Looking for Berghia (aptasia eating nudibranchs)

[jlinzmaier]

Just wondering if anyone local has any berghia. If not I'll order some on-line but I thought I'd check here first to keep the business local. I remember seeing a post quite a while back and I think 2farnorth had some but I may be wrong.

If anyone has any leads on where I can get some let me know.

I want to make sure I don't add any aptasia to the new tank once it's ready so I want to eradicate the few aptasia I currently have in my 180.

Thanks!

Jeremy

 

[MSU Fan]

Jeremy, if you get some online, I may be interested. pm me details.

 

[Paul_N]

Jeremy,
If you get them make sure you get enough. I put 5 (3 adults/2 juvi) into my system(75DT/30sump) and they disappeared after two days and never put a dent in my aiptasia population.

 

[jlinzmaier]

Jeremy, if you get some online, I may be interested. pm me details.

Will do!

I did a pretty thorough search last night and really did a lot of reaseach on how to keep the population going to really keep them thriving and healthy. I'll likely be ordering a bunch when I do. I'll certainly speak up to everybody if/when I place an order. They're much more expensive than I was thinking!!

Becuase I currently have a very aggressive six line wrasse and coral banded shrimp which eats anything it can catch, I may wait a few months until my 420 is up and running. This will give me a chance to keep the wrasse and coral banded out until the berghia population is well established. I'd add them to my 180 now but I've got a better chance at winning the lottery than catching my six line. LOL!

Jeremy

 

[jlinzmaier]

Jeremy,
If you get them make sure you get enough. I put 5 (3 adults/2 juvi) into my system(75DT/30sump) and they disappeared after two days and never put a dent in my aiptasia population.

How long ago did you get them Paul?? All the research I did last night indicated that they may take up to several months to really get a population established to effectively manage aptasia populations and become prevalent enough to be frequently seen. Many sites recommended one young adult (carrying eggs) for every 10-20 gallons. If the population is too small then they have little chance of finding each other to mate. Nearly every bit of information also indicated that they "seem to" disappear once added. Because they're so small, noctournal, and well camouflaged, many people think they have disappeared when they really are still there. The frequent suggestion to see if they are still present was to check the tank thoroughly at night and keep an eye on aptasia populations to see if any come up missing. Knowing how expensive they are, I sure hope yours are still there and munching away!!

Jeremy

 

[nkelr]

might want to try setting up a seperate 10 gal for them to munch on the rocks in there. give them a chance to colonize without any preditors

 

[Paul_N]

How long ago did you get them Paul?? All the research I did last night indicated that they may take up to several months to really get a population established to effectively manage aptasia populations and become prevalent enough to be frequently seen. Many sites recommended one young adult (carrying eggs) for every 10-20 gallons. If the population is too small then they have little chance of finding each other to mate. Nearly every bit of information also indicated that they "seem to" disappear once added. Because they're so small, noctournal, and well camouflaged, many people think they have disappeared when they really are still there. The frequent suggestion to see if they are still present was to check the tank thoroughly at night and keep an eye on aptasia populations to see if any come up missing. Knowing how expensive they are, I sure hope yours are still there and munching away!!

Jeremy

Jeremy,
I put them in on December 20th. It's been two months. I read that also about several months but wasn't sure if that was 3 or like 6-9 I had to wait. I always check my tank at night with an red led flashlight. I hope they are still there and will maybe "kick in" soon. My aiptasia are starting to grow on my coral like the monti caps and it's really starting to P#** me off. I will be breaking this tank down in a couple weeks to upgrade to a 220 so not sure what my next move is. I wonder if the bristle worms in the rock will go after them. I'll let you know if I see any signs at least to give you a first hand expectation as far as seeing results. I'll try to check a little more thoroughly at night also.

 

[jlinzmaier]

might want to try setting up a seperate 10 gal for them to munch on the rocks in there. give them a chance to colonize without any preditors

Yes, great idea!! After reading all the literature I did, I thought it would really be most cost effective if I'd set up a breeding station. Since my 180 will all be moved into the 420 in the next few months I was thinking it may be a pointless effort to try and get a population established in the 180. On the other hand, paying $15-$25 per berghia and stocking VERY lightly (one per 20 gallons) would mean I would be paying at least $315 plus shipping to stock my 420 (and that means I might not see any results or even see any berghia for up to 9 months). Too much of a risky endeavor with that much money. I plan to have many little tanks plumbed into my 420's water system and I'll simply set up a berghia breeding tank. In there I can add a half dozen of the highest quality strain of berghia and get a nice brood stock. That will give me a chance to eventually add them by the dozens to the DT and continue to keep a breeding group going. I'll also know that there still there and not just wondering if their really in the tank or if something has plucked them off. That also means I need to grow aptasia!! LOL!! That sounds so rediculous but it really is the best way to go about this. I read this article by Anthony Calfo last night and it gives lots of details about keeping berghia and growing aptasia to keep a constant food source if you want to keep a culture going.

