Bergs and Sixline

[CCauthers]

Pretty simple question, have a Sixline in a 260 with some aiptaisa. Mixed reef/sps dominant, so seems like filefish are out. Taking the Sixline out would be very difficult, and I don't have a place to hold him. Have heard that bergs work better than peppermints. Will the Sixline eat berghia?

 

[Wildcats1023]

I'm in same situation in my 220 except I have a melanarus wrasse. Interested in the responses

 

[vetteguy53081]

Its its a few aptasia. . . kill them manually. Super easy. . . using a syringe use either lemon juice OR preferably kalkwasser powder mixed into a thin paste and inject into center core of each aptasia and they will melt right before your eyes
I wouldnt trust any nudibranchs around wrasses or hawkfish

 

[ADAM]

My Sixline never bothered them a couple of years ago when I used them. However, my Melanarus had a $200 midnight snack a couple of weeks ago!

Algaebarn had some peppermint shrimp in stock yesterday if you’d rather try them. Getting the right species of “peppermint” is key. Algaebarn is said to have the correct species from most reviews I’ve seen.

Some of the DIY fish traps are pretty easy to make and you could house the Sixline in the sump for a few days while the Berghia do their thing. I’ve caught a few smaller fish over the years by putting food in a water bottle with fishing line attached to the neck.

 

[MnFish1]

I had (inexplicably) an aphasia explosion (maybe 20 in a 100 gallon) - I bought a filefish (didnt do anything) - Peppermint shrimp (decimated by the harlequin tusk, Copperband - didnt do anything - bought the berghia - and within 6 weeks - all gone. IMHO the problem with 'gluing', etc - is that where there is one you can see there are 50 you cant see. Supposedly - Berghia are not that 'bothered'/eaten by fish - because they are more active at night as compared to during the day. I never saw them after I added them - except after about 3 weeks of no change - all the sudden the Aiptasia started disintegrating - I assume when a large enough population developed.

 

[Williamson’s Reef]

I have a Melanarus and he definitely will eat them if he sees them. I moved my magnetic algae cleaner and a huge berghia went flying in the current. He ate it so fast and baby’s went flying everywhere in the current. Was hard to watch. I know they are surviving because aiptasia are disappearing. And when I added them they were .25 in. This one was a inch and full of babies. My Melunaris has never been out after the lights are out. I guess it’s a chance you take.

 

[MnFish1]

I have a Melanarus and he definitely will eat them if he sees them. I moved my magnetic algae cleaner and a huge berghia went flying in the current. He ate it so fast and baby’s went flying everywhere in the current. Was hard to watch. I know they are surviving because aiptasia are disappearing. And when I added them they were .25 in. This one was a inch and full of babies. My Melunaris has never been out after the lights are out. I guess it’s a chance you take.

Yes - this was my point - They hide - and are not eaten. If you hadn't moved your cleaner - it wouldn't have been eaten. PS - Berghia are not 'full of babies' AFAIK - they lay eggs that hatch (it might have been eggs you were seeing)?

"Being hermaphroditic, each mature Berghia nudibranch may mate and lay eggs every day as long as water conditions are good and an amply supply of Aiptasia are available. This allows the Berghia nudibranch to increase their colony size relatively in order to deal with large Aiptasia anemone infestations."

 

[lion king]

The sixline will make short order of the berghias. In your situation I would either try manual control or peppermints.

 

[MnFish1]

The sixline will make short order of the berghias. In your situation I would either try manual control or peppermints.

Disagree....

EDIT -sorry I meant to include this:

Salty Underground: Berghia Q&A

Salty Underground Berghia Nudibranchs Q&A and FAQ

saltyunderground.com

 

[ScottB]

As has been said wrasses will go after them if they see them, but they are pretty good at hiding during the light period. I bought 32 medium size and I have never seen them since. I am sure my wrasses got/will get some of them but I feel the math is on my side.

Two takeaways for you:
1) Release them at night and with the flow limited so they don't get blown around.
2) Patience: It takes quite a while for them to build a mature and substantial population sizable enough to take down the aiptasia. In my case it was 2 months before I began seeing any decline. I am well into month three and they still have work to do.

 

[Williamson’s Reef]

Yes - this was my point - They hide - and are not eaten. If you hadn't moved your cleaner - it wouldn't have been eaten. PS - Berghia are not 'full of babies' AFAIK - they lay eggs that hatch (it might have been eggs you were seeing)?

