Beghia breeding (Aeolidiella stephanieae)

[Jmp998]

Picture is a little hard to see-are the circled ovals slowly crawling? They could be Berghia larvae. They will be very pale white before feeding, with brown to gray inside after.

Also sometimes it is easier to see if you illuminate from the side at a slight angle with a flashlight rather than overhead.

 

[kilnakorr]

Picture is a little hard to see-are the circled ovals slowly crawling? They could be Berghia larvae. They will be very pale white before feeding, with brown to gray inside after.

Also sometimes it is easier to see if you illuminate from the side at a slight angle with a flashlight rather than overhead.

Yes, the two encircled 'blobs' might be babies.

Unfortunately, the device I'm using to take these pictures is also the cause of the light source, and I don't think they can be turned off.

 

[Tired]

What does 'tote' mean?

"Tote" refers to a (usually plastic) container used to store items, like the box you have in there. When selecting containers for aquarium use, it's important to pick containers that would be safe to use in storing wet foods, like soup, to ensure that they're also safe for aquarium purposes. Some plastics will leach various things into the water over time.

 

[kilnakorr]

"Tote" refers to a (usually plastic) container used to store items, like the box you have in there. When selecting containers for aquarium use, it's important to pick containers that would be safe to use in storing wet foods, like soup, to ensure that they're also safe for aquarium purposes. Some plastics will leach various things into the water over time.

Thanks for the explanation.
The small box is acrylic and food safe (not sure about liquid foods though).

 

[kilnakorr]

Figured out how to turn of the light.
Caught a little video of this tiny guy.
You can see a couple of pods swimming by to compare size.

 

[Jmp998]

Not sure if that is Berghia, hard to tell (for me) before they get cerata, but the way it moves seems wrong and it seems to have too complex of anatomy for a Berghia larva. Can you see the two eyespots, at this size they should be about 1/3 of the way back from the mouth?

If it is Berghia you should start seeing cerata in a week or so.

This article (free) happens to have nice larvae pictures in Figure 3:

Movement and storage of nematocysts across development in the nudibranch Berghia stephanieae (Valdés, 2005) - Frontiers in Zoology

Background Intracellular sequestration requires specialized cellular and molecular mechanisms allowing a predator to retain and use specific organelles that once belonged to its prey. Little is known about how common cellular mechanisms, like phagocytosis, can be modified to selectively...

frontiersinzoology.biomedcentral.com

 

[kilnakorr]

Not sure if that is Berghia, hard to tell (for me) before they get cerata, but the way it moves seems wrong and it seems to have too complex of anatomy for a Berghia larva. Can you see the two eyespots, at this size they should be about 1/3 of the way back from the mouth?

If it is Berghia you should start seeing cerata in a week or so.

This article (free) happens to have nice larvae pictures in Figure 3:

Movement and storage of nematocysts across development in the nudibranch Berghia stephanieae (Valdés, 2005) - Frontiers in Zoology

Background Intracellular sequestration requires specialized cellular and molecular mechanisms allowing a predator to retain and use specific organelles that once belonged to its prey. Little is known about how common cellular mechanisms, like phagocytosis, can be modified to selectively...

frontiersinzoology.biomedcentral.com

I could very well be mistaken, as I have very little idea on what to look for.
I just noticed these tiny ones, shortly after the first eggs hatched.
The only online image I have found of the berghia babies does look more simple and 'straight' like rice.

 

[Jmp998]

The small larvae really like to cluster together. Even if you have multiple tiny aiptasia, most of the larvae will be sprinkled around only a couple of aiptasia. Look for a tiny aiptasia with elongated dots clustered around it.

 

[kilnakorr]

The small larvae really like to cluster together. Even if you have multiple tiny aiptasia, most of the larvae will be sprinkled around only a couple of aiptasia. Look for a tiny aiptasia with elongated dots clustered around it.

Like the picture earlier in the thread.
I believe I actually haven't spotted any berghia babies yet, maybe I have focused on the wrong critter, or all have perished so far.
The new batch should have no issue finding food with 100+ tiny to small aiptasia around.
Will still be a few days before they hatch I think, but didn't notice exactly when the eggs where layed.

