Flake food against Aiptasia

[spuri87]

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.

Speaking for myself, sorry @Alexander1312 if you felt I was mocking this post.. You have always shared interesting information with the club and have tons of experience doing this, whilst maintaining a really good looking tank yourself.. My genuine intention was to know the source of this information, coz the initial post about flakes without any links to read or watch was just too difficult to digest, and left so many questions unanswered.. with the youtube link in your last comment, now we can understand that it's in an initial stage of testing.. thanks for sharing, and sorry again

 

[VacavilleFC]

Speaking for myself, sorry @Alexander1312 if you felt I was mocking this post.. You have always shared interesting information with the club and have tons of experience doing this, whilst maintaining a really good looking tank yourself.. My genuine intention was to know the source of this information, coz the initial post about flakes without any links to read or watch was just too difficult to digest, and left so many questions unanswered.. with the youtube link in your last comment, now we can understand that it's in an initial stage of testing.. thanks for sharing, and sorry again

also what specific brand of flakes is being used so we could possibly figure out what is the ingredient that is killing the aiptasia.

 

[Patio]

There are a number of folks who are currently trying this out, including folks who are in the hobby for decades.

Nice. It will be cool to hear how it goes in a few weeks.

@VacavilleFC comment makes me wonder if those folks are all using the same brand of pond food.

 

[grizfyrfyter]

I am sad that skepticism made you feel defensive.

I think this is going to be an excellent discussion and i look forward to what it reveals.