Do micro brittle stars eat Berghia nudibranch

[((FORDTECH))]

Well then you are way ahead of me, and actually doing better in your breeder tank.
I expected more egg laying so maybe I have another intruder, or my setup is wrong, or maybe my adults are not quite old enough for egg laying. They are suppose to lay eggs almost daily, like yours.

I did find out that Beghia's lifespan is 10-12 months, so your's should be all alive.

I do see now why you are concerned with something eatting them.

I got all my Nudis about 11 weeks ago at 1/2inch . I started with 5 Nudis in a 10 gallon. The rest went to my other 2 systems. Little over month ago the daily eggs started. They go for about a week laying 2-3 spirals a day. Then take a couple days off .Then they disappear 4-5 days later 1 spiral at a time. I have actually seen amphipods eating the eggs. For about a week I was trying to set Bristol worm traps to catch them but after few days got 0 pods out so gave up. Strange thing is weeks ago I could see the pods walking around in tank but now I don’t even see them but eggs still disappear.

 

[((FORDTECH))]

My 10 gallon gets fed by a 33 long aptasia farm. The substrate I use is activated carbon. My pods originally came from aptasia farm that feeds Nudis. So since I realized this I now have 2 six line wrasse in the 33 that I barely feed in hopes they eat the amphipods before get fed into nudi tank. I guess it could slowly be work h as like I said I have not been seeing anymore pods in 10 gallon

 

[WallyB]

I got all my Nudis about 11 weeks ago at 1/2inch . I started with 5 Nudis in a 10 gallon. The rest went to my other 2 systems. Little over month ago the daily eggs started. They go for about a week laying 2-3 spirals a day. Then take a couple days off .Then they disappear 4-5 days later 1 spiral at a time. I have actually seen amphipods eating the eggs. For about a week I was trying to set Bristol worm traps to catch them but after few days got 0 pods out so gave up. Strange thing is weeks ago I could see the pods walking around in tank but now I don’t even see them but eggs still disappear.

Well I think if you got Breeding Age Nudi's. Maybe get them into a very safe jar.
You'll need at least 2 adults. One for eggs and one for to fertilize the eggs.

Once you have eggs, let them hatch safely without any predators in that jar, or whatever container you have.
I read you don't even need a heater. Maybe just a air stone for oxygen.
Key would be to bring in Aiptasia food, without any predators. I was told dipping aiptasia in fresh water, with minimal rock is best.

That way you can get more success and larger numbers to dump into your DT's.

 

[((FORDTECH))]

Then my nudi 10 gallon feeds into another 10 gallon with aptasia and fine filter to catch Nudis . Then that 10 feeds a 5 gallon with fine mesh screen that has ton of ceramic balls to help decrease nitrates and phophates and then the 5 feeds a 2.5 again with fine mesh screen to for their attempt catch any Nudis that fall from the 2.5 gallon into the 33 long. Hope you can understand all this

 

[((FORDTECH))]

Well I think if you got Breeding Age Nudi's. Maybe get them into a very safe jar.
You'll need at least 2 adults. One for eggs and one for to fertilize the eggs.

Once you have eggs, let them hatch safely without any predators in that jar, or whatever container you have.
I read you don't even need a heater. Maybe just a air stone for oxygen.
Key would be to bring in Aiptasia food, without any predators. I was told dipping aiptasia in fresh water, with minimal rock is best.

That way you can get more success and larger numbers to dump into your DT's.

Sooooo my most recent attempt at this I am now removing any eggs that are laid on the active carbon substrate and putting them into Hanna glass tester vials and carefully placing them around my 120 in the glass tube so I can watch them . So far have not seen any amphipods messing with them been 3 days

 

[((FORDTECH))]

But if micro stars are eating them I’d assume the smaller nudi the easier a micro star can eat it

 

[WallyB]

Then my nudi 10 gallon feeds into another 10 gallon with aptasia and fine filter to catch Nudis . Then that 10 feeds a 5 gallon with fine mesh screen that has ton of ceramic balls to help decrease nitrates and phophates and then the 5 feeds a 2.5 again with fine mesh screen to for their attempt catch any Nudis that fall from the 2.5 gallon into the 33 long. Hope you can understand all this

Sounds like you are doing everything perfect. I need to improve my setup or just wait patiently.

 

[SFREEF3R]

This is really interesting. It hadn’t occurred to me that brittle starts could be a threat. I’ve tried three different batches of Berghia and they all disappeared without a trace within a few days to a week without a single Aiptasia being consumed. I also have a huge population of brittle stars and micro brittle stars that came as hitchhikers on my LR. I have one emerald crab as well, but didn’t have it when I added the first batch. Have suspected something was consuming them but didn’t know what.

 

[((FORDTECH))]

This is really interesting. It hadn’t occurred to me that brittle starts could be a threat. I’ve tried three different batches of Berghia and they all disappeared without a trace within a few days to a week without a single Aiptasia being consumed. I also have a huge population of brittle stars and micro brittle stars that came as hitchhikers on my LR. I have one emerald crab as well, but didn’t have it when I added the first batch. Have suspected something was consuming them but didn’t know what.

So you say huge population of brittle stars and micro brittle stars. How many large brittle stars. Because unfortunatly if you have both how can we tell which is eating them. If you only had micro then I’d say yes. For what it’s worth emerald crabs supposta love them

 

[((FORDTECH))]

This is really interesting. It hadn’t occurred to me that brittle starts could be a threat. I’ve tried three different batches of Berghia and they all disappeared without a trace within a few days to a week without a single Aiptasia being consumed. I also have a huge population of brittle stars and micro brittle stars that came as hitchhikers on my LR. I have one emerald crab as well, but didn’t have it when I added the first batch. Have suspected something was consuming them but didn’t know what.

