So you think you've got aipstia?

[sixline]

Check this out. 100 gallon high nutrient tank. This is just part of the tank giving an example of how densely they are covering everything.

I added 16 berghia nudibranch on April 18th, and another 19 on August 5th.

As I said it's a messy tank. I've got five engineer gobies, so they stir up a lot of detritus on a regular basis. The tank is not really stocked that heavily and I don't feed heavily, but I probably under skim a bit. I am planning on upgrading my skimmer in the next couple of weeks.

Stay tuned...

 

[IanK]

Terrifying

 

[samnaz]

Honestly if aiptasia didn't sting other corals I wouldn't mind it. Although I've never actually had it, knock on wood, so maybe I don't truly understand! ;-)

 

[sixline]

Honestly if aiptasia didn't sting other corals I wouldn't mind it. Although I've never actually had it, knock on wood, so maybe I don't truly understand! ;-)

Yeah, I think they're actually kind of cool. But I do not like them messing with my other corals.

 

[Marten]

I would call that tank berghia heaven, if they didn't fall into any aiptasia by accident. Depending on how big the berghia were when you put them in, I say give it couple more months before you see a big dent in your aiptasia breeding program.

 

[sixline]

I don't think the berghia are helping. I wonder if they're still in there.

I know it's common to keep thinking they're not working and then all of a sudden they work, but I put a large number in and it's been a pretty long time.

What does everyone think?

display tank size: 100g
berghia added: 16 on April 18th, and another 19 on August 5th.

possible predators: aipstia themselves, emerald crabs, clownfish, engineer gobies, royal gramma, pajama cardinals

I really don't think the emerald crabs, royal gramma or pajama cardinals would eat them and there are a lot of hidden places for eggs. I also have no other crabs besides the emeralds.

 

[sixline]

I haven't seen a dent in the aipstia population in my tank. As a matter of fact they may be increasing. One of the reasons I took the videos I shared in the opening post is to compare and remind myself of the condition my tank was in.

I thought maybe all the berghia had died or were eaten. I was considering plunking down $500+ to just order 50 of them from Salty Underground, but I figured I'd give them another month to see if they started reproducing and doing some work on the aipstia in my tank.

About a week ago, I couldn't sleep so I took a red headlamp I have and gave my tank a good look over at 3am - looking for berghia and any other interesting nocturnal creatures I could find. It was fun, but I didn't see a single nudibranch. I was hoping to see a horde of them getting all medieval on a giant aipstia, but no such luck.

But...yesteday just as the lights were about to go off I was looking at my tank and I saw an adult berghia. It was just slinking around and moved past several aipstia before disappearing into a crack in the rock. That really gave me hope that they may eventually be effective. Stay tuned...

 

[Saltyreef]

Franks F aiptasia will help thin the heard. Works great on the majano infestation i have.
Looks similar to your infestation just a different anemone lol.

I actually let it sit for 8 hours and then siphon the majanos bodies out as they loosen up from the rockwork.

 

[Jib]

I haven't seen a dent in the aipstia population in my tank.

Major bummer. I watched the Inappropriate Reefer video when he added them to his Mangrove Tank. They erradicated his aptasia so fast he was looking for aptasia to feed them.

You have any fish to that eat Nudi's?

 

[Miller535]

I call that time to reboot.

 

[TriggerFinger]

As many as you bought, you should have a booming population considering their food source is very plentiful. Did you get the first two batches from salty underground too?

 

[sixline]

Major bummer. I watched the Inappropriate Reefer video when he added them to his Mangrove Tank. They erradicated his aptasia so fast he was looking for aptasia to feed them.

It is kind of a fun and fascinating experiment.

You have any fish to that eat Nudi's?

Not sure, but I think nothing too bad. I posted my stock list up above in post #6.

 

[sixline]

As many as you bought, you should have a booming population considering their food source is very plentiful. Did you get the first two batches from salty underground too?

No, from reef town. But they seemed very healthy and active, and I acclimated and released them very carefully.

 

[Sleeping Giant]

Mine took awhile, but with them and peppermint shrimp, my aipstatia is disappearing slowly

 

[jda]

Turn the pumps off and nike a bunch of them with kalk paste. It is easy, feels good and works well. Just a small amount on each one works. You can never get them all, so have some predators around.

 

[User1]

No need for a reboot. Just pull out a light at night and see what is going on. You will either see the berghia or you won't. If you don't then you have your answer. On the other hand if you want to rid them pick up a biota captive bred matted filefish. You will see a noticeable decline.

At this point it would be a easier solution even if it picked at some corals you have. Mine went after frogspawn and duncan corals (very young or small frags) and zoa's.

 

[Sleeping Giant]

My Berghia Nudibranchs come out in the light and during lights out...they don't fight in packs either, but that's just my aquarium. Might be different for others.

 

[sixline]

I postponed my retirement by another week by adding another 20 berghia today.

If I don't see a change in the next month or so I may consider getting a filefish.

 

[Crashnt24]

It is kind of a fun and fascinating experiment.



Not sure, but I think nothing too bad. I posted my stock list up above in post #6.

Your engineer gobies will eat your berghia. I had a pair of engineers that ate any small fish, shrimp or nudis. I can guarentee you, that they just got a expensive meal. How large are they? Could you rehome them temporarily while you give the berghia another shot? If not, I wouldn't do berghia again unless you target fed the fish 3 times daily to make sure they are full on food that you want them to eat.

 

[nanchil]

man.. that's Aipstia heaven ... I had more than that .... Got one file fish and it cleared everything.. took around 4 months so... Good luck ...