Aiptasia Anemones (also known as Glass Anemones)

Aiptasia anemones are a very BAD critter to have in ANY saltwater tank.  Almost every hobbyist will encounter them no matter how diligent in quarantining new additions due to the fact they often times arrive as tiny babies hiding in rock crevices, under coral flesh where we can't see them etc.  Super tough to kill, they survive most attempts to eradicate them with dips etc.

Why are they so bad?  Because they have a super powerful sting that can & will kill corals & even fish!  They can & will breed & multiply like rabbits & can quickly overtake a tank.  Believe it or not they can move... & very quickly!  Appearing on one side of a rock & within hours peeking out the other side having traveled through the hole/channel in the rock!  Depending on the light over their tank Aiptasia can look dark brown to almost clear in color.  They can also extend & look long or you may see just tentacles that may look like hairs sticking out from a hole in a rock and they can also be found hanging onto the tank glass as well as in your sand.  Sizes range from a barely able to see 1/4 inch to I've seen them expanded over 4 inches wide!!  Any over an inch IMO are breeders!

Sounds like a no win situation but, no fear!  We do have remedies against this pest!!

The first I'll mention are Peppermint Shrimp.  Bewarned though!  There is misinformation out there stating that "all" Peppermint Shrimp will eat Aiptasia.  There are actually 2 different Shrimp called "Peppermint" & they couldn't be more different in behavior yet look so much alike that only a well trained eye can see the difference!  Only the TRUE Peppermint species (Lysmata wurdemanni) will eat Aiptasia so be sure you know for sure what you're buying!  True Peppermints will eat Aiptasia but if they have other foods available like fish foods, they may not.  Thank goodness Peppermints are not our only line of defense!  Years ago I found a beautiful community fish that will eat Aiptasia like they were desert!

The Lemonpeel Pygmy Angel!

Once I realized what these fish were doing in my own tanks, I immediately started recommending that customers try them & I continue to this day to receive customer feedback stating how well they work!  The Lemonpeel Angel is a Pygmy (small species) that is reef safe...even with clams!  Be warned though...2 long bodied angels in the same tank can be tricky to get them to accept one another so if you already have a LB Angel like a Coral Beauty, BiColor etc. you might have to keep an eye on or even be prepared to remove them if they are aggressive to one another.  If you have a short bodied angel like a Flame then you should be just fine putting the Lemonpeel Angel in.

Lastly, I found, & have been using for years successfully, a product called Aiptasia-X which when applied directly to Aiptasia kills them too!  I've tested this product in-house in & on about every possible reef item, including directly on clam shells, sensitive soft corals & even in seahorse environments with no ill effect.

Whatever method you choose to get rid of your Aiptasia, don't wait until your tank is full of them & killing everything in sight!  Get your remedy(ies) today!