Flake food against Aiptasia

[Alexander1312]

Apparently, pond flake food when fed over a couple of weeks has the ability to eradicate aiptasia.

Aiptasia eat these flakes and die from eating them.

I do not have this problem but maybe this is useful to some.

 

[Kensington Reefer]

No way?!!
What are these flakes??

 

[VacavilleFC]

if like to see some sort of research to back this up

 

[L/B Block]

if like to see some sort of research to back this up

I 2nd that

 

[Darkxerox]

There were those flakes people were using that had fenbendazole to kill blue clove polyps in the past, not sure if they're the same. The question is what else is it killing in your tank?

 

[HankDean V]

What type of flakes ?
I’d probably try,

 

[Alexander1312]

No way?!!
What are these flakes??

What type of flakes ?
I’d probably try,

Regular pond flakes. Not a particular brand.

Only criteria is that these are strongly colored and rather firm.

Feeding them 3-4 weeks (not only a couple of weeks as I initially mentioned) should show results.

 

[Alexander1312]

There were those flakes people were using that had fenbendazole to kill blue clove polyps in the past, not sure if they're the same. The question is what else is it killing in your tank?

No, this is not what I am referring to. And Europe does not allow this as per my knowledge, and this is where I got this info from.

 

[Alexander1312]

if like to see some sort of research to back this up

I 2nd that

Agree. But I do not have Aiptasia.

If I had Aiptasia in my tanks I would probably not wait for someone to give me the green light to feed flakes to my tank.

 

[VacavilleFC]

Agree. But I do not have Aiptasia.

If I had Aiptasia in my tanks I would probably not wait for someone to give me the green light to feed flakes to my tank.

I wouldn't add something to my tank thats not proven to work. if it was something so simple this would be a commonly known way of fighting aiptasia already.

that said I dont think it would hurt anything to try

 

[tankguy]

Even though I don't have this problem yet I think I'll let others try it first

 

[grizfyrfyter]

I wouldn't add something to my tank thats not proven to work. if it was something so simple this would be a commonly known way of fighting aiptasia already.

that said I dont think it would hurt anything to try

Thankfully aptasia are easy to farm and this is easily tested with minimal effort.

 

[Slingfox]

If this actually works then that would be a major boon for the hobby.

 

[spuri87]

Thankfully aptasia are easy to farm and this is easily tested with minimal effort.

I feel stocking Aiptasia isn’t going to be the main issue.. the main challenge is going to be when it comes to testing with different types of livestock people usually keep in their mixed reefs, ranging from pods, to Soft, LPS, SPS corals to different kind of invertebrates and of course the fish! We don’t know what else this might kill or harm in the process of killing Aiptasia.. It’s not going to be trivial in my opinion, but I agree, if a company funds the operations to test that this thing works in mixed reefs without any issues, it’s going to be a game changer!

 

[Patio]

Where did this info propagate from?

We are the top search listing:

 

[grizfyrfyter]

I feel stocking Aiptasia isn’t going to be the main issue.. the main challenge is going to be when it comes to testing with different types of livestock people usually keep in their mixed reefs, ranging from pods, to Soft, LPS, SPS corals to different kind of invertebrates and of course the fish! We don’t know what else this might kill or harm in the process of killing Aiptasia.. It’s not going to be trivial in my opinion, but I agree, if a company funds the operations to test that this thing works in mixed reefs without any issues, it’s going to be a game changer!

i agree. These things are hardy. How is it killing the anemones?

 

[Mike Yasin]

Just get a copper band trained to eat mysis, and it will naturally hunt for pods and aiptasia as needed. To be sure, most of the time, coral and other inhabitants (like aiptasia) can coexist in a healthy reef system. Most of the time, doing silly stuff will kill coral in a healthy reef system.

 

[grizfyrfyter]

Unfortunately, my yellow tang would murder it.

 

[spuri87]

Where did this info propagate from?

We are the top search listing:
View attachment 80816

I just hope after all this discussion @Alexander1312 doesnt come out and say that In Germany they celebrate April fool's day in August

 

[Alexander1312]

I was not planning to comment further on this rather minor thread, but I somewhat feel obligated to, based on the comments above.

Source: This suggestion came from Claude during one of his many walkthrough videos of the Interzoo, all in German, unfortunately. There are a number of folks who are currently trying this out, including folks who are in the hobby for decades. Therefore, this was not meant to be a delayed April Fools joke - unless myself and many others missed it. Link to the video here; you might be able to use the English dubbed version, but it is only a few seconds he mentions this (22:55):

Alex' rant - read with caution: I must say I am somewhat surprised to read some of the comments. We are dumping gallons of antibiotics in the tank for the most minuscule issues - something that only happens in our country - and then feel all of a sudden concerned when someone recommends feeding FISH flake food to potentially be able to eradicate/or significantly reduce one of the most annoying reef pests. Calling this silly speaks for the ignorance we often have to new ways of reefing, where I feel most innovation comes out of Europe, and we often rely on what was done decades ago and/or what someone who claims to be a reef chemistry guru blesses (and who never pulled off a good-looking tank). Rant over.

Why I shared the information: I simply shared this information because I know many have this problem, and it is not an easy fix. I am currently in a similar situation with flatworms, and I would similarly appreciate if someone would share experimental information as I would probably give it a try after careful risk assessment.

What I would do: While it sounds like a fix that is too easy, there are downsides (if I find more potential issues with this, I will share them). First, phosphates will probably go up significantly, so running GFO would probably be advisable during the 4 weeks of 'treatment'. This, however, will then mess with traces and might impact coral health. Second, I do not know if it is advisable to do this if other anemones are kept in the tank - or even NPS (tbc). I can find out if this is of interest to some, but my natural inclination is that it could cause harm. In summary, not a slam dunk, not sure if it works - this thread started with the word ‘apparently', but potentially worth the 'risk' trying it out in some circumstances.