Here check this out I took it off of reeftowns website. Notice at top it’s funny to me both peppermint shrimp and matted filefish which both eat aptasia also will eat Nudis so you can’t even try them together. Also there is many others on this list along with it saying brittle stars but not specifically micro brittle stars is why I started this thread to ask around

 

[((FORDTECH))]

Won't certain wrasses eat the micro stars?

Looks like fairy wrasse don’t eat them

 

[((FORDTECH))]

This is really interesting. It hadn’t occurred to me that brittle starts could be a threat. I’ve tried three different batches of Berghia and they all disappeared without a trace within a few days to a week without a single Aiptasia being consumed. I also have a huge population of brittle stars and micro brittle stars that came as hitchhikers on my LR. I have one emerald crab as well, but didn’t have it when I added the first batch. Have suspected something was consuming them but didn’t know what.

Now check this out never even thought of this.

Lower rock areas with Bristle worm nests could
eat Berghia to protect their eggs.
most everyone also has bristle worms they could be the culprits aswell

 

[SFREEF3R]

So you say huge population of brittle stars and micro brittle stars. How many large brittle stars. Because unfortunatly if you have both how can we tell which is eating them. If you only had micro then I’d say yes. For what it’s worth emerald crabs supposta love them

True no way to tell which one. Probably have at least 5 or 6 larger (several inches span). Micro brittle stars are uncountable and stick out of nearly every hole and crevice of my rock.

 

[Rmckoy]

I’ve tried nudis awhile ago for large aptasia .
dropped the nudi right on it .
the aptasia stung and closed up on the nudi killing it instantly .

if the aptasia are too big I believe even a nudi can’t eat them .
That being said . Being so small I can see anything from a wrasse , or any fish picking at them if noticed

 

[((FORDTECH))]

Sounds like you are doing everything perfect. I need to improve my setup or just wait patiently.

Maybe it’s the sponge bob setup for your Nudis your missing here mine

 

[WallyB]

Maybe it’s the sponge bob setup for your Nudis your missing here mine

WOW!! Nice setup. Amazing.

But we do think alike. This is how I started.

 

[((FORDTECH))]

Just pulled another 2 babies out of the first catch screen. About 1/8inch And I add them to my 120 on the glass within 2 inch of small aptasia. If they are 1/2 or bigger will put back in breeder tank 2 tanks upstream so they can lay more eggs. I end up cutting plexi glass in 2x2 cubes and added all around nudi breeder with hopes to have eggs laid on them and then easy transfer. Just started to do this this week let’s see if I can get progress in display tank.

 

[GlassMunky]

The ONLY time I ever saw berghia after I put them
In my tank, was when I tore my tank down, I found a few hiding in the plumbing that drops into the sump.
mother than that, I never saw them in about 3-4 months.
They also did nothing to lessen my aiptasia.

 

[WallyB]

Just pulled another 2 babies out of the first catch screen. About 1/8inch And I add them to my 120 on the glass within 2 inch of small aptasia. If they are 1/2 or bigger will put back in breeder tank 2 tanks upstream so they can lay more eggs. I end up cutting plexi glass in 2x2 cubes and added all around nudi breeder with hopes to have eggs laid on them and then easy transfer. Just started to do this this week let’s see if I can get progress in display tank.

Good plan/adjustment. I too have lots of small acrylic plates. (clear and black).

Last night I was moving stuff around and a whole spiral of eggs floated out. I caught the spiral and placed it on a plate. Thinking I should put the egg spiral in my aptasia infested tank.....The two concerns I have are the egg fertilized?, and the 2nd one is I know the aiptsia tank has amphipods and (bristle stars) so there is a good chance the eggs will be eatten. I rather tansfer hatched baby berghias.

One thing I notice since yesterday. I can't keep up with adding aiptasia. Even big ones are dissapearing overnight. Maybe the last eggs hatching just a couple of days ago has introduced losts baby bergia, which I can't see yet.

One question for you. I have tons of aitpasia, but those darn guy get their base foot into rock holes. Tough to get them cut out. HOW DO YOU GET AIPTASIA removed to move to farm, and not have to carve your rocks into peices?

 

[maroun.c]

A few friends got some berghias to try to cleanup their heavily infested tanks, a few observations from the group so far:
It takes a load of them to get faster results (still talking months here ) one 150 tank added 30 and it took 4-5 months to start seeing results. Tanknwas taken down a year later and many berghias were found while taking it down.
Another 150 gallon that added 6 took 6-7 months to start seeing result but they wiped out the aptasia in few weeks when he started getting results. He could see them on glass as aptasia became scarce.
One guy tried breeding them but it didn't work out maybe for reasons mentioned here. Believe they have a floating phase when they hatch so circulation /filtration in the breeding tank could be an issue. Yet some breeders sell eggs so should be straightforward to get them to hatch...
I saw a yellown cories wrass hovering over newly added berghias and not eat them. Not trying to over simplify things here but they are nudies in the end and I haven't seen wrasses, copperbands, bristle worms or stars .... exterminate a monti eating nudis population so not sure why they would for berghias. Maybe they do but its a low probability for them to eat all eggs or babies in a large tank with rocks and many berghias so few would escape and should growt the population same as for other nudis.