Berghia nudibranch breeding

[maleks.reef]

If you want to grow them on a large scale you will need for the Aipatasia:

1. A large shallow container
2. A heater set for 28 to 29 Celsius
3. Activated carbon as substrate
4. Water movement
5. Tank water
6. Brine shrimp incubater
7. Brine shrimp eggs
8. Air pump
9. Water from a cycled tank with frequent water changes from the cycled tank.

set it all up as you would with any other tank, feed live brine shrimp every couple days and cut the Aipatasia in half every 4 to 6 days.

Why brine specifically? Would tiny flakes or even reef roids not be adequate??

 

[Chrisv.]

I read on another forum that if you cut the aiptasia from the stalk, the stalk will grow with a week. So assuming I take out 15 aiptasia a week, they should all grow back + the new baby ones. This SHOULD lead to a surplus of aiptasia each week.

So, here is my suggestion. Use some of this enthusiasm to do a pilot project for aiptasia production. Grow aiptasia for a month. See how it works I'm your own hands. After a month you will see for yourself what the production rate is, and you will start with lots of food for your nudibranchs.

 

[sixty_reefer]

Why brine specifically? Would tiny flakes or even reef roids not be adequate??

Aipatasia seems to be able to digest brine shrimp faster than other foods.


this has 4 week in between of growth

 

[maleks.reef]

So, here is my suggestion. Use some of this enthusiasm to do a pilot project for aiptasia production. Grow aiptasia for a month. See how it works I'm your own hands. After a month you will see for yourself what the production rate is, and you will start with lots of food for your nudibranchs.

Yes this is what I intend to do. I will keep you updated on the progress.

 

[Chrisv.]

Yes this is what I intend to do. I will keep you updated on the progress.

As odd as it is to say, I hope your aiptasia grow faster than mine did!!

 

[maleks.reef]

Aipatasia seems to be able to digest brine shrimp faster than other foods.


this has 4 week in between of growth

I saw these pics on your thread about aiptasia propagation. Truly amazing how much they multiply. Was there anything unexpected that you think helped grow aiptasia?

 

[maleks.reef]

As odd as it is to say, I hope your aiptasia grow faster than mine did!!

hahah thank you. Why do you think you had trouble growing them?

 

[Tannermule]

Why do you rely on your LFS for aiptaisa? If you irritate and feed them enough you should have hundreds no?

Simple answer is I don't rely on them it's more of a I scratch your back you scratch mine thing. I help them eradicate aiptasia, they give me discounts or wholesale on salt, equipment, or maintenance when I'm gone. It helps build a relationship too. I sell coral to my lfs sometimes for double what others sell it for and that's because I have a relationship. In addition to that I'm also helping the local community worry less about dirty frags. I have 16 frags from one lfs full of aiptasia and tomorrow I take them back and get more. I don't even clean off the frag plugs. If they get nudibranch eggs or a freebie nudibranch I'm ok with that because it helps my local community.
I know it's dumb, but I don't mind it.

 

[sixty_reefer]

I saw these pics on your thread about aiptasia propagation. Truly amazing how much they multiply. Was there anything unexpected that you think helped grow aiptasia?

Most people see Aipatasia like a pest that would survive even outside the water, there is a difference between surviving and thriving, for thriving Aipatasia imo they need the same requirement as any other anemone tank, this means having a trace of no3 and po4 they really do well in high parameters, warmer temperatures is ideal and live food really gets them going, I’ve tried a variety of frozen food and most wouldn’t keep it in. They are also active hunters if you end up giving them live you will be able to observe them hunting the brine shrimp with the tentacles. I strongly recommend activated carbon as a substrate because for some reason the really like to anchor to it, even the little baby’s like it. In my set up I had it plumed directly to my tank just above the sump, so I really got away with a shallow 1gallon container for the Aipatasia and the same for the berguia. Never run out of Aipatasia as they were multiplying every 7 days. One thing to keep an eye for is amphipods you really need To keep they at bay as they can eat all your nudibranch eggs.

 

[maleks.reef]

Most people see Aipatasia like a pest that would survive even outside the water, there is a difference between surviving and thriving, for thriving Aipatasia imo they need the same requirement as any other anemone tank, this means having a trace of no3 and po4 they really do well in high parameters, warmer temperatures is ideal and live food really gets them going, I’ve tried a variety of frozen food and most wouldn’t keep it in. They are also active hunters if you end up giving them live you will be able to observe them hunting the brine shrimp with the tentacles. I strongly recommend activated carbon as a substrate because for some reason the really like to anchor to it, even the little baby’s like it. In my set up I had it plumed directly to my tank just above the sump, so I really got away with a shallow 1gallon container for the Aipatasia and the same for the berguia. Never run out of Aipatasia as they were multiplying every 7 days. One thing to keep an eye for is amphipods you really need To keep they at bay as they can eat all your nudibranch eggs.

Alright so this is what I have so far:
For the aiptasia: small tray that will have carbon and some crush rocks for substrate + heater + air line + daily feedings and irritation/cutting

For the nudis: 2 gal rectangle tank with no substrate + heater + daily feeding of 1 aiptasia per 2 nudis

Do I need an air line for the nudis? Anything else that I missed?

PS: do you think it might be better to use the tray (which comes with top that closes) for the nudis and the 2 gal tank for the aiptasia instead? In terms of surface area, the tank definitely has more.

