Could the aiptasia in the hobby actually be exaiptasia?

[encrustingacro]

I like looking up taxonomy on WoRMS sometimes for fun. I was looking up taxonomy around aiptasia and saw a genus in the same family called exaiptasia. I searched up pictures of exaiptasia on iNat and it sort of looks like the aiptasia in our tanks. I also looked up aiptasia and they seem to have a more bulbous appearance. Could the aiptasia in our tanks actually be exaiptasia?

Aiptasia couchii

Aiptasia mutabilis

Exaiptasia diaphana

 

[davidcalgary29]

Yes.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

I like looking up taxonomy on WoRMS sometimes for fun. I was looking up taxonomy around aiptasia and saw a genus in the same family called exaiptasia. I searched up pictures of exaiptasia on iNat and it sort of looks like the aiptasia in our tanks. I also looked up aiptasia and they seem to have a more bulbous appearance. Could the aiptasia in our tanks actually be exaiptasia?

Aiptasia couchii

Aiptasia mutabilis

Exaiptasia diaphana

In some cases yes. Due to this, it is always good to not just yell “aiptasia” and try to actually id the critters. With more and more people getting Gulf of Mexico sourced live rock, there are tons of nems that look like aips to the untrained eye.

Those nems are also some of my favorite nems and I have quite a few in tanks just for them.

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Interesting. I learned something new today.

 

[BelieveInBlue]

Aiptasia, Exaiptasia, either way, kill it with fire neat find though none of the pictures look exactly like what I have.

 

[jenniferreichardt]

Then how do you kill exaptasia?

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Aiptasia, Exaiptasia, either way, kill it with fire neat find though none of the pictures look exactly like what I have.

Aiptasia lives matter man!!!!!

 

[encrustingacro]

Then how do you kill exaptasia?

The same as how you usually kill aiptasia, as most of the aiptasia in our tanks is exaiptasia, I think.

 

[RudyB]

I like looking up taxonomy on WoRMS sometimes for fun. I was looking up taxonomy around aiptasia and saw a genus in the same family called exaiptasia. I searched up pictures of exaiptasia on iNat and it sort of looks like the aiptasia in our tanks. I also looked up aiptasia and they seem to have a more bulbous appearance. Could the aiptasia in our tanks actually be exaiptasia?

Aiptasia couchii

Aiptasia mutabilis

Exaiptasia diaphana

Thank you for the info. Question, either way are they bad? And do they need to be eradicated?

 

[arod0814]

Then how do you kill exaptasia?

Peppermint shrimp. I had a really bad case of if since I was away for 4 months on work. Wife took care of the tank but only the basics. Feed tank, clean glass and minor water changes. I lost most of my corals. I tried aptasia x and other products until a friend told me, drop 6 peppermint shrimp in there and you’ll see. I was so annoyed of the situation that I put 12 shrimp 3 to 4 months later. Tank completely cleared. Now I’m getting my water back to stable so I can start adding corals again. Good luck.

 

[BlackGoldReefs]

The ones in the third pic look like what I have. Maybe that’s why the file fish, peppermint shrimp, and the Bergia are not eating them.

 

[encrustingacro]

The ones in the third pic look like what I have. Maybe that’s why the file fish, peppermint shrimp, and the Bergia are not eating them.

The 3rd picture is the ‘aiptasia’ commonly found as pests in the hobby.

 

[encrustingacro]

Thank you for the info. Question, either way are they bad? And do they need to be eradicated?

Unless you are running a berghia nudibranch farm, they are still bad.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

The same as how you usually kill aiptasia, as most of the aiptasia in our tanks is exaiptasia, I think.

I think we may have a good mix of different types across the hobby. Years ago I received some rocks from Marshall Islands (still have those rocks and never been dry, but aip free now). 2 of them were covered with confirmed Exaiptasia diaphana. Poor guy at the lfs I ordered from told me “I scored” and got a bunch of yellow palys lol. But I got some rocks a bit later from Fiji and they had aiptasia pulchella on them. (Well resembled them more than anything)

With that said and about 15-20 different types of documented aiptasia known to us, and the introduction of gulf live rock, exaptasia will become the more prevalent species as more and more rock is harvested from the Gulf of Mexico. Provided that some species from Tonga and Indo are not reclassified.

