Do I need to remove it, if so howeither a colonial anemone or an aiptasia.
Do they have to be removed? What is syringe controlAiptasia pest anemone. If it can be scraped from the rock intact that is best but if the body is protected then the next best/safest thing are syringe type control methods like aiptasia x. Those almost never work in one round but do work long term; you have to be persistent and re-apply. Peppermint shrimp are also a useful biological control but aren't compatible with all tanks.
Problem with this is that “peppermint shrimp” usually get sold as something else, so you may not be getting true peppermint shrimp. Plus there no guarantee that the shrimp will eat the aiptasia.Peppermint shrimp are nice and might be ok in your tank.
Did you just disagree with @Colin_T!Plus there no guarantee that the shrimp will eat the aiptasia.
no, he is just clarifying a point.Did you just disagree with @Colin_T!
A video is a better explanation here. I'd recommend searching for some videos of people applying Aiptasia-X or Joes Juice. Just search on the product names on youtube and you will find some demos. Importantly, those two products are pretty safe (you can blow them off of corals with a turkey baster if you mess up and no harm done) and they can be applied without a needle. They come with a syringe and applicator tips. On the other hand, if you are comfortable with hypodermic needles and can get your own (they are stupidly hard to get in some areas) then you can a very small amount of inject lemon juice directly into the anemone's body as others have mentioned, but...hitting the body is not easy if it's protected and you are also waving a sharp shiny thing around by doing that and some fish may be inclined to bite it an injure themselves. For those two reasons, I don't use lemon juice. I use Aiptasia-X for initial control if I get a bad outbeak of pest anemones and peppermint shrimp for maintenance. It is very difficult to completely eradicate Aiptasia from some tanks, particularly if you bring in new coral frags periodically.Do they have to be removed? What is syringe control
While that was a major problem 5+ years back I've not found this to be an issue lately with the hard shift towards aquacultured shrimp stock in a lot of stores. I've had the impression that these days if you see aquacultured peppermints, you're getting the ok species and they are pretty good at anemone removal particularly if you partially nuke the nems with a round of Aiptasia-X or something first (they seem to really like stressed/injured pest anemones). Wild caught of course is a grab bag.Problem with this is that “peppermint shrimp” usually get sold as something else, so you may not be getting true peppermint shrimp. Plus there no guarantee that the shrimp will eat the aiptasia.
Ok, fair point. I would try to go to a reputable shop though, because a lot of smaller stores have things mislabeled.While that was a major problem 5+ years back I've not found this to be an issue lately with the hard shift towards aquacultured shrimp stock in a lot of stores. I've had the impression that these days if you see aquacultured peppermints, you're getting the ok species and they are pretty good at anemone removal particularly if you partially nuke the nems with a round of Aiptasia-X or something first (they seem to really like stressed/injured pest anemones). Wild caught of course is a grab bag.