For those that have bred berghia for your Aiptasia problem, at what point do you add them to the display?

[A_Blind_Reefer]

Ok, berghia do not breed successfully in my display. I believe it’s due to being high flow and the bristle worms and pods eating the eggs. I’m not quite sure how I’m the only person in the world with this problem though! So, I’ve been breeding berghia to add into the display. I was able to grab 30 that were just a little smaller than the 1/2” ones I originally bought. There’s still a bunch of littles growing out in the breeding tank, and I kept a few larger ones to keep laying eggs. I’m wondering if I’m adding them to the display too soon. Well, that totally confuses me as everyone, including vendors will tell you that it’s not the ones you put in the tank that get rid of your Aiptasia…..it’s the quote critical mass population that they create. At the same time they’ll tell you to buy larger berghia as the smaller ones won’t make it in a high flow tank. Go figure.

I’m thinking I need to grow them bigger, but looking for others experience. I placed 50, 1/2” plus berghia in my display seven weeks ago and now added 30 more that were a little smaller. Before someone asks about predators, yes I have known predators (filefish, dottyback, sixline) but they are isolated to half the tank by a divider. None exist on the side I’m adding berghia, other than bristleworms and pods. Maybe a few berghia make it past the divider, but there’s plenty of Aiptasia on this side and I would think most would hang close for now. My thought on that was to not put the predators in the sump or small tank for months on end. I figured once the population started to take off, I would remove them to limit the time in a much smaller home. Problem is the population isn’t taking off as expected. Originally I tried 8 medium berghia, 3 months….nothing. Added 25, 3 months….nothing, added 25 more, another 3 months…nothing. Now I’m at 50 medium, seven weeks ago plus another 30 the other day and I’m thinking there are fewer Aiptasia but it’s hard to say. I’m legally blind and can’t see detail at all.

 

[davidcalgary29]

I bred them in a jar with halymenia macroalgae that had been heavily colonized with aiptasia. When they bred, I put all of the macro in my display, and the algae provided the nudibranchs with enough cover that they were able to spread out into the rest of the display from there. Of course, I didn't have any wrasses in the tank at the time, so I'm sure that helped with survival rates.

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

I bred them in a jar with halymenia macroalgae that had been heavily colonized with aiptasia. When they bred, I put all of the macro in my display, and the algae provided the nudibranchs with enough cover that they were able to spread out into the rest of the display from there. Of course, I didn't have any wrasses in the tank at the time, so I'm sure that helped with survival rates.

About how big were they when you added them to the display? I think, hope, that the Berghia in the display are still alive. It’s 160 gallons and have a divider splitting it in half to keep the fish on one side and placing the Berghia on the other. There’s a ton of Aiptasia so they shouldn’t be wandering off to the other side, but who knows.

 

[davidcalgary29]

They were all ages -- from eggs to fully grown adults.

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

They were all ages -- from eggs to fully grown adults.

Ah, thanks. I probably have another 50 or so smaller ones but I was worried about putting them in so soon.

 

[Chrisv.]

If you have isolated those predators (wow, you really have some serious predators btw) then I suspect that the nudibranchs are doing their thing very slowly. Could be wrong. When I was breeder them I put them in the DT at about .75 inch size at first, but even those were slow. I put in a whole lot of smaller ones, still slow. In the long run they did eliminate my aiptasia. Slowly. I almost never saw them in the display. Maybe once every three weeks, at night.

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

If you have isolated those predators (wow, you really have some serious predators btw) then I suspect that the nudibranchs are doing their thing very slowly. Could be wrong. When I was breeder them I put them in the DT at about .75 inch size at first, but even those were slow. I put in a whole lot of smaller ones, still slow. In the long run they did eliminate my aiptasia. Slowly. I almost never saw them in the display. Maybe once every three weeks, at night.

