Aiptasia Glass Anemone Natural Predators Remedies Products Tips Tricks Saltwater Coral Reef Aquarium

This video is about my experience battling Aiptasia (glass anemones) in my reef tank. Aptasia is one of the most difficult and common pest in the saltwater reefing hobby.

I will talk about:
- Commercial products
- Home remedies / myth remedies
- Natural predators

Commercial Products
- Joe’s Juice

Joe’s Juice
- I have used Joe’s Juice
- The ones that were difficult to kill with this were the ones that were on the cliff side of the rock scape.
- This product is very difficult, if not impossible to use in some situations without harming neighboring coral
- A little bit spilt onto my carpet anemone and burnt him. He was scared for a while.
- Results. It killed some and it didn’t kill others, really depended on how much product I got onto / in the Aiptasia anemone.

Home based Remedies
- Boiling Water
- Vinegar
- Lemon Juice
- Kalkwasser
- Super Glue

Boiling Water / Vinegar / Lemon Juice
- I have done all 3 of these. The process for each is the same. Use a syringe and inject the Aiptasia with the solution.
- Results. None of these worked. The Aiptasia, although appeared to disappear, was back in 1 - 5 days.

Kalkwasser
- I have never tried this due to the concern of throwing off the balance of the tank.
- The process is to coat the Aiptasia anemone and essentially burn it to death.
- Similar struggles and concerns to commercial products with ability to cover the whole Aiptasia as well as concern over hurting other corals if it gets on them.
- Results. None to report as I have not tried this.

Super Glue
- The process is to simply cover the entire aiptasia with super glue, smothering it and blocking out light and it dies.
- This process is very difficult, if not impossible to use in some situation without harming neighboring coral. For instance, when the Aiptasia is sticking up out of the center of a coral, such as a zoanthid colony.
- Something else to consider is the look this process creates. You will have white super glue spots in the tank.
- Results. It worked and killed the Aiptasia, but left an unappealing look in the tank and was a ton of continuous work.

Live Options
- Aiptasia Eating Filefish
- Peppermint Shrimp
- Berghia Nudibranch
- Copperband Butterflyfish

Aiptasia Eating Filefish
- This fish is reef caution and may nip at corals which is the biggest drawback.
- They are good community fish for any size tank and easy to care for.
- There has been many success stories with this fish, but also many stories of caution.
- Results. My story is a story of caution. I bought one of these and went on vacation for a week only to come home and find that it really likes the taste of my 4 Acan colonies, one of which was a yellow rainbow.

Peppermint Shrimp
- Peppermint Shrimp are known to consume Aiptasia and are widely used in the hobby to do so.
- Depending on the size of your outbreak, large amounts of shrimp may be needed to resolve the issue and maintain an Aiptasia free aquarium.
- Using this option has an additional benefit of aiding your clean up crew. However, over feeding your tank will make them less likely to eat Aiptasia as there are other readily available food sources.
- There are a few different types of peppermint shrimp as well as look-a-likes that will not eat Aiptasia anemones, so be sure you know what you are buying.
- These small shrimp can also be a meal for some fish in your tank, so check compatibility before purchasing.
- Results. I have tried peppermint shrimp. I put 8 in a tank with about a dozen Aiptasia, so not a big outbreak and saw very little and slow progress. They do the job, just not as fast as I wanted.

Berghia Nudibranch
- These can be rather expensive, costing around $20 each and you will most likely need a few.
- The biggest issue is they may end up being a snack for your fish, especially many wrasses, so make sure to know your tank mates.
- They also only eat Aiptasia so once the Aiptasia is gone they will die, so if / when the problem returns you are back to square 1.
- Results. I have never tried these as I keep wrasses and other fish that would have them as a snack, but many hobbies t have reported great success.

Copperband Butterflyfish
- This is my favorite option as it is also my favorite fish. I have put this fish in every tank I have ever had.
- This fish is reef caution due to the potential to pick at small anemones , tube worms, and feather dusters. I have also heard hobbies report picking at clams, but have never personally experienced that and have kept them with clams many times.
- This fish is a peaceful community fish but difficult to keep mostly due to the difficulty associated with getting it to start feeding / eating.
- This fish is also not suited for a small aquarium. I always use size dimensions, not gallons when gauging size.
- Results. I have always had great results with this fish and they have eliminated Aiptasia anemones from my tanks 100% without fail.