Berghia Nudi Group Buy

[thysrof]

Ok let's see who all wants some Berghia Nudi's. i think Nick and I so far.

 

[eternalreef]

I am interested in some.

 

[zeroinverse]

I may be since my current batch will take a while to grow and it will let me harvest a few more rounds of eggs to raise also.

 

[thysrof]

Ok let's give it a couple of days to see who else is interested and then we'll order.

I called Reef pest Solutions yesterday and left a message and haven't heard back.

 

[INOKEA]

I might be too if its worth it

 

[Grant W]

Hector they cleared my tank of aptasia and I had a ton of them. Once they have a chance to get established they are awesome. Mine took a little time because I have three wrasses that were after them but they managed.

 

[zeroinverse]

Grant, how many did you buy initially, and where did you put them?

Did you put them near a large cluster of aiptasia? Or did they have to "walk around" to find them.

Did you say you thought your wrasse had to "nip/eat a few" to get trained that they should not eat aiptasia?

Or did you "pre-charge" the berghias with aiptasia before putting into the tank (so that the fish would recognize they were "filled with poison"?

 

[Grant W]

I initially got 4 juviniles and put two in my DT and two in the frag system. The two in the DT got slaughtered immediately one by mystery wrasse and the other by the purple longfin. The two in the frag tank grew well and multiplied quickly having no wrasses in there. After losing the first couple in the big tank I did some reading about the Burgia regarding the best release methods and getting them loaded up with the toxins and getting to breeding size (1 1/4") then transferred some from the frag tank at night, in a really gnarly area of the rock with some deep crevaces to hide in and also released as a pack to make sure they would easily find one another for mating and tackling some of the bigger aptasia. Then they tore up the aptasia and increased their population to about 40 or so before their food ran out and I sold off as many as I could before they starved.

 

[zeroinverse]

thanks grant!

 

[Reef Bass]

I had more and bigger aiptasia with a higher percentage of total surface coverage than any other tank I've ever seen. Ask Jake. He delivered the berghia to me at the time when my tank was at the lowest point of its life. What wasn't coated in aiptasia was coated in hair algae. It was bad.

I bought six adults and released them at night as a group onto a craggy rock that was loaded with aiptasia. Of course, every rock in my tank at the time was loaded with aiptasia.

I never saw them again for several months and the first sign of effective action I noticed was a reduction in density of aiptasia on the rock onto which they had been released. Then I started finding berghia elsewhere in the tank, and then the population of aiptasia began to reduce rapidly (in reef time). By month 5 or 6 I was aiptasia free and have been since then.

I fiddled around with aiptasia x and copperband butterflies, but it wasn't until I introduced berghia nudibranchs that I was able to completely eradicate aiptasia. If you only have a few aiptasia, you can get them with aiptasia x but once they're well established, berghia are the most effective, most complete solution, imho.

 

[zeroinverse]

Thanks Ken! Your experiences and Grants will make sure I introduce them properly next round.

Ken: what livestock do you have in tank? Shrimp? Wrasse?

 

[mer1]

I would like a few.

 

[Reef Bass]

Ron my bioload is usually light fish wise. I acquired my Melanarus wrasse after eradicating aiptasia. At that time I had a tang, royal gramma, fathead anthias, and a copperband. I also had fire and cleaner shrimps and hermits. A lots of bristle worms.

I recall being concerned that the bristles would simply snarf any eggs they came across and that I'd never be able to build a population. Fortunately that did not happen, or whatever they ate was not sufficient to prevent few from becoming many.

 

[AMAYEU]

FYI and surprised about the peppermint on the list.

Berghia Predators

* Wrasses (except Fairy wrasses).
* Long nosed hawkfish.
* Peppermint shrimp.
* Camel shrimp.
* Some brittle starfish (to a lesser degree).
* Large crabs (Sally Lightfoot, Green legged hermit, etc.)
* Lower rock areas with Bristle worm nests could eat Berghia to protect their eggs.
* Chemicals used for Aiptasia could kill Berghia and Berghia eggs.

 

[thysrof]

Talked to Reef Pest Solutions today. The group buy requires buying 100 to get them now for $9 a piece. He said he would problably sense I have already bought and they may have not made it. He would go $12.95. He reccomended waiting a couple more weeks and look for them. I will ptobalby wait a week or so and them pull the trigger. I'm going to need a commitment of how many you're going to want. If you say a few is that 3?

Thanks

 

[Danny Luu]

The Monaco Shrimp ( Lysmata seticaudata ), which looks really similar to peppermints (Lysmata wurdemanni) will eat aiptasia pretty quick. It might be a bigger target for wrasses though!

 

[zeroinverse]

It makes sense peppermints would eat berghias. Because they want to eat the aiptasia tissue that is inside the aiptasia? That is my guess.

 

[zeroinverse]

Man, they were $8 a piece before. Did they up their prices?

I am looking at getting maybe 6.

Check the berghia thread by Humuhumunukanuka. He ordered them for a group of us from same place. Don't think he ordered $100 of them.

Apparently my single adult berghia laid eggs. Did not release that was possible. But woohoo. Maybe I'll have another clutch of eggs hatch in a few weeks and then raise them for 2 months...

But still want to order some.

 

[Reef Bass]

I paid $15 each for mine. Don't let $12.95 stop you from eliminating aiptasia.

 

[thysrof]

Ron,

It's not $100 for the deal it's 100 berghia to get the discount. That's over $1000. I think we can just buy enough to get us started.