or polyp they would be spreading all over. I agree 100% with your advice and your info, just still dont think that is aiptasia...
is it possible for a close up on a stalk... we get its a mass, we need close up on one to two "mouths"


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

redbellyman21 said:


> I agree, but I mean we could treat he rock for longer than a day, I mean all it takes is a bucket/rubbermaid container and a powerhead and heater. *and then put in whatever u want even copper for the ultimate kill*! BUT my point brings me back to the infestation you see, I agree they could spread if left unattended, but that is a carpet/colony. Aiptasia may split and spread easy, but colonize is not in its benefit... anenomes would never strive in those conditions... plus if u look at the picture there is a powerhead right there... so when they would split or polyp they would be spreading all over. I agree 100% with your advice and your info, just still dont think that is aiptasia...
> is it possible for a close up on a stalk... we get its a mass, we need close up on one to two "mouths"


Ok, first off copper is BAD news and the LAST thing i would ever resort to in a fish tank... it will stay in the rocks almost forever in trace amounts and slowly leech out killing snails, crabs and any other inverts in your tank in the long run. Taking 30 minutes a week to boil and scrub a rock wold take far less time and work than treating in a bucket, and would also have almost NO impact on your tank in the long run...

Also, i am 99% positive that i saw this same pic on ReefCentral and it was identified as Aptasia, i am sure AK can post a link? And like i said earlier, i have witnessed aptasia outbreaks that are equally thick, and densely packed with my own eyes. Really they are nothing but opportunists that feed on anything they can, and spread as fast as possible to consume more food.


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## AKSkirmish (Jun 24, 2005)

No link possible from me-

Maybe Tango posted it over there......


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## His Majesty (Apr 5, 2005)

it was me who posted it on RC









thought more people would know about it there.

i hope AK you dont mind. i did not claim the pic as mine. just was looking for answers


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## AKSkirmish (Jun 24, 2005)

Trigger lover said:


> it was me who posted it on RC
> 
> 
> 
> ...


It's not my Pic either--------
Tango shouldn't mind though------But I can not speak for him......More answers the better though....


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

Trigger lover said:


> it was me who posted it on RC
> 
> 
> 
> ...


So post a link if you would, so others here can see what the verdict was over there... as far as i remember most of the posts were "HOLY S*[email protected]"







but some people had good input, and when i read it the consensus was indeed aptasia... but its been a week or so, and i cant find it again


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## His Majesty (Apr 5, 2005)

the answers i got from the responses on RC i posted up on here or posted some helpful links to some info on treatment.

the search function of RC is chock blocked with too much traffic and is disabled at the moment. ill dig it up a little later and post it up

Tango, any chance of an update. been able to do anything about it yet?


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

Trigger lover said:


> the answers i got from the responses on RC i posted up on here or posted some helpful links to some info on treatment.
> 
> the search function of RC is chock blocked with too much traffic and is disabled at the moment. ill dig it up a little later and post it up
> 
> Tango, any chance of an update. been able to do anything about it yet?


Try going to your member profile, and then tracking it down using your last posts, or posted topics... you wont need the search function


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## His Majesty (Apr 5, 2005)

Finally found it

CLICK


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## redbellyman21 (Jun 27, 2004)

reefcentral's search forum is reserved for paying members, at least thats what it yells at me to donate! n e way. I was merely joking about the copper, I was just pointing out that it would kill it, I was not however recommending they do it. I admit defeat, but I swear I work in a lfs, and have seen crazy breakouts, but never that bad with flow.. Without flow, I have seen worse, but if u look at the original pic, it shows a powerhead right there... That was my reasoning/or logic for thinking against anenomes. I mean if u look at your star polyps, or zoas , or any colonizing coral, that is what it looked like. They actually reproduce and split on the rock and just keep taking over the rocks outersurface so a current wouldnt spread them amongst the tank.. but wow is all I can say, it also may have soemthing to do with hoping that no one could possibly have that much evil on one rock? lol ak tell them to run for the hills. 
put the rock in a quarentine with 80 pepermint shrimp! lol I can speak for myself but we have regular customers and they regulary bring us rocks with aiptasia or hair algae and ask us to put it in our system's quarentine and borrow shrimp or hermit crabs. We do it for reg customers a lot, so might be worth trying or asking?


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

redbellyman21 said:


> reefcentral's search forum is reserved for paying members, at least thats what it yells at me to donate! n e way. I was merely joking about the copper, I was just pointing out that it would kill it, I was not however recommending they do it. I admit defeat, but I swear I work in a lfs, and have seen crazy breakouts, but never that bad with flow.. Without flow, I have seen worse, but if u look at the original pic, it shows a powerhead right there... That was my reasoning/or logic for thinking against anenomes. I mean if u look at your star polyps, or zoas , or any colonizing coral, that is what it looked like. They actually reproduce and split on the rock and just keep taking over the rocks outersurface so a current wouldnt spread them amongst the tank.. but wow is all I can say, it also may have soemthing to do with hoping that no one could possibly have that much evil on one rock? lol ak tell them to run for the hills.
> put the rock in a quarentine with 80 pepermint shrimp! lol I can speak for myself but we have regular customers and they regulary bring us rocks with aiptasia or hair algae and ask us to put it in our system's quarentine and borrow shrimp or hermit crabs. We do it for reg customers a lot, so might be worth trying or asking?


In my opinion if you place a powerhead at them, just like Xenia, it will spread faster in the direction of the current... keep in mind any piece that is dropped attaches and becomes an entire new anemone. Its the same thing with mushrooms and zoas, they clone themselves basically and spread asexually. Thats why the best bet is to kill the first one, and not have to worry!

Like i said, everything you have mentioned (the bucket with joes juice, taking it to the LFS, etc) are a waste of time... Remove said rock, boil, scrub, boil, rinse with SW (optional), replace... takes 10 minutes, problem solved, no wasted time...

Oh, and be sure to video dropping that rock into a vat of boiling water... i hate those bastards! My preferred extermination method is cooking them with a blow torch until they are grey dust...


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## Lifer374 (Dec 5, 2003)

Oh man guys I'm TERRIBLY sorry for not getting back with you. This part of Fury is not one of my nightly check stops so I completely forgot about this. 
The only reason I was reminded was by my aunt thanking you for all your help. She checks in every so often. 
The only word I got from her was that she had decided on boiling the live rock one at a time and is keeping a close eye on the tank and its perimeters. 
Shes happy with whats happening right now.

So far so good.


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## AKSkirmish (Jun 24, 2005)

Glad to hear it man-
Hopefully she continue's to feel this way...


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## His Majesty (Apr 5, 2005)

Good work. hope the problem goes away for her.


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## mykil73g (Aug 28, 2004)

Did they have any luck erradicating? I had a couple when I first got started. Used "Joes Juice" & hadnt had a problem since. It also kills majano anemones.


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