Aptasia problem - what to do?

I put 5 peppermint shrimp in a 20 gal that had 30+ aptasia and after about 1 1/2 months I only have about 5 aptasia left and they don't look healthy and would bet they will be gone in another month. I also added 5 peppermint shrimp to my 55 gal last week but they have not done any damage to the aptasia yet. So using peppermint shrimp seems to be a slow process.

 

I've had great luck with peppermint shrimp. I've had them clean out my 75 in a couple weeks. Just make sure they're the wurdemanni (sp?) species.

 

Several years ago I had great luck with a bicolored angel.

 

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+30+2562&pcatid=2562

I put a pair of these in a infested 180 FOWLR tank (literally 300 plus) and in 3 weeks they are gone except in the overflows.

 

Peppermint shrimp probably the least expensive. But in my expearence they don't eat the bigger aptasia so you will still need the aptasiax to get rid of them.

 

Have you tried using a Kalkwasser/limewater paste?  Place over pest and hole...it works  Just be careful to not use too much of it as it will effect water param's (pH, CA...)  I use a syringe for targeting and turn off powerheads so kalk stays where placed.  Good luck Tony!

 

Just a FYI I was at Adams Aquatics here in Des Moines yesterday and saw they did have one of these available, not the prettiest fish but better then aptasia (referring to foo's post)

Good Luck
Tony

 

You need to be careful putting one of those filefish in a tank with coral. They are known to eat coral as well as aptasia.

 

Aiptasia X, Kalk & vinegar all do an okay job of killing the larger specimens but they typically cause them to reproduce.
With the advice of others here I went with a few peppermint shrimp (make sure you get the correct variety) and as others stated it takes some time but all of the smaller ones should disappear.
Good luck!
You're not alone in the aiptasia battle!
-Eric