Bhergia experiment.

mrcoffee2 · Oct 18, 2014

I bought this crazy rock from my LFS today... Look at all those delicious aiptasia mmmhmmmmmm.

I am going to sick some bhergia nudis on them to see if I can make them multiply easily. I currently have a thriving population of bhergia in my 16G but the aiptasia is almost 100% gone. Since I paid $140 for these little guys I thought it would be fun to try and see how easy it is to keep them going after they have finished their job. Incase more aiptasia pops up it would be good to have them on hand!

Currently have a 10G with a HOB filter. Been running for about 1 month now. Started with tank water

I'll pull 5-6 bhergia out tomorrow and place them in the tank. I anticipate the aiptasia lasting 1 month but some of those babies are BIG thats going to need a big bhergia! Anyways should be fun, i'll keep this post updated for those that are interested.

mrcoffee2 · Oct 19, 2014

It was harder than I thought to find the bhergia today. Luckily they found one of my last large aiptasias in my 16g this morning. I found 3 bhergia faces buried into the aiptasia. I pulled 2 just because I really want that aiptasia gone

Here are my champions:

Sivir the light colored one
Garen the darker larger one.

Welcome to aiptasia rift!

Babies will spawn in 15 days... I hope

mrcoffee2 · Oct 19, 2014

I thought id also note that when I was looking at the rock while introducing the nudis. I watched a baby aiptasia get squirted out of the middle of the rock. Then parachute down to the bottom. Look at that, its like aiptasia is military equipped! I tried snapping a pic as it was falling but it did not work.

SeahorseKeeper · Oct 19, 2014

I'll be following along. I have been looking for berghia for my tank.

mrcoffee2 · Oct 19, 2014

Great! If it works I'll ship you some

fishroomlady · Oct 19, 2014

very cool looking berghia - good luck! should be interesting to watch the progress

Longnose Hawkfish · Oct 19, 2014

Interesting. I wonder how long that rock will last.

mrcoffee2 · Oct 19, 2014

Longnose Hawkfish said:
Interesting. I wonder how long that rock will last.

Initially my guess was a month. I am leaning towards 1.5-2 months now. The rock is about 6lbs

TruRacr314x · Oct 19, 2014

I had some bhergia...they fixed my Aiptasia problem in about a month. Pretty sure they're gone now....interested to see how your experiment works!

ReeferEric · Oct 19, 2014

I tried these little guys before but could not succeed. Ended up going with peppermint shrimp and they took care of it.

Marterves · Oct 20, 2014

Following to see how it goes!

ReeferBob · Oct 21, 2014

If you are looking to ship some, I have a really bad aiptasia problem!

Daniel@R2R · Oct 22, 2014

Following!

Bow · Oct 22, 2014

Definitely following along. I've tried the peppermint shrimp and had no luck. Have a bio cube in the basement I'm growing some aptasia in.

bsagea · Oct 22, 2014

We raised berghias with some success for about a year. Our nursery somehow became infected with pods which eats the eggs and coils. Getting them to hatch became increasingly difficult with the number of pods as well as
difficulty trying to sustain enough aiptasia to keep them fed. We eventually found a place in Raleigh NC which carries the species of peppermint shrimps that are proven aiptasia eaters. Great thing about the shrimps is that they
can live on other foods unlike the bergias which begin to die off if they do not any aiptasia after five days.
Good luck with your experiment! They truly are amazing creatures.

Threesixright · Oct 22, 2014

I would be interested in some too! So if you decide you want to sell and ship some let me know!

mrcoffee2 · Nov 7, 2014

Here is a small update! They have pretty much ate all of the tiny ones and are working now towards the larger heads. I got a pic of all 3 of them today, they have doubled in size. 2 of them are a good inch now!

They seem to stick together pretty well. Hopefully they start breeding soon.

mrcoffee2 · Jan 9, 2015

Update**

IT WORKED! Sivir and Garen succeeded! All aiptasia in the tank is gone 2.5 months later. I have been so poor at taking care of this tank, at times letting it reach almost 30-40% water evap and the temp has at times dropped below 60 degrees. Honestly I thought this was a failed experiment... However this afternoon I went to change the laundry and I looked over and saw a HUGE bhergia. After closer inspection there was tons! It looks like they are roaming and have about 1-2 weeks of life left I would say. Here is a pic of some that I quickly harvested, and will be bringing to my local swap.

Bow · Jan 9, 2015

Nice. Let me know if you want to get rid of any

phillrodrigo · Jan 9, 2015

I want some too. They do work great. I was given 2 berghia. They munched on most of them but died before they got all of them. I'm surprised with as easy as they are to breed and how many of us have aptasia issues more aren't breeding and selling them.