Stupid Stupid LFS!

andysgirl8800

Blenny Badlands
It stinks that I only have 3 wonderfully knowledgeable (HA!) LFS's in my city!! Only one is semi-worth his salt, but was closed today. I went out in search of Joe's Juice, or AiptasiaX, or similar. Have only 2 little ones that have hitchhiked along with a new coral I picked up recently. Got 2 peppermints to help, but they haven't gone after it yet (more on that to follow). I want to attack this straight away to prevent an outbreak in my tank.

The first store I went to was the one I was sure would carry it. The folks there are obnoxiously anxious to spread their misinformation to sell a product, so I try to avoid it, but in terms of chemical treatments, they have a decent selection. My intention was to walk in and walk out. However, after I asked about aiptasia treatments (AKA Joe's Juice), she automatically steered me over to her tank of peppermints. I explained that I have some and they haven't touched it yet. She told me to just wait for them to take care of it. I asked her if she knew how fast aiptasia can spread through a system. She just smiled at me. I asked again about the Joe's Juice. She said they tried it on their tanks, but it didn't work, therefore, she doesn't carry it in her store. :frustrat:

If there's one thing I've learned in this hobby, it's that something that works in another tank may not work in your own, and vice versa. Since it is a commonly recommended product on these forums, I wanted to at least try it. I was a little peeved at her arrogance. So I went home and filled my syringe with vinegar instead. :grumble: Hopefully, the peps and I can work together to get rid of them.

So the peppermints....this same LFS informed me early on that cleaner (skunk) shrimp are not aggressive towards other shrimp in the tank. I asked about it after several attempts to put them in my tank only to have them all end up dead. I suspected the cleaner shrimp, but had no proof. So I just didn't keep them.

So tonight, after lights out, I watched nearby with my trusty flashlight. I saw the cleaner shrimp make a beeline for the rock that I knew the two peppermints were hiding under. As if working together, one sat on one side of the rock and the other covered the opposite side. They flushed one of the peps out and chased him to another rock. There, they would approach the pep, lunge at him, then jet backwards really fast, only to do it all again. I think the peps haven't taken care of the aiptasias because of the obvious hostility from the cleaners. I'm afraid I'm going to have more dead peppermints in a couple of days. :frustrat:
 
I have tried both Joe's Juice and Aiptasia X. Aiptasia X is the superior product, hands down.

Usually peppermint shrimp and cleaner shrimp get along just fine -- what you are describing is totally abnormal, so I can't blame the LFS for telling you that they would get along. They have always got along in my tanks, and in other people's tanks that have had the two of them.
 
I would prefer the "natural" method, aka peppermints. I really dislike using chemicals in my tank if I can avoid it. Just can't seem to understand the hostility between these two shrimps. It's wierd!
 
Well, IME, peps take sometimes 3 weeks to start eating those pests, and there are many different types of peps, you gotta get the true peppermint to eat em. There are some cold water ones that often get imported and don't do the job (or live long either).
All those Joes Juice/Aiptasia X remedies seem to only temporarily subdue them, never fully eradicate them. Manual extraction is also a bad option.
For my DT, I have a Kleins Butterfly that keeps them mowed down (eats pellets and anything else I feed too), and a pep in my frag tank. The only aiptasias I see in my tank are buried within the branches of my birds nest where the snout of the kleins can't reach.
So, just give the shrimps some time, and maybe you'll wake up one morning and find them all gone.
 
Maybe I'm just being paranoid. I've managed to avoid having any aiptasia in my tank at all. Seeing it on that rock made me panic a little since I've read about the plagues they can cause in other tanks. I just don't want it to spread all over the rest of my rocks.
 
I've had very good luck with Aiptasia X...and I am very anti-chemical. Butterfly fish are great for taking care of aiptasia (better than peppermints, IMO)...but sometimes butterfly fish will eat corals also. I also have peppermint shrimp and cleaner shrimp in my tank and have never noticed a problem...
 
Are you sure you have peppermint shrimp, some lfs try to sell camel shrimp (wich look like peppermints) as a peppermint shrimp. If your peppermint shrimp have white lines they are not peppermints but they are camel shrimp
 
I know you live in Colorado springs Andysgirl so have you ever tried Keys Island in denver, I know its a hour drive but to get good info or great service would be well worth the drive. I only shop there when I go to Denver.
 
Peppermint shrimp are great at getting rid of it but you have to have a few of them in the tank, but Aiptasia X is a great product and so is Joe's juice honestly, i have even used boiling water w/ a little bit of lemon juice in a syringe to get rid of them and that works as well.
 
Thanks for the suggestion Darren, but I'd be afraid the Copperband would develop a taste for my corals. Was able to pick up the AiptasiaX from the somewhat reputable third store today. Will give that a try and see what happens.
 
Aiptasia X works great... I have 4 Peppermint shrimp!!! I think if you feed your tank they will just eat leftover food the one p.shrimp that lives in my fuge is a good eater but I think its because he doesn't have anything else to eat...
 
I would advise against a copperband, if you wanted to go with a good butterfly, get a kleins. They're hardier and will eat prepared foods after the pests are gone, and won't completely devastate your tube worms and corals the way a copperband would. Mine nips, but not any worse than the dwarf angels... JMHO
 
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