Thanks!

 

[maleks.reef]

Simple answer is I don't rely on them it's more of a I scratch your back you scratch mine thing. I help them eradicate aiptasia, they give me discounts or wholesale on salt, equipment, or maintenance when I'm gone. It helps build a relationship too. I sell coral to my lfs sometimes for double what others sell it for and that's because I have a relationship. In addition to that I'm also helping the local community worry less about dirty frags. I have 16 frags from one lfs full of aiptasia and tomorrow I take them back and get more. I don't even clean off the frag plugs. If they get nudibranch eggs or a freebie nudibranch I'm ok with that because it helps my local community.
I know it's dumb, but I don't mind it.

I hope to reach this, or at least make money off of them since they are rare as heck here to sustain the hobby on my side.

 

[sixty_reefer]

Alright so this is what I have so far:
For the aiptasia: small tray that will have carbon and some crush rocks for substrate + heater + air line + daily feedings and irritation/cutting

For the nudis: 2 gal rectangle tank with no substrate + heater + daily feeding of 1 aiptasia per 2 nudis

Do I need an air line for the nudis? Anything else that I missed?

PS: do you think it might be better to use the tray (which comes with top that closes) for the nudis and the 2 gal tank for the aiptasia instead? In terms of surface area, the tank definitely has more.

Thanks!

If just add that because you going with two external systems you will need cycling those tanks, also try and keep some tube fittings or small rock in the nudibranch tank as they are nocturnal, during the day they like to hide.

 

[Chrisv.]

hahah thank you. Why do you think you had trouble growing them?

I think I was unrealistic about how long it takes to grow them. They do need proper care to thrive. That's why I suggested the tank with a HOB filter. The salinity swings in an open shallow tray will not be ideal for growth.

 

[maleks.reef]

I think I was unrealistic about how long it takes to grow them. They do need proper care to thrive. That's why I suggested the tank with a HOB filter. The salinity swings in an open shallow tray will not be ideal for growth.

the tray does come with a lid that clicks on so I could potentially drill a hole for the heater wire and air line, should minimize evaporation alot.

 

[Tannermule]

Most people see Aipatasia like a pest that would survive even outside the water, there is a difference between surviving and thriving, for thriving Aipatasia imo they need the same requirement as any other anemone tank, this means having a trace of no3 and po4 they really do well in high parameters, warmer temperatures is ideal and live food really gets them going, I’ve tried a variety of frozen food and most wouldn’t keep it in. They are also active hunters if you end up giving them live you will be able to observe them hunting the brine shrimp with the tentacles. I strongly recommend activated carbon as a substrate because for some reason the really like to anchor to it, even the little baby’s like it. In my set up I had it plumed directly to my tank just above the sump, so I really got away with a shallow 1gallon container for the Aipatasia and the same for the berguia. Never run out of Aipatasia as they were multiplying every 7 days. One thing to keep an eye for is amphipods you really need To keep they at bay as they can eat all your nudibranch eggs.

Last month out of curiosity I wanted to see what they could survive in for a week. Below are some of my stupid one off non scientific test.

Salinity: 1.036-1.014
Light: 8 days without light (kept it in a drawer in a speciman cup)
"Shipping": similar to above
Temps : 92°f and it was still alive after 2 days of that. Didn't want to burn down my house so I stopped.

These were all separate Aipatasia kept in these conditions because I wanted to see. Kept them in a petco 1.5 gallon cube I used as an ato awhile back.

 

[Chrisv.]

Last month out of curiosity I wanted to see what they could survive in for a week. Below are some of my stupid one off non scientific test.

Salinity: 1.036-1.014
Light: 8 days without light (kept it in a drawer in a speciman cup)
"Shipping": similar to above
Temps : 92°f and it was still alive after 2 days of that. Didn't want to burn down my house so I stopped.

These were all separate Aipatasia kept in these conditions because I wanted to see. Kept them in a petco 1.5 gallon cube I used as an ato awhile back.

They can totally tolerate a lot... getting them to thrive for mass production, I'm not sure.

 

[Chrisv.]

I found aiptasia and nudibranch production to take more effort than caring for my two reef tanks, combined.

 

[maleks.reef]

I found aiptasia and nudibranch production to take more effort than caring for my two reef tanks, combined.

From what aspect exactly? Also can you walk me through your set up?

 

[sixty_reefer]

Last month out of curiosity I wanted to see what they could survive in for a week. Below are some of my stupid one off non scientific test.

Salinity: 1.036-1.014
Light: 8 days without light (kept it in a drawer in a speciman cup)
"Shipping": similar to above
Temps : 92°f and it was still alive after 2 days of that. Didn't want to burn down my house so I stopped.

These were all separate Aipatasia kept in these conditions because I wanted to see. Kept them in a petco 1.5 gallon cube I used as an ato awhile back.

It’s a good thing you stopped they are really resilient, I tried to dip them in freshwater for a extended period of time in the past and they all survived.

 

[Chrisv.]

From what aspect exactly? Also can you walk me through your set up?

As you can surmise from above, I had trouble growing aiptasia fast enough and I had trouble with amphipods. I had a three gallon aiptasia grow out tank and a gallon or so nudibranch tank. Substrate was calcium reactor media in both. I used an air pump with no air stone and small heater in both.