- Common name
- Aiptasia (glass anemones)
- Scientific name
- Aiptasia and Exaiptasia spp.
- Category
- Aquarium pest or hitchhiker
- Group
- Pest sea anemones
- Environment
- Marine reef aquarium pest
- Origin
- Natural range is species-specific; aquarium infestations are usually introduced on wet live rock, coral, shells, macroalgae or equipment
- Care level
- Pest identification and control
- Adult size
- Unknown at group level — size varies by species and conditions
- Expected lifespan
- No fixed individual or infestation lifespan is defensible. Polyps and surviving tissue can reproduce clonally, so an unmanaged population may persist indefinitely in a connected marine system.
- Minimum housing
- Not intentionally housed; isolate affected rock or livestock in a stable marine quarantine or treatment system when possible
- Temperature
- Species-specific; maintain the affected livestock at its normal stable temperature during control
- pH
- Species-specific; maintain normal stable reef pH during control
- Hardness / minerals
- Maintain the host system’s normal stable alkalinity, calcium and magnesium; do not use chemistry swings as pest treatment
- Salinity
- Marine; match the affected aquarium
- Lighting
- Use normal reef lighting plus white-light inspection
- Placement / zone
- Rock crevices, coral bases, overflows, plumbing and other hard surfaces
- Filtration
- Keep life support stable while controlling the pest. Use removable mechanical capture during work, protect pumps and biological media from treatment products, and prevent tissue fragments entering overflows or connected systems.
- Aeration
- Maintain strong reef-system gas exchange during any intervention. Targeted products, decaying tissue and disturbed rock can reduce oxygen or injure non-target livestock even when the pest appears unaffected.
- Maintenance
- Inspect coral bases, frag plugs, rock crevices, overflows and plumbing repeatedly; remove treated tissue and fragments; clean dedicated tools; and continue surveillance after the visible adults disappear.
Identity and search names
The aquarium word “Aiptasia” is broader than a single current taxon. Many common aquarium specimens are Exaiptasia diaphana, while true Aiptasia species also exist. Do not claim species-level identity from appearance alone.
Search names: Aiptasia, glass anemone, pest anemone
Environment and housing
Any illuminated or shaded hard surface with access to water flow and nutrients
Social structure: Colonial population created by rapid asexual reproduction
Feeding and nutrition
Feeding ecology: Photosynthesis plus captured dissolved and particulate food; do not deliberately feed a confirmed infestation
Feeding routine: Not applicable — reduce excess food that supports population growth
Breeding, reproduction or spread
Asexual pedal laceration, fission or fragmentation, with sexual reproduction also possible depending on species
Detailed care and app-ready planning
- Identity scope
- The aquarium word “Aiptasia” is broader than a single current taxon. Many common aquarium specimens are Exaiptasia diaphana, while true Aiptasia species also exist. Do not claim species-level identity from appearance alone.
- Adult size and space
- Individual size varies by taxon and conditions, but even small polyps can occupy coral bases and narrow plumbing. Control planning must cover the whole connected system rather than the visible oral disc.
- Social structure
- Aiptasia forms are solitary polyps that can become dense clonal populations through pedal laceration, fission and fragments. One visible animal may indicate many hidden recruits.
- Swimming zone or placement
- Attached to hard surfaces, frag plugs, shells, overflows and plumbing throughout the marine system; larvae or fragments may be transported by water movement.
- Feeding ecology
- Symbiotic photosynthesis plus capture of dissolved and particulate food allows survival in both lit and shaded parts of a reef system.
- Feeding plan
- Do not deliberately feed an infestation. Reduce excess suspended and settled food while maintaining safe nutrition for desirable livestock.
- Water stability
- Keep temperature, salinity, pH and oxygen stable during control. Chemistry shock is not a responsible eradication method and can harm corals, invertebrates and biofiltration.
- Habitat structure
- Treat porous rock, coral bases and inaccessible plumbing as potential reservoirs. Isolate removable items and maintain inspectable quarantine layouts for new marine material.
- Compatibility plan
- No compatibility plan makes an established pest acceptable beside vulnerable sessile invertebrates. Biological controls are animals with their own welfare needs and variable performance, not guaranteed tools.
- Breeding or reproduction plan
- Prevent spread. Pedal laceration, fission and surviving fragments can create new polyps; sexual reproduction may occur in some taxa. Recheck after treatment rather than assuming a missing adult means eradication.
- Quarantine
- Inspect coral bases, frag plugs, live rock and shells under white light. Keep new marine livestock isolated long enough to detect small recruits.
- Welfare checks
- Protect corals and non-target invertebrates from caustic products, predators and chemistry swings. Stop if treatment causes distress or instability.
- Biosecurity and release
- Bag and dispose of removed tissue securely. Never release anemones, fragments, live rock or marine water.
- Main risk
- Fragmenting the pest or harming the reef while attempting a rapid eradication.
- Adult projected load
- Projected load is infestation pressure rather than normal stocking. More hard surface, excess suspended food and surviving fragments increase stinging contact, treatment burden and the number of inaccessible colonies.
- Filtration
- Keep life support stable while controlling the pest. Use removable mechanical capture during work, protect pumps and biological media from treatment products, and prevent tissue fragments entering overflows or connected systems.
- Aeration
- Maintain strong reef-system gas exchange during any intervention. Targeted products, decaying tissue and disturbed rock can reduce oxygen or injure non-target livestock even when the pest appears unaffected.
- Maintenance
- Inspect coral bases, frag plugs, rock crevices, overflows and plumbing repeatedly; remove treated tissue and fragments; clean dedicated tools; and continue surveillance after the visible adults disappear.
- Overridable warnings
- Non-overridable: confirm identity, do not tear or scrape a polyp in place, never dose blindly into a stocked reef, and never release tissue or treatment water. A specialist may choose another validated control method only when non-target safety, complete attachment control and containment are preserved.
- Identification Signs
- A small translucent tan to brown anemone with a long column and many narrow tentacles that retracts quickly into a crevice. Similar harmless anemones must be excluded before treatment.
- Affected System
- Marine live rock, coral bases, frag plugs, shells, overflows and plumbing.
- Spread And Reproduction
- Pedal laceration, fission and surviving fragments can produce new anemones; sexual reproduction is also possible in some species.
- Impact
- Stinging, space competition, rapid spread and occupation of inaccessible surfaces can injure corals and complicate maintenance.
- Control Plan
- Confirm identity, isolate affected items where practical, remove the entire attachment point or use a carefully targeted reef-compatible treatment, then repeat inspection for regrowth. Treat only a manageable number at once.
- Biological Control
- Acreichthys tomentosus, peppermint shrimp and Berghia are sometimes used, but performance is individual or species dependent and each animal needs a complete long-term care plan.
Compatibility, welfare and risk
Compatibility: Can sting corals and other sessile invertebrates and spread into plumbing or inaccessible rockwork
Welfare: Confirm the organism before treatment. Use the least harmful targeted method and protect non-target animals.
Main warning: Do not tear or scrape an anemone in place. Remaining tissue and fragments can regenerate, and careless chemical treatment can injure livestock or destabilise chemistry.
Biosecurity and release
Never release pest anemones, live rock, fragments or treatment water. Imported live invertebrates require specific Australian approvals and are not ordinary pet imports.