Makes sense. Thanks. If you believe what you read, they supposedly eat 1-2 Aiptasia, per Berghia, per day……I’m guessing those are microscopic Aiptasia! This has not been my experience. In the culture tank, a one gallon betta tank, I started with six of the medium 1/2” Berghia. It took those six about a week to eat 5 small Aiptasia. I added five more Aiptasia and it took almost another week. I currently have two medium, and at least 50 small Berghia in there, and they probably eat one to three pretty small Aiptasia a day. Definitely not the Aiptasia eating monsters touted in everything I read. I’ll grow them a bit bigger before placing them in the display this go around and see what happens.

 

[Chrisv.]

Makes sense. Thanks. If you believe what you read, they supposedly eat 1-2 Aiptasia, per Berghia, per day……I’m guessing those are microscopic Aiptasia! This has not been my experience. In the culture tank, a one gallon betta tank, I started with six of the medium 1/2” Berghia. It took those six about a week to eat 5 small Aiptasia. I added five more Aiptasia and it took almost another week. I currently have two medium, and at least 50 small Berghia in there, and they probably eat one to three pretty small Aiptasia a day. Definitely not the Aiptasia eating monsters touted in everything I read. I’ll grow them a bit bigger before placing them in the display this go around and see what happens.

Your observations are consistent with mine re. consumption rate.

I would just reiterate that I would assume that the nudibranchs are making their way over to the predatory fish side and that those specific fish are having a snack. If the slugs randomly assort in the tank, eventually they will all end up on the side of the tank with the fish in it and they will be picked off.

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

Your observations are consistent with mine re. consumption rate.

I would just reiterate that I would assume that the nudibranchs are making their way over to the predatory fish side and that those specific fish are having a snack. If the slugs randomly assort in the tank, eventually they will all end up on the side of the tank with the fish in it and they will be picked off.

I’m sure a couple have made the journey to the other side. I was hoping that they wouldn’t venture too far until they had to start looking for more aiptasia. There’s plenty where I placed them! Ha
After seeing how slow they eat, I didn’t want to place the fish in isolation for 6 months or more. Plus the wrasse and dottyback are major sob’s to catch, especially being mostly blind now. If The Aiptasia population doesn’t start showing signs of decreasing soon, I guess I’ll be forced to get some help in removing the fish.

 

[Dburr1014]

Ok, berghia do not breed successfully in my display. I believe it’s due to being high flow and the bristle worms and pods eating the eggs. I’m not quite sure how I’m the only person in the world with this problem though! So, I’ve been breeding berghia to add into the display. I was able to grab 30 that were just a little smaller than the 1/2” ones I originally bought. There’s still a bunch of littles growing out in the breeding tank, and I kept a few larger ones to keep laying eggs. I’m wondering if I’m adding them to the display too soon. Well, that totally confuses me as everyone, including vendors will tell you that it’s not the ones you put in the tank that get rid of your Aiptasia…..it’s the quote critical mass population that they create. At the same time they’ll tell you to buy larger berghia as the smaller ones won’t make it in a high flow tank. Go figure.

I’m thinking I need to grow them bigger, but looking for others experience. I placed 50, 1/2” plus berghia in my display seven weeks ago and now added 30 more that were a little smaller. Before someone asks about predators, yes I have known predators (filefish, dottyback, sixline) but they are isolated to half the tank by a divider. None exist on the side I’m adding berghia, other than bristleworms and pods. Maybe a few berghia make it past the divider, but there’s plenty of Aiptasia on this side and I would think most would hang close for now. My thought on that was to not put the predators in the sump or small tank for months on end. I figured once the population started to take off, I would remove them to limit the time in a much smaller home. Problem is the population isn’t taking off as expected. Originally I tried 8 medium berghia, 3 months….nothing. Added 25, 3 months….nothing, added 25 more, another 3 months…nothing. Now I’m at 50 medium, seven weeks ago plus another 30 the other day and I’m thinking there are fewer Aiptasia but it’s hard to say. I’m legally blind and can’t see detail at all.

How infested is your tank?
I have found that if the infestation is not too bad, Burghia have a hard time finding the aptaisia.
More aiptasia, easier to find, population explosion.

 

[Chrisv.]