 

[encrustingacro]

In some cases yes. Due to this, it is always good to not just yell “aiptasia” and try to actually id the critters. With more and more people getting Gulf of Mexico sourced live rock, there are tons of nems that look like aips to the untrained eye.

Those nems are also some of my favorite nems and I have quite a few in tanks just for them.

I could be wrong, but I think the anemones coming from the Gulf of Mexico might actually be juvenile true aiptasia, as from the pictures I have seen, true aiptasia have sort of more bulbous tentacles.

 

[encrustingacro]

I think we may have a good mix of different types across the hobby. Years ago I received some rocks from Marshall Islands (still have those rocks and never been dry, but aip free now). 2 of them were covered with confirmed Exaiptasia diaphana. Poor guy at the lfs I ordered from told me “I scored” and got a bunch of yellow palys lol. But I got some rocks a bit later from Fiji and they had aiptasia pulchella on them. (Well resembled them more than anything)

With that said and about 15-20 different types of documented aiptasia known to us, and the introduction of gulf live rock, exaptasia will become the more prevalent species as more and more rock is harvested from the Gulf of Mexico. Provided that some species from Tonga and Indo are not reclassified.

I think pulchella have been accepted as diaphana, and of the 15-20 documented species of aiptasia, only 2-3 valid ones remain. The ‘aiptasia‘ from Tonga and Indonesia are exaiptasia diaphana that has been introduced into the wild, I think.
I said this in an above post, but I have a feeling that the aiptasia coming from the gulf could actually be juvenile true aiptasia, as they have bulbous tentacles.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

I could be wrong, but I think the anemones coming from the Gulf of Mexico might actually be juvenile true aiptasia, as from the pictures I have seen, true aiptasia have sort of more bulbous tentacles.

Yes and no. While diving there is a good mix of both to be seen. True aips and ex-aips have both kind of shifted where you would typically see them in the past 20 years. Not sure if it is from mangroves making a heck of a comeback and ez-aips being able to actually spawn again or what, but used to be you only saw them on mangroves, socks and other structures close to shore and no more than 15-20’ deep. Last dove I saw some in 75’ of water on the underside of a rock outcrop. I have also seen true aips inshore and in tide pools. This has all been on the Atlantic side, so just assuming the gulf side is proceeding the same way ( I could be way off here, but both sides do follow each other with a lag one way or the other.)

I will say that this is great info for the community and is another data point for how to properly id and remedy them (if they are an issue for people). I say this, as some aips and ex-aips have been shown to have different triggers for reproduction and some reproduce totally different from others. Some cannot even reproduce asexually, outside of tissue transfer. While others can drop an egg (gamete) down their column and it be fertilized by sperm held at the bottom.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

I think pulchella have been accepted as diaphana, and of the 15-20 documented species of aiptasia, only 2-3 valid ones remain. The ‘aiptasia‘ from Tonga and Indonesia are exaiptasia diaphana that has been introduced into the wild, I think.
I said this in an above post, but I have a feeling that the aiptasia coming from the gulf could actually be juvenile true aiptasia, as they have bulbous tentacles.

See my other post and this is just my experience while diving. But I see your point. One of the biggest issues is coral farming. While though to be great for the reefs, it comes with issues. Not all corals that are maricultured are started in the sea. This allows for pests to be introduced to the areas and aips/exaips are included in that. Unlike other pests that stay somewhat localized, they can spawn and fertilized gametes carried great distances. With that said, we have seen how fast they can spread in an aquarium, so why couldn’t they spread and outcompete each other.

Only true way to tell would be dna sequencing of numerous samples and then compare them to known samples of other types. From there we could gauge what is actually in the hobby and what is on the reefs in abundance.

 

[encrustingacro]

Yes and no. While diving there is a good mix of both to be seen. True aips and ex-aips have both kind of shifted where you would typically see them in the past 20 years. Not sure if it is from mangroves making a heck of a comeback and ez-aips being able to actually spawn again or what, but used to be you only saw them on mangroves, socks and other structures close to shore and no more than 15-20’ deep. Last dove I saw some in 75’ of water on the underside of a rock outcrop. I have also seen true aips inshore and in tide pools. This has all been on the Atlantic side, so just assuming the gulf side is proceeding the same way ( I could be way off here, but both sides do follow each other with a lag one way or the other.)

