Well... I bought Berghia Nudibranchs...

[DaneGer21]

How do you remove them from your tank?

Essentially you don’t, unless you are lucky to find them. If not they die off from starving and that’s how their “removed”.

 

[Deiblerj]

Essentially you don’t, unless you are lucky to find them. If not they die off from starving and that’s how their “removed”.

Yeah that’s my question, if your Aiptasia is gone and you see them. How do you catch them to sell or put in a holding tank with Aiptasia rocks

 

[DaneGer21]

Yeah that’s my question, if your Aiptasia is gone and you see them. How do you catch them to sell or put in a holding tank with Aiptasia rocks

Usually when you buy them from a supplier they send you an oversized eye dropper. That’s how you remove them from the shipping container; just make sure you keep it IF you think you’ll be lucky enough to find them.

 

[minus9]

Use a large turkey baster with a wide mouth and carefully draw them up. If you want to create a temp holding container, simply use a Styrofoam or plastic cup, cut holes in it and wrap it with black nylon stocking. This allows water to pass and it's easier to see them against the black nylon.

 

[minus9]

Also, it's easier to catch them at night when they're active. I would strongly encourage everyone to save them and pass them on, instead of letting them parish and starve to death. You probably can't save them all, but at least try.

 

[Ron Reefman]

@Zeal, I just looked at my tank with a flashlight at 5:30am for the first time in months. I was shocked at how much more the aiptasia were out and wide open!

So I'm planing to tear my current tank down and move everything into 2 holding tanks. One for critters, rock and coral that are aiptasia free, and a second tank for rocks that have aiptasia. Then I can work on the aiptasia myself, or by peppermint shrimp, or by a file fish or even by berghia.

So I'm really interested in following your progress. I hope your wrasse and/or emerald crab didn't eat the berghia. But I seriously doubt they would. Berghia incorporate the nematocysts from the aiptasia into the ruffles along their back as a form of protection.

 

[Deiblerj]

@Zeal, I just looked at my tank with a flashlight at 5:30am for the first time in months. I was shocked at how much more the aiptasia were out and wide open!

So I'm planing to tear my current tank down and move everything into 2 holding tanks. One for critters, rock and coral that are aiptasia free, and a second tank for rocks that have aiptasia. Then I can work on the aiptasia myself, or by peppermint shrimp, or by a file fish or even by berghia.

So I'm really interested in following your progress. I hope your wrasse and/or emerald crab didn't eat the berghia. But I seriously doubt they would. Berghia incorporate the nematocysts from the aiptasia into the ruffles along their back as a form of protection.

I would assume every rock in your system is infected. I tried the isolation method and quickly realized there was more than I could see

 

[Ron Reefman]

I would assume every rock in your system is infected. I tried the isolation method and quickly realized there was more than I could see

Oh, I know how bad it can be. And I appreciate the advise. But I don't have too many aiptasia and I have lots of smaller rocks in my unusual rockscape (built on an egg crate platform). And once I've torn it down I have to do some re-plumbing of the bathroom through the dining room wall (where the tank will end up) and I have to build a new top for the stand so the new 30" (front to back) tank will fit. So I expect to have lots of time while all the work is being done (mostly by me!).

 

[Deiblerj]

Oh, I know how bad it can be. And I appreciate the advise. But I don't have too many aiptasia and I have lots of smaller rocks in my unusual rockscape (built on an egg crate platform). And once I've torn it down I have to do some re-plumbing of the bathroom through the dining room wall (where the tank will end up) and I have to build a new top for the stand so the new 30" (front to back) tank will fit. So I expect to have lots of time while all the work is being done (mostly by me!).

Good luck with the project!

 

[DaneGer21]

I would not tear down for a few aptasia, the nudis will find them regardless. I know you say it’s for a few other reasons, but the nudis WILL find them.

 

[jd371]

It took 3 months before I noticed anything happening in my 75g tank. They go after the Aptasia that's deep in the rocks first before venturing out to the ones on the rocks in plain sight, so you won't notice anything for sometime if you just placed them in the tank.

 

[Waboss]

I've used them a few times over the past 20+ years. Every time they worked wonders, but they take time. Usually I didn't see any changes (or the nudis for that point) for the first 3 weeks or so. Then all of a sudden, aptasia started disappearing pretty rapidly. After a couple of weeks more, my tank was aptasia free.

 

[Leadfooted]

Hey @Zeal ! Reef town's great, I'm about to order some myself, again lol. I found a huge one in my overflow that kept spitting out babies over time so check there if you have one. I never see the nudi's after adding them to my tanks. Well, I say never but I did on one occasion find one that grew pretty big, never saw it again. I think one time took about a month for all to disappear but you'll see some quick work from these guys overall. Good luck bud

 

[BeejReef]

Can Berghias be baited and trapped? Like, could you put a small aptasia rock in a jar or something, set an alarm for 4a.m., and pull some out to prevent starvation?

 

[minus9]

Can Berghias be baited and trapped? Like, could you put a small aptasia rock in a jar or something, set an alarm for 4a.m., and pull some out to prevent starvation?

You could, but when they're hungry, you should be able to spot them out and about looking for food. Sometimes you'll get lucky and find them as soon as the lights come on in the morning.

 

[RichtheReefer21]

Heres a timelapse I caught of 1 going hannibal on the aips in my QT. Then, unbelievably, another comes strolling in to join.

 

[Midrats]

Do berghia taste bad or something? How do they get past hunting fish?

 

[minus9]

I've witnessed 5 to 6 berghia gang up on one aiptasia. It's fun to watch.
Berghia probably have a strong defense right after they consume an aiptasia (you will notice their cerata will be darker, similar to the color of aiptasia), but I imagine when they're back to pure white, some wrasses can get past this if they're hungry enough. If you have peppermint shrimp in with them, then they will likely eat the berghia eggs.

 

[Deiblerj]

Will a skunk cleaner shrimp be an issue or emerald crabs, or hermits?

 

[mta_morrow]

They definitely work! IME you may never see them again however depending on how bad an infestation you have you will one day wake up and notice 90% of the aiptasia vanished. Could be 2, 3 or even 4 months just be patient and when you finally decide they must’ve died and didn’t do anything they’ll start working

Exactly how it worked for me!