Aquarium Culture of the Aeolid nudibranch Berghia - Reefkeeping.com

I don't think I'll set my breeding system up exactly like he describes but the article is a great reference anyway.

Hopefully I'll be successful with the culture and be able to offer them to local reefers at a far lower cost. Maybe we could have a couple people in the FVRC club set up a breeding culture to ensure they're always available to those who need them. I'll be happy to take the first plunge and work out the best way to culture them. It's just kind of like "Why buy the milk when you can just buy the cow!" Granted there is more work with the "cow" but in the end, a much more realistic plan.

Jeremy,
I put them in on December 20th. It's been two months. I read that also about several months but wasn't sure if that was 3 or like 6-9 I had to wait. I always check my tank at night with an red led flashlight. I hope they are still there and will maybe "kick in" soon. My aiptasia are starting to grow on my coral like the monti caps and it's really starting to P#** me off. I will be breaking this tank down in a couple weeks to upgrade to a 220 so not sure what my next move is. I wonder if the bristle worms in the rock will go after them. I'll let you know if I see any signs at least to give you a first hand expectation as far as seeing results. I'll try to check a little more thoroughly at night also.

Some of the berghia sales companies noted it may take up to 6 or even 9 months to have any impact on aptasia or get a large enough culture going in a big tank to have enough present so you can see them on a regular basis. That's pretty discouraging thinking the $150 you just dropped in the tank might be completely dead and gone or take up to 9 months to appear and be of any impact (and you won't know if they're even there for those first 9 months!). Just as I'm going to do, I'd suggest settting up something like a 20 long plumbed into your main water system and simply culture them. When populations get elevated in the breeding tank you can dump a bunch into the DT. I also keep most of my coral colonies on a peice of rock about 4-5 inches around. I use some superglue to keep them in position and this also allows for easily moving the colony if need be. This will allow me to rotate the coral colonies into the berghia tank if there are any aptasia causing any major harm.

Nearly every one of the sales sites I checked out had very detailed information on how to keep them, acclimate them, how many to add, and what critters to avoid. Bristle worms were listed on every site as being a common troublesome critter for berghia populations. Each site suggested not adding the berghia to the bottom of the tank near any rock bases which are common nesting grounds of bristle worms. It sounded like the bristle worms wouldn't directly seek out the berghia and eat them up, but if they were in close proximity then they would likely end up as a snack. Sounds like a hit or miss potential for any bristle worms within the rockwork potentially causing trouble. Yet another good reason to have a continual culture.

I've already done a fair amount of reasearch, but if anyone has any direct experience in breeding berghia please speak up and tell us about your experiences.

Hope you eventually see some in your tank Paul!! Keep us posted.

Jeremy

 

[nkelr]

i think id keep them out of the display system for good and banish all rocks that have to to a seperate tank with a hob filter. once you have nems in your system i dont care in which part they will spread everywhere. you will have them in places you didnt even think they could go. when i had them bad i was running 2 penguin 350s. i got a canister and took off one. when i cleaned it out i must have scraped out about 50 of them. i only counted about 6 in the display, but they were in my skimmer, filters and everywhere else. i finally got joes juice and started blasting them everytime i saw them. the bigger ones will come back, but if you keep blasting away they will eventually submit. the display will have too many preditors to even keep them for a few days. especially with the sixline and the cb shrimp.

 

[byeung]

that sounds like a nightmare

 

[saltyunderground]

Hi guys. We are a sponsor on reef2reef so I hope you don't mind us adding to your thread.

As you found there is a lot of information on the web about berghia. Some of it is good and some is very bad.

If you want to "breed" berghia the suggestion to set up a small tank to keep them and some aiptasia in is a good one. One of the big untruths you read about online in regard to berghia is the likleyhood that berghia will reproduce in a display tank easily and often. In truth they do reproduce occassionally in display tanks but not often. There are many tiny predators of berghia eggs, and they are often eaten before they hatch.

A berghia's life span in a display tank is at best 6-8 months.

As you review your options, please consider that it is common for aiptasia on rock that is moved from an established to into a new tank to increase in population significantly after the move. It is best to deal with the rock before it is moved.