I will say that this is great info for the community and is another data point for how to properly id and remedy them (if they are an issue for people). I say this, as some aips and ex-aips have been shown to have different triggers for reproduction and some reproduce totally different from others. Some cannot even reproduce asexually, outside of tissue transfer. While others can drop an egg (gamete) down their column and it be fertilized by sperm held at the bottom.

See my other post and this is just my experience while diving. But I see your point. One of the biggest issues is coral farming. While though to be gray for the reefs, it comes with issues. Not all corals that are maricultured are started in the sea. This allows for pests to be introduced to the areas and aips/exaips are included in that. Unlike other pests that stay somewhat localized, they can spawn and fertilized gametes carried great distances. With that said, we have see how fast they can spread in an aquarium, so why couldn’t they spread and outcompete each other.

Only true way to tell would be dna sequencing of numerous samples and then compare them to known samples of other types. From there we could gauge what is actually in the hobby and what is on the reefs in abundance.

I didn’t know that some of the anemones could self fertilize. That’s pretty cool. Could the aiptasias/exaiptasias you saw at 75 ft be a different anemone that looks like aiptasia? I have seen anemones that look like aiptasia but weren’t in my coral ID book. Also, I could be wrong, but I always thought aiptasia/exaiptasia spread to the pacific and Indian oceans by going through the Suez and Panama canal. I also did not know that not all maricultured corals came from the sea. I would have thought that they would be outcompeted by the corals that did come from the sea, because from what I know, corals lose a lot of their abilities such as feeding or stinging when adapting to aquariums.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

I didn’t know that some of the anemones could self fertilize. That’s pretty cool. Could the aiptasias/exaiptasias you saw at 75 ft be a different anemone that looks like aiptasia? I have seen anemones that look like aiptasia but weren’t in my coral ID book. Also, I could be wrong, but I always thought aiptasia/exaiptasia spread to the pacific and Indian oceans by going through the Suez and Panama canal. I also did not know that not all maricultured corals came from the sea. I would have thought that they would be outcompeted by the corals that did come from the sea, because from what I know, corals lose a lot of their abilities such as feeding or stinging when adapting to aquariums.

The ones at 75’ were true aips. As for other nems, there are a ton of nps nems on the Atlantic side of FL that are all classified as “warty sea anemones” but they are not. While warty are common, these fit 0 traits of a warty, besides they are a nem. These nems are always x amount of tents, smooth columns and only reproduce by spawning or splitting. A little piece will not grow into a new nem.

As for spreading, you are correct that a ton spread via shipping lanes and ballast water dumping. Lots of things spread this way unfortunately.

In regard to mari corals. There are numerous farms in Tonga and Indo that frag local collection on shore, grow them to a mini colony and then the split the colonies to plant them on their racks in the ocean. Due to this, the shared systems end up with some pests. Typically they do treat for pest before planting, as local laws require it, but aips can make it through that. A while back I toured a farm in the Indo area and then dove with them to check it out. Was aips and exaips here or there on the racks. The divers would scrub the racks to clear them and then plant the corals. Was odd to see that and I kept my mouth shut lol.

As for the corals losing some defense, this may be true, but we are taking large plastic racks affixed to the bottom of the ocean via ropes and blocks, and setup somewhat away from reefs. They are also usually at snorkel depth. This allows for the divers to not have to rely on air tanks and that equipment to collect the corals once grown out.

On a side note, here are the nems I am referring to. They are not aips or ex aips or wartys. These are currently unclassified and there is no research into tn hem, as they appear to not be threatened and the do not appear to pose threat to anything. They feed on mostly amphipods and small crabs that get washed into/around jetty’s, shorelines and tide pools. They do not have much of a sting when touching corals or fish and are super quick to react. Their reaction time and ability to retract quickly appears to be how they can capture small crabs with suck a weak sting. They also have full control of each individual tent and can actually only use the tent that has the amphipod on it to move it to its mouth. Pretty cool critters.