Eliminating aiptasia, tens of them

[hwofnt]

Hi, I would like to learn from your experience how to eliminate aiptasia from heavily fed tanks, when reducing feeding is not an option.Especially in difficult or impossible to reach places (you know, there are always some: under and up the rock, inside the deep long cavity).

I tried injecting of boiling water, lemon juice, vinegar, alkalinity and calcium 2-part supplements, covering by kalkwasser paste (covering all perimeter and the whole organism), all commercial formulations available locally (Joes Juice, Red Sea AiptasiaX, TropicMarin Elimi-Aiptas, Chem-Marin Stop Aiptasia). No matter what, it comes back in 3 weeks.

Peppermint shrimp did nothing, maybe it was different species.
Berghia (aeolid, actually) nudibranch disappeared in the tanks, and keeping them as a separate culture is too bothersome.
Sargassum filefish, A. tormentosum, does nothing.

What I didn't try, is using copperband butterflyfish, or racoon butterfly or some of the this spectrum of fishes. They grow large, and I already have two large fishes, that will grow 12" long including tail, in 125g long tank. They may collide for a luck of space. And leebca was against acquiring fish for the utilitarian purposes.

Only full elimination (removing all infested rock) works, but this is difficult for a large tank.

What do you do?

[Carl]

You certainly have tried most of the popular methods for elimination of Aiptasia.
The use of Berghia is growing in popularity, assuming an aquarist can keep them alive, however I personally have never used them.

Another method is to use Kalkwasser WITH Lye;
See: www.asira.org/killingaiptasiaxeniaetc

However the methods I have used is sort of how I address problem snails in planted freshwater aquariums, and that is to not worry about ridding the tank of every last Aiptasia, but attempt to keep the count low via fish (such as Copperband or more commonly Long Nose Butterflys), and hand removal/destruction.
With the hand removal I use my finger nail or other sharp implement to kill or severely damage the Aiptasia then use a large syringe or baster to suck up the remains.

I prefer this method, even if the removal success is not 100%, but there is less problems with toxicity from Aiptasia rotting.

I will note that sometimes the Butterflys are unpredictable. These fish often ignore corals in reef tanks, but may bother/harm these in reef tanks as they occasionally feed on stony and soft coral in the wild.

Carl

[hwofnt]

there is less problems with toxicity from Aiptasia rotting.

Good point, especially with removing big aiptasias or many of them. I'll pay more attention to that.

Long Nose Butterflys:
From what I have read, the options are Copperband (mortality 75% and no guarantee that this particular specimen will be interested in aiptasia), Klein or Raccoon butterflyfish. Are they equally good or some are preferable, and they grow big. Will be enough space in a not so big 125g long tank (6ft x18" 18") for two 1 ft (incl. tail) fishes and one Long Nose Butterfly?

Other inhabitants are small: 1 yrs old antennata lionfish (trouble free), small sargassum filefish, percula clown, blue-green chromis (I can move potential victims to a separate tank as lionfish grows, they are left from the first setup, when I tried stick to a small fish).