When starting a new tank or rebuilding, aiptasia-tested hobbyists will often start with dry rock, which they seed with specific bacteria and coralline algae. I will get into juicing later when I cover the eradication process. Most people just “juice” (see “Chemical Removal” section) on a regular basis. There is no dip you can use when dipping coral or live rock that will just kill aiptasia. And depending on the size, it can take months to kill an aiptasia infestation. Unfortunately, there is no overnight cure for eradicating aiptasia. If you find out after the fact that your LFS has aiptasia, it’s not the end of the world! Just be ready for their debut in your reef tank and for the battle to come. To find out if aiptasia are present at your LFS, ask to check their sumps or overflow boxes these areas receive the least amount of maintenance and so have a higher chance of aiptasia lurking within. They should already be using biological controls, but if they aren’t, they are putting the you and their other customers at risk. There is even a decent chance that some of the tanks in the local fish store (LFS) you buy from could be infected with aiptasia. They can sneak past even the closest eye or remain dormant on corals or live rock for months in quarantine, only to proliferate once they become established in a display. Preventing them from getting into your tank in the first place may seem almost impossible. Generally, aiptasia doesn’t ride in on healthy corals, but if a specimen has any dead tissue, watch out! These “dead zones” have the potential to pick up and carry aiptasia into our aquariums. Aiptasia can gain entry into our aquariums via rocks, frags, plumbing, water or any other matter from an infected tank. Aiptasia enter the hobby by trading between hobbyists or even purchasing corals from your local pet store.

Aiptasia are Stealthy StowawaysĪiptasia is a known hitchhiker. They are equipped with one of the most powerful stings (delivered by structures called nematocysts), which they use to kill other corals (they can kill clams, too) and take over real estate. Given the right environment, I’ve seen aiptasia reach up to 4 inches long and 21/2 inches wide. The tentacles stretch out from the oral plate connected to a long body column down to the pedal. To identify them look for a light brown transparent polyp with long brown tentacles. There are many different species of aiptasia, the most common being Aiptasia pallida and A. Many novice marine aquarists, already awestruck by all the new life blooming in their created ecosystems, often overlooked or misidentified aiptasia until it’s too late. If you are an experienced hobbyist, chances are you have already dealt with this pest if you are a newcomer, you will sooner or later.

Once aiptasia gain a foothold, it can be almost impossible to remove them this is a big reason why aiptasia is considered one of the most prolific and nettlesome fish aquarium pests facing marine hobbyists. If not dealt with immediately, they can and will completely take over your reef tank in very little time. This is because it only takes a single cell for this anemone to turn into a polyp and then quickly turn into five, 20 and so on. Aiptasia have managed to spread from the ocean to many marine aquariums. Aiptasia anemones (Aiptasia spp.) are not to be taken lightly.

Peppermint shrimp eat aiptasia