Please feel free to call or post questions here if you would like more info.

 

[Paul_N]

So in my situation if I put 5 (3 adult 2 juvi) in a 75 gallon DT 2 months ago and have not seen any results do you think there is still hope?

 

[saltyunderground]

I would need more info to help judge.
1) Ballpark about how many aiptasia you have.
2) Are there any peppermint shrimp, agressive wrasses or dottybacks?
3) What reading do you get when you test the nitrates?

 

[jlinzmaier]

i think id keep them out of the display system for good and banish all rocks that have to to a seperate tank with a hob filter. once you have nems in your system i dont care in which part they will spread everywhere. you will have them in places you didnt even think they could go. when i had them bad i was running 2 penguin 350s. i got a canister and took off one. when i cleaned it out i must have scraped out about 50 of them. i only counted about 6 in the display, but they were in my skimmer, filters and everywhere else. i finally got joes juice and started blasting them everytime i saw them. the bigger ones will come back, but if you keep blasting away they will eventually submit. the display will have too many preditors to even keep them for a few days. especially with the sixline and the cb shrimp.

It's entirely unrealistic to entirely move all my LR and corals to a tank full of berghia. I will cycle in the corals (and the rocks their attached to) so the berghia can eat the aptasia that are immediately causing harm.

I have so many tiny ones that joes juice isn't realistic either. Not to mention, I'd rather not be adding any additional chemicals to the tank. The berghia are so appealing becuase they are natural predators.

Hi guys. We are a sponsor on reef2reef so I hope you don't mind us adding to your thread.

As you found there is a lot of information on the web about berghia. Some of it is good and some is very bad.

If you want to "breed" berghia the suggestion to set up a small tank to keep them and some aiptasia in is a good one. One of the big untruths you read about online in regard to berghia is the likleyhood that berghia will reproduce in a display tank easily and often. In truth they do reproduce occassionally in display tanks but not often. There are many tiny predators of berghia eggs, and they are often eaten before they hatch.

A berghia's life span in a display tank is at best 6-8 months.

As you review your options, please consider that it is common for aiptasia on rock that is moved from an established to into a new tank to increase in population significantly after the move. It is best to deal with the rock before it is moved.

Please feel free to call or post questions here if you would like more info.

Thank you very much for your input. Nearly all the sites indicated that berghia would multiply in a DT but it really doesn't matter to me if they really do or not. I'll hopefully be able to keep a steady culture going and continue adding young adults.

Really appreciate your reply!

Jeremy

 

[nkelr]

i didnt know your situation. just offering my input. ive been using joes juice with no ill effects to my tank for a while now. i also know a few other people who use it also. you have to be carfull with it and shut down the flow or it will kill whatever it touches. i dont know how bad they are in your tank though and joes juice isnt realistic if if you got alot of large ones.

 

[nkelr]

also some of the bergia sites give you little aplicators so you can place them closer to the nem so the target it faster. id say like 3 adult bergia would eat a 1 inch nem at a time

 

[jlinzmaier]

i didnt know your situation. just offering my input. ive been using joes juice with no ill effects to my tank for a while now. i also know a few other people who use it also. you have to be carfull with it and shut down the flow or it will kill whatever it touches. i dont know how bad they are in your tank though and joes juice isnt realistic if if you got alot of large ones.

you have to be carfull with it and shut down the flow or it will kill whatever it touches.

That's why I don't want to use it. I know many people do use it with great success (as well as kalk paste) but I've read many horror stories too. I have too many delicate corals and other animals that I don't want to risk injuring.

In my case, I have many very little ones in very tight spaces and very difficult to reach locations. Great for nudi's but not so great for other common treatments.

Appreciate your feeback Nick.

Jeremy

 

[Paul_N]

I would need more info to help judge.
1) Ballpark about how many aiptasia you have. 50+
2) Are there any peppermint shrimp, agressive wrasses or dottybacks? yellow coris wrasse
3) What reading do you get when you test the nitrates? zero

++

 

[saltyunderground]

Sorry I did not see your reply before now.

Typically you should see some difference in your aiptasia population in 4-6 weeks and they should be gone or close to gone around 3 months.

A yellow coris could be a problem for the berghia. The only way to know for sure would be to see it eat a berghia though.

 

[NewMelee]

OK there wasn't any Berghias at the swap and I am going to make an order. If anyone would like to make a group order please let me know. I would like to get this together sand order them asap as I need to address my problem now. Please let me know if you are interested.