Aiptasia

[BigC]

Sorry fo all the questions Guys, (thirsty for knowledge) on reading another members thread on edadication methods, I just thought I'd pose these couple of questions.
How common are Aiptasia?
Can you only expect an outbreak from initial Liverock insertions or can they be introduced from other sources?
Regards
BigC

 

[SkiFletch]

Way more common than I'd like... I'd say one in 4 tanks suffers from them from the initial outlay of LR. That's just my subjective guess really. And sometimes they can come in on coral frags and the like although they're very often noticed when the aquarist buys them. For that matter, usually they manifst themselves quickly or are even seen when the aquarist purchases the LR. It is somewhat rare for an aquarist to purchase LR, never see aiptasia, wait a month, and then have an outbreak. They dont really lay dormant in spores or anything like that, and are only hidden if stacked under a rock until they can crawl their way back out.

 

[AndyS]

Not always hiding in Live Rock too, iv seen one crawl out of a newly purchased zoo colony, turkey baster soon sorted that though...

 

[steelhealr]

Indeed....I got one in chaeto. They are ubiquitous in the ocean and not uncommon hitchhikers. SH

 

[BigC]

Thanks Guys,
Probably why they are not rampant in the oceans maybe due to other corals stinging them and thus keeping them in check.
Regards
BigC

 

[SkiFletch]

Thanks Guys,
Probably why they are not rampant in the oceans maybe due to other corals stinging them and thus keeping them in check.
Regards
BigC

Yup, and in the sea, natural predators like peppermint shrimp, berghia nudibranchs, butterflyfish, and I'm sure plenty of others abound. Competition on a reef is fierce

 

[@ombomb]

They're not really anything to worry about as long as you spot them before they have time to reproduce.