The harder they have to look for food, the better chance they are picked off by the dottyback and wrasse.

Maybe there is a person who can remove a dottyback and a six line from an established reef, but I know I couldn't.

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

How infested is your tank?
I have found that if the infestation is not too bad, Burghia have a hard time finding the aptaisia.
More aiptasia, easier to find, population explosion.

Oh no problem there. It’s infested. There’s hundreds if not thousands!

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

The harder they have to look for food, the better chance they are picked off by the dottyback and wrasse.

Maybe there is a person who can remove a dottyback and a six line from an established reef, but I know I couldn't.

Well there’s no shortage that’s for sure. I think the only way to get the wrasse and dottyback would be to drain the tank. Even then I’m sure they’d be in a crevice somewhere that we couldn’t get to. I tried the fish trap but they wouldn’t go near it.

 

[Joe's Coral Reef]

I would add them once they hatched. I didn't have any predator's. I would guess they are getting picked off and eaten. They are slow moving and dont hide very well. It took two rounds of berghia to finish off my aiptasia

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

I would add them once they hatched. I didn't have any predator's. I would guess they are getting picked off and eaten. They are slow moving and dont hide very well. It took two rounds of berghia to finish off my aiptasia

I’m thinking that the bristleworms and pods are eating the eggs and tiny Berghia. I read a document somewhere that stated they had issues with that when first trying to breed Berghia to sell them. They said not to add any live rock to your breeding system as bristleworms and larger pods ate all the eggs, then later on ate all the larvae and tiny Berghia. They had to start all over without rock. So I’m guessing that the same happens in an established reef tank.

 

[Dburr1014]

Oh no problem there. It’s infested. There’s hundreds if not thousands!

Well, I had a leopard wrasse and a cbs and had no problems.
Introduce at night, near aptaisia, near a crevice so they can hide.
I had eggs, nothing touched them.

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

Well, I had a leopard wrasse and a cbs and had no problems.
Introduce at night, near aptaisia, near a crevice so they can hide.
I had eggs, nothing touched them.

Yeah, I did that. It’s not mentioned a lot but larger pods and bristleworms do eat the eggs. I guess I’m just one of the few that have that problem. Most everyone that’s used berghia post that they put a couple in a large tank and within three months all the aiptasia is gone! I wish I was one of those cases. I’ve also seen many posts about wrasse, dottybacks, butterfly’s, and filefish not touching them at all! I don’t have that luck.

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

So, still no advancement in the eradication of Aiptasia in my display. I decided to perform an experiment a couple weeks back. I placed two adult Berghia, several smaller Berghia that were 1/4” or less we think, and a couple egg spirals in a beaker. I had someone help me break off a small piece of live rock from the display and place it in the beaker with the Berghia. Overnight, the egg spirals disappeared. Over the course of a week, all the smaller Berghia were gone. The two adults ,about 1” in size, remain. They have laid several egg spirals which disappeared. Since I can’t see, I had someone help and they said there are a bunch of what they called fleas in the water. We dipped the rock, no bristleworms, only quote fleas. I’m guessing I’m one of the lucky ones to have pods, that without a doubt, eat Berghia eggs and smaller Berghia. I’m successful in breeding Berghia in a 1 gallon tetra tank, but have been adding medium sized 1/2” or so, into the display. I’m guessing these are being eaten rather quickly as I’ve added about 150 of this size to my display over the last 8-9 months with no effect on my Aiptasia. I do not think I’ll be able to maintain breeding these guys to full adult size before placing them in the display as I’ll not be able to keep up with feeding them. I still have the divider in my display, to keep all the fish on one side. I think I’ll give it another couple months before throwing in the towel and trying to figure out my next step. Quarantining fish is out as I can’t see well enough to do that. Fully quarantined copperbands from marine collectors are over $500, plus I’d have to wait until fall as it’s too hot to risk shipping livestock here in the summer. I reluctantly had someone, a non reefer, try to use f Aiptasia on a few of the larger Aiptasia….didn’t end well. They accidentally broke off several portions of a few acros. To be continued….