 

[kilnakorr]

Edited- think I double posted..

 

[alberto1999]

Does the aptasia grow just a well in a bare bottom take like your photo aaa if you used crushed coral or substrate?

 

[kilnakorr]

Does the aptasia grow just a well in a bare bottom take like your photo aaa if you used crushed coral or substrate?

I have no idea.
I haven't done any testing on aiptasia growth/substrate.
BB tank, just makes things easier I guess.

 

[kilnakorr]

@Jmp998
Thanks for all the info you have provided.
I found these two guys/gals.

smallest one.

A little more developed

Close up (a bit blurry):

Looks like a few survivors

 

[Jmp998]

Great pics, congratulations on your babies! You are on the way to a Berghia farm; feed those Aiptasia you will need them.

 

[crusso1993]

Very cool thread and congrats on your first batch! Thanks for sharing.

Following along to see how things progress.

 

[LOVEROCK]

This seems to be the hurdle.
As soon as I see some surviving babies, a couple of the adults goes into DT.

A few shots just for fun:
Baby berghia I think.

Egg spial, where it looks like a few tiny berghia has crawled out in the bottom. Top critter is just a copepod

Small new aiptasia, grown from pedal laceration from the mother aiptasia next to it.

Could you explain where you cut for pedal laceration ?

 

[kilnakorr]

Could you explain where you cut for pedal laceration ?

I don't do anything.
The aiptasia simply let go of small pieces and often move somewhere else.

The blurry aiptasia in the lower left side left behind these 15+ pieces when it moved a few days ago. Hard to see, but some of them have tiny polyps already.

 

[Tired]

I swear I read somewhere about someone who was propagating aiptasia for berghia purposes by putting them in a blender for half a second and then dumping the slurry into the water. Ever try that?

 

[Jmp998]

I swear I read somewhere about someone who was propagating aiptasia for berghia purposes by putting them in a blender for half a second and then dumping the slurry into the water. Ever try that?

This only increases the number of aiptasia, not the biomass of aiptasia (and realistically probably decreases biomass quite a bit due to tissue damage, as well as contributing to water fouling which is a big problem in high density culture). Usually the aiptasia will spontaneously reproduce/divide via pedal laceration etc at a good rate. Supposedly you can also accelerate pedal laceration by doing a blackout for a few days. Another option if you have some really large aiptasia that don't seem to be dividing, or if you are just really short on aiptasia, is to just chop the top off for food and the bottom half will regrow a mouth and tentacles in a few days. I did this for a while but it is a lot of manual labor.

The blender might be helpful though if your aiptasia are mostly large/overgrown and you are having a hard time finding small aiptasia to feed to Berghia larvae.

 

[kilnakorr]

This only increases the number of aiptasia, not the biomass of aiptasia (and realistically probably decreases biomass quite a bit due to tissue damage, as well as contributing to water fouling which is a big problem in high density culture). Usually the aiptasia will spontaneously reproduce/divide via pedal laceration etc at a good rate. Supposedly you can also accelerate pedal laceration by doing a blackout for a few days. Another option if you have some really large aiptasia that don't seem to be dividing, or if you are just really short on aiptasia, is to just chop the top off for food and the bottom half will regrow a mouth and tentacles in a few days. I did this for a while but it is a lot of manual labor.

The blender might be helpful though if your aiptasia are mostly large/overgrown and you are having a hard time finding small aiptasia to feed to Berghia larvae.

I have tried cutting the top of, and it works well.
A new top will be fully grown in a weeks time. However, as the aiptasia retracts quickly, cutting the top is pretty hard to do.
I tried cutting one down the middle, and it seems bith half also regrow without issues.

I'm unsure how or when pedal laceration occurs. I see plenty aiptasia move, and leave behind new aiptasia, but also have one in the same place, and small aiptasia just form around it and moves away.


A small update on the 'project'.
I lost one of the Adults - the remaining is still laying eggs continously.

The egg clusters I move to the first aiptasia tank, seems to have hatched.
It is very hard to spot babies as they a very tiny, and only visible on the front glass.
I caught this little fellow:

I hope to see a bunch more in a weeks time.
Food is not an issue in this tank, with hundres of aiptasia in various sizes: