hey all, I’m having a pretty bad aiptasia outbreak in my big reef tank. Too many to get under control with aiptasia x. I have three tangs and a tuskfish that have been well established for two year, so adding another fish or peppermint shrimp are out of the question. Anyone know if a 4 inch tusk would likely think of berghias as a quick snack?
Berghias and predators
- Thread starter ZachR32
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CC13
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I am in the process of QT'ing a Kien Butterfly which will eat my aiptasia. I would need to buy far too many Berghia (and they are not cheap), to even put a dent and then they will starve to death after the Aiptasia is all gone which I am not really down for.
I tried Aiptasia X, Joe's Juice and Kalk paste. None worked and Aiptasia population seemed to explode after me trying to kill the few I had. I think when they are threatened they release spores in the water which makes sense as survival is any animals main goal.
They would usually be on the menu for any type of wrasse. I've always had good results with aiptasia x, I probably have to use it about 3 times a year. I believe people that report an explosion in population after use, likely don't leave their pumps off long enough for them to die completely. If you turn everything off and are really careful, they come right to feed on the juice, then you must leave the pumps off for the prescribed time to allow them to die completely. If not you blow the spores all over the tank and therefore contribute to the re-distribution of their population.
Berghia are food for nearly anything that can find them. They also can struggle with even normal reef tank flow and not come out into the strong waters. These really do better in species only tank where they are very prolific.
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Risky business. I recommend aptasia wand or a copperband butterfly. Copperbands are hit and miss as are peppermint shrimp. My best success is manually injecting and watching them melt
For anybody wondering about peppermints, they are not all equal. The ones from the Florida Keys are nearly always good aip eaters whereas the ones from the rest of the gulf are so/so. You can order then directly from a Keys diver. They also usually need reared for a few weeks in a fuge or sump until they molt once and grow a bit. After this, I find that they will tackle all but the largest aips with vigor (you sometimes have to knock back the larger ones with some kalk).
Don't ever get rid of your aip eaters when you don't see any more. You truly are not rid of them... there are a few hiding out where the consumers cannot get to them and they will repopulate once you get rid of your butterfly fish, peppermints or matted file fish.
Matted File Fish can do a good job... they are kinda hit and miss as well.
Don't ever get rid of your aip eaters when you don't see any more. You truly are not rid of them... there are a few hiding out where the consumers cannot get to them and they will repopulate once you get rid of your butterfly fish, peppermints or matted file fish.
Matted File Fish can do a good job... they are kinda hit and miss as well.