"Being hermaphroditic, each mature Berghia nudibranch may mate and lay eggs every day as long as water conditions are good and an amply supply of Aiptasia are available. This allows the Berghia nudibranch to increase their colony size relatively in order to deal with large Aiptasia anemone infestations."

The babies ride around on the parent. They unload to eat. That’s what I read and is absolutely what I’ve seen. They look like really really small white worms. I’ve knocked them off adults moving them from tank to tank on accident.

 

[CCauthers]

Thanks for all of the feedback, pretty much solidified what I thought. To answer @vetteguy53081 's response, I have been killing them with kalk paste, but a few of them are in some zoas and I think I miss a few babies each time. I feel that kalk paste is more of a management, and bergs and peppermint are more of an eradication method. I've seen some people say it, but im not sure, can peppermints eat lps?

 

[MnFish1]

The babies ride around on the parent. They unload to eat. That’s what I read and is absolutely what I’ve seen. They look like really really small white worms. I’ve knocked them off adults moving them from tank to tank on accident.

Interesting its not what the literature says. But - maybe its not correct

 

[MnFish1]

The babies ride around on the parent. They unload to eat. That’s what I read and is absolutely what I’ve seen. They look like really really small white worms. I’ve knocked them off adults moving them from tank to tank on accident.

Easy Berghia Nudibranch Propagation

Applied Sustainable Aquaculture Inc., The Science and Technology Magnet High School of Southeastern Connecticut. Justin discusses his methods for propagating this interesting nudibrach.

reefs.com

This is how they reproduce - at least according to a couple articles - I posted another one earlier

 

[CollectOyster04]

I'd be curious to see any literature on the babies riding on adults as well. Never seen/heard of that. Are we sure that when the wrasse ate the berghia, it wasn't pieces of the body being mistaken for babies ? Same with moving them. It is said that they are very delicate. From what I've seen of them, the babies look like miniature versions of the adults (once settled), not so much like white worms. I'm in no way an expert on any of this, but one would think if this is true, there be more info readily available stating such a thing. Never heard of them being like a wolf spider, lol. I'd be more worried about shrimps/crabs finding the berghias before any wrasse or other fish.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Thanks for all of the feedback, pretty much solidified what I thought. To answer @vetteguy53081 's response, I have been killing them with kalk paste, but a few of them are in some zoas and I think I miss a few babies each time. I feel that kalk paste is more of a management, and bergs and peppermint are more of an eradication method. I've seen some people say it, but im not sure, can peppermints eat lps?

Peppermints will take out zoa hence my recommendation to do kalk paste or aptasiaX

 

[ScottB]

With peppermints I have had both results: management and mismanagement. I have four tanks and two systems. Results vary.

I do paste kalk squirt the big reachable ones. I have peppermints sprinkled around. I have a Klein's butterfly too but he seems to prefer Rasta zoas so far. I am counting on the berghia long term to close the chapter though. Hope I am correct.

 

[Williamson’s Reef]

Easy Berghia Nudibranch Propagation

Applied Sustainable Aquaculture Inc., The Science and Technology Magnet High School of Southeastern Connecticut. Justin discusses his methods for propagating this interesting nudibrach.

reefs.com

This is how they reproduce - at least according to a couple articles - I posted another one earlier

I don’t disagree on how they reproduce. I’ve seen eggs under frags and rocks. Along with adults by them. The first time I bought them. I started with 25 only 1/4 in long. Ended up with over 70. Took about 6 months to clear my 410 gal system. Then I sold them all to local reefers. When sucking them up I found very small white larvae/worm like coming off large adults. They would get stuck inside the tube even crawling around. Over a year later and I needed them again. Bought 12 ...1/4in again 4 months ago. When my system is clear and there crawling all over again I’ll take a video of some babies coming off of adults. Unless my wrasse eats them first. I didn’t have him the last time.

 

[Williamson’s Reef]

I kept forgetting to get a pic when sucking up a adult and moving them between tanks. In the pic you can see the babies/larvae in the cup and still in the pipette crawling around. They were knocked off the adult. It’s happened multiple times for me. I hate losing the babies/larvae like this.

 

[MnFish1]

I kept forgetting to get a pic when sucking up a adult and moving them between tanks. In the pic you can see the babies/larvae in the cup and still in the pipette crawling around. They were knocked off the adult. It’s happened multiple times for me. I hate losing the babies/larvae like this.

So you're saying the adults lay eggs somewhere and then when the eggs hatch they then go back and crawl onto the adults? I was going to say this sounds 'crazy' - but I guess discus feed off their parents slime for a while. Maybe thats whats happening.