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Aptasia solution leads to fish food (1 Viewer)

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irishkiddo

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Hey all,

I got a peppermint shrimp, medium, to help em with my aptasia problem. I used to have a cleaner shrimp but he went missing. As soon as i put the guy in the tank my orchid dottbacky came out and took a bite out of his head. He died shortly after.

Do you think a large peppermint shrimp will be less appetizing to the dottyback? Any other solution. My filefish was taking care of the problem until he started eating all my acans.
 

Cody

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Yo gotta ask yourself: would you prefer a tank full of aiptasia and a dottyback or no aiptasia and no dottyback? Get rid of the dottyback.
 

Seaworthy Aquatics

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@Cody is right. The dottyback will make it difficult and most likely kill any shrimp regardless of size as well as eat the other options that are common such as berghia nudibranches. A copperband butterfly may work in this setting, but an established dottyback may harass him up as well and it doesn't take much with them. What size tank?
 
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From my experience peppermints are mostly nocturnal. I have rarely seen them out or even visible when the lights are on. Chances are the dottyback will never know they are there if you add them to the tank after lights out. Might consider catching the dotty and putting it in the sump for a while.
 

GWSS

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I have been putting peppermints in my tank (have like 8 ) but i see the aptasia slowly getting worse :(...anything else I can do ? I mean i can keep on stuffing peppermints but maybe something else? I don't think they are eating/touching the aptasias atm
I have some clowns, cleaner shrimp , 2 molly's (I know was from start up and they are still around! ) and a banded surgeon fish (which is the boss and I suspect may be eating my peppermints..)
is nudibranch and option or anything else , I have tons of leathers and anemone so do not want to use the aptasia paste tbh as I am afraid it will harm the others.
seem my last update in the video below (most of my aptasias are on the top of my rocks , and I am suspecting my shrimp are not going to eat those as they are exposed...
I am hoping to find some nudibranchs somewhere but so far no luck :(

thanks for the input/help!
 
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MurseJB

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I have been putting peppermints in my tank (have like 8 ) but i see the aptasia slowly getting worse :(...anything else I can do ? I mean i can keep on stuffing peppermints but maybe something else? I don't think they are eating/touching the aptasias atm
I have some clowns, cleaner shrimp , 2 molly's (I know was from start up and they are still around! ) and a banded surgeon fish (which is the boss and I suspect may be eating my peppermints..)
is nudibranch and option or anything else , I have tons of leathers and anemone so do not want to use the aptasia paste tbh as I am afraid it will harm the others.
seem my last update in the video below (most of my aptasias are on the top of my rocks , and I am suspecting my shrimp are not going to eat those as they are exposed...
I am hoping to find some nudibranchs somewhere but so far no luck :(

thanks for the input/help!

I put 40+ peppermints and a file fish, now my aptasia has been disappearing over the last 2 weeks, probably count 5-10 i can see now after having a million and i dont see new ones popping up. I'd say maybe half have survived as the fish have used many for a snack. It was funny, but not funny watching tangs, angel fish, hawkfish and wrasses take turns ripping one apart if they were crazy enough to venture into the open. Just takes time, and a lot of them. Nudi's work, but you need a ton as well. You could grab a few and produce a breeding colony and stick a bunch in that way lol.

If you have them localized to a few rocks, F aptasia works so well. I took out my clams that had 5-8 growing on the shells and placed them in a container and treated with f-aptasia for 30 mins, rinsed before placing back into the tank. All gone. I imagine you could do that with whatever rocks were affected and then your current peppermints will take care of new ones popping up.

I do have to say it is fun to watch aptasia eat mysis and other foods fed to the tank lol.
 
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