Berghia buy...

[NewMelee]

Figured I would put up another thread. I am going to be making an order to Salty Underground for some Berghias. Looking to see if anyone else is ready to buy. I will give this a few days for anyone interested to chime in before I order.

Here is their info: Salty Underground

 

[jlinzmaier]

I'd get in on the order with you Ryan, but I need to let my aptasia tank get established with a bit more aptasia since I plan to culture the berghia. Sounds silly to have a species only "aptasia tank", but it's a fun little project and a necessity to successfully keep the berghia with a constant supply of food.

Jeremy

 

[NewMelee]

I'm going to be trying to farm them allso for at least as long as I need them in my display. Longer if possible.

 

[jlinzmaier]

I'm going to be trying to farm them allso for at least as long as I need them in my display. Longer if possible.

That'll be great to have a few of us culturing them so we can keep them available to the club.

Make sure you have enough of a supply of aptasia to keep the berghia fed well. I read on many sites that each adult berghia can consume a medium to large sized aptasia on a daily basis. If I get a chance I'll post a pic of my little aptasia tank. It's just a 10 gal tank with some substrate on the bottom then nearly filled with frag rack (one peice stacked on top of another), a powerhead, some chaeto, and a $5 little heater from Wal-mart. My thought with using the frag rack was that it will provide lots of surface area for the aptasia to grow on as well as allow for easy removal of the aptasia for feeding. All I'll need to do is cut/twist out the little peice of frag rack that an aptasia is growing on and put it in the berghia container. That prevents me from having to put heavy peices of rock into a little berghia container as well as providing the opportunity to feed very small aptasia to the young berghia and large aptasia to the larger berghia. It'll also allow me to be sure that when I remove the old frag rack peices I won't be inadvertently taking out any tiny berghia. Adding peices of rock will give them lots of area to hide and holes to crawl into. That may lead to accidently removing the berghia with the removal of the rock once the aptasia have been consumed.

What did you have in mind for a berghia culture system and aptasia cultivation??

Jeremy

 

[2FarNorth]

Great place to deal with! If I was closer I would be joining in on the order, I need some different strains in my tank!!

 

[NewMelee]

As of right now I am putting my colony into my frag tank, and going from there. I have what I would consider a fairly severe problem.

Once I see the numbers growing in the frag tank I am going to start to move them into my display a few at a time. And in several different locations. Once I have established that I can breed them, I have a 30 gal tank that was used as my iso tank but could be used as an aptasia tank as well. Growing the aptasia seems to be the easy part for now

I have also come across another company, that has a testimonial by a trusted reefer, that sells them at a reduced rate.

other site: http://berghiadirect.webs.com/

 

[jlinzmaier]

I came across this berghia breeding process from inland aquatics.

Inland Aquatics' Guide to Maintaining the Aiptasia Eating Nudibranch, Berghia Verrucicornis

At the bottom of that page:

INSTRUCTIONS FOR PLACING BERGHIA IN THE AQUARIUM​

1. Nudis should not be added to a reef tank until they are over half an inch in length. Even at that size, Butterflies and Peppermint Shrimp may be able to eat them.
2. Berghia are nocturnal and prefer subdued flow. It is best to add them with the lights off and place them in minimal flow. POWER HEADS EAT Nudibranchs!
3. Refugia are ideal for nudi placement! Move a continuous supply of AIPTASIA to the refugium to keep your "breeders" fat and prolific. Larvae will migrate and go to work on AIPTASIA in other parts of the system. If traumatic pumps interfere, move some of the juveniles manually.
4. Be careful not to drop your nudis on Aiptasia when adding them to your tank. When given the chance, AIPTASIA EAT BERGHIA. The nudis make their living by sneaking up on their prey. A small pipette is great for moving the animals. Break off the tip for larger adults. Be gentle.
5. The best thing to do when the nudis arrive from Inland is to remove the cap on the shipping
6. vial and place it on/against rock or the side of the aquarium. Leave the vial in the tank until they crawl out on their own. (They will do so more quickly in the dark.)

HOLDING BERGHIA IN JARS​

A little preparation will greatly increase your chances of successfully rearing some nudi hatchlings. Aiptasia reproduce most prolifically when left in the dark, especially in regard to the tiny anemones required for young post larvae.

1. A WEEK OR TWO BEFORE YOU INTEND TO RECEIVE YOUR ORDER, Collect a dozen or more large Aiptasia and place them in two Mason jars with water from your system. Be careful not to add much anemone slime as this may cause water quality problems. Plastic pipettes are great for collecting Aiptasia!
2. Mark the water line on the side of each jar with a Sharpie.
3. Cover the jars with a very loose lid.
4. Place the jars in a cabinet or some other very dark place with a relatively stable temperature.
5. Top the cultures off with fresh water each week to keep the level at the fill line.
6. Upon arrival, place the new Berghia in one of the jars. The other is to be used as a reservoir for feeder Aiptasia.

I may order double what I had planned on and try the process outlined by Calfo and also try this jar technique.

I'm lucky enough to just be getting a few small aptasia popping up here and there in my DT. I have a lot growing in the overflows where I can scrape them off as I siphon then out and put them in their new aptasia vacation tank.

Jeremy