How worried should I be if I have some shrimp and planning to add 'Berghia' Nudis?

[plankton]

I have a heavily stocked and thriving SPS tank ... that also grows Aptasia shockingly well. I've hit the Aptasia with Aptasia-X, CaOH concentrations and added peppermint shrimp (3) but all I've been able to do is scatter the aptasia further into, under, inbetween my LR.

I've read the many posts on 'Berghia' Aeolidiella Nudibranchs and have four medium sized arriving tomorrow. I also read that peppermint shrimp (and sixline wrasse) will eat them and/or their eggs but what wasn't clear if they will occasionally nip at them or will seek them out and decimate them. Any one have personal experience observing how peppermint shrimp or wrasse are around these nudis and their eggs?

Thanks in advance!

 

[SPR1968]

I’ve been reading up on this as well and ordered some a few days ago. See below

Wrasses (except Fairy wrasses) and Long nosed hawkfish – Depending on their temperament they have been known to try to eat Berghia. However on almost all occasions they will spit the Berghia out once the Berghia releases the stinging cells it retains from eating Aiptasia. This will not hurt the fish but will be unpleasant and they are highly unlikely to ever try tasting another Berghia. WHilst there is a chance the spat out Berghia will survive it may sustain fatal injuries from the encounter.

Our recommendation: Purchase one extra Berghia Nudibranch to counter the chance of one being killed.

Peppermint shrimp – Again this depends on their temperament, however these pose the biggest risk to Berghia out of any other inhabitant. Peppermint shrimp are known to enjoy hunting Berghia Nudibranch, especially at night which is whne the Berghia come out. This is an issue for many people who buy Berghia as they have often already bought these shrimp to try to tackle the Aiptasia problem.

Our recommendation: We reccomend you play it safe and remove the peppermint shrimp. Peppermint shrimps are easy to remove using a trap constructed from a plastic bottle. Simply cut the top of the bottle and put it back in backwards to create a entrance that becomes more narrow as they go into the trap. Check on it regularly.

Camel Shrimp, Coral banded shrimp and aggressive crabs that have no food to eat – We consider these to be a low risk to Berghia Nudibranch, it is rare for them to be aggressive and if so it likely causes limited harm.

Our recommendation: Ensure your shrimp and crabs have food available.

Bristle Worms – Bristle worms will not seek out Berghia Nudibranch to attack, they may however attack them in defense of their nest to protect their eggs.

Our recommendation: Be careful when putting your Berghia into the tank, try to place them on higher rock. If you have a particularly bad bristle worm infestation consider buying a bristle worm trap, or buying a couple extra Berghia.

 

[plankton]

Thanks for the info. Acclimated my four then added to crevasse on upper front LR near aptasia but harder to get to by wrasse and peppermint shrimp since at least during the day they prefer back of tank. Wishing myself luck.

 

[dwest]

Agree that peppermint shrimp will almost certainly eat your berghia.

 

[tehmadreefer]

They will if they can find them but I wouldn’t be too worried about is as berghia reproduce very quickly and eat aiptasia from within the rock pores where the peps can’t reach

 

[tehmadreefer]

Also if you have peps that are not eating aiptasia then they are of the wrong pep variety...

 

[plankton]

LOL my six line wrasse and peps never eat or even tried to eat monti nudis when I had them on a colony months ago. So I’m marginally optimistic two of the four will make it long enough to reproduce!