My Berghia Verrucicornis Nudibranch Breeding Tank Log *pics*

All right, I'm over the idea of keeping seahorses in mason jars. Actually, this is an interesting idea, and I'm going to go along for the ride. One of the great things about reefing is that thinking and then trying out the idea that comes from it often gets great results. I hope that's the way this plays out.
 
If you ever need more aiptasia I'd be glad to help. Good luck and post more pics when the Bergia are settled in. You may inspire me to give Berghia another shot.
My problem was probably that hatched Bergia didn't eat the Aiptasia in the tank. Aiptasia was in the middle of a 10 gallon on some rock, maybe they never left the glass or got lost and never found the Aiptasia. Perhaps cutting up an Aipsasia when eggs hatch would give them a better chance at feeding. Or perhaps placing the eggs in a smaller container would give them a better chance at maturing.
 
Update:

I just recieved my first batch of Berghia. I ordered 2 packs of 3 for a total of six but they actually sent 7. Wooopieee! It actually makes me feel a little better sice these freakin guys were so expensive. And thats not even getting into shipping!

Anyway, here are some shots of them still in the bag. They are currently temp acclimating in 2 different tanks. They seem very healthy! I was very impressed with the packaging and overall service of Inland Aquatics!



nudi1.jpg


nudi3.jpg


nudi2.jpg


nudi4.jpg


nudi.jpg
 
Congrats on the new arrivals. Thanks for the update, I have been wondering what was going on with your project.
 
Can we stop bickering and let sulp do his thing?

I'm glad you went ahead and continued you "quest". they look realy good! For some reason I didn't think that they'd be that small though.

keep us posted!
 
Actually, they are kinda big (although not full grown) and a few months old.

I just finished acclimating 3 of them in my display tank and had to get back to work. The other 4 are still acclimating in the breeding tank and will have to wait until I get home in about another hour.

Man...What a PIA to get them out of the bag and into the tank! They are so sensitive and if irritated they will shed their "quills" like a porcupine which isn't really good for them and could cause them to die. A few "quills" is ok however.

The ones in my display disappeared within about 10 minutes of putting them in. It is highly likely that I will never see them again. I should however see the aiptasia disappearing as well within a week or 2. Thankfully most of my aiptaisa is confined to one large piece of Tonja in which all of the nudis were placed. I did everything right so now its just wait and see if my problem starts to go away.

As for the breeding, I will post some updated pics tonight of the 4 that will be fed with the ever growing supply of aiptasia in an effort to successfully reproduce them.

Oh...I almost forgot. In the breeding tank (see original picture of aiptasia tank) I was hearing the dreaded