Ok so i'm very new to this hobby and I've had my 12 gallon tank going for probably 9 months or so. When I purchased some live rock a while back there were....I'm guessing some kind of anemones on it. There were just a couple of little ones a first but eventually they got bigger and then more of them started to appear all over the tank. Now I have about 3 or 4 bigger ones and a lot of little ones all over my live rock. Ok so i'll get to my question now. Are these actually some kind of anemone and if so what kind are they? Also, is it a problem that they are multiplying and popping up all over the live rock? Thanks!
second.. yes, those are anemones.. they are bad/pest anemones
they are called aptasia, and can be a real nuisance
there are a few ways to get rid of them.
the most natural way is to try getting a peppermint shrimp as they naturally feed on these things.
another step, is to inject them with something called joe's juice (some LFS sell it, but you can make it your self) or you can make a kalk paste, and cover them in it.
if they are all on one rock that could be removed, you could remove the rock and bake it.
this will kill everything in the rock including those little buggers.
the beneficial bacteria that you want in the rock will come back, but if the aptasia are only on that rock you will be good to go
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Yup as Rob noted they are a pest and you want to eradicate them asap. I use Joes juice and have some peppermint shimp that keep them at bay in my system.
If you don't wanna waste money on Joe's Juice- you can mix a solution of kalk and water and shoot em with that- some people heat the water- either way works- the trick is to mess up the PH and that kills em.
Get em out as fast as you can. If you have lots of them then get a peppermint shrimp or 2.
the kalk is probably the cheapest way, if you have the powder already.
but as Gwen mentioned some use boiling water.
if have a syringe, or something (like the droppers that come with the salifert test kits) you can inject them with the boiling water.
just be careful if you go the kalk route because the tank is small, and kalk has a really high PH. So just make sure you keep an eye on the PH if you use that method
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After I killed one, then a few more babies popped up a few inches away! ha! Just be careful shooting them near corals cos u can knock out ur corals in the same manner.
After I killed one, then a few more babies popped up a few inches away! ha! Just be careful shooting them near corals cos u can knock out ur corals in the same manner.
yep,. you can use vinegar too..
but yes, be careful of coral.
its nice because with the paste, you can usually keep it localized. but if you have a syringe, then the vinegar can work also. but again, vinegar is very acidic, so watch the PH in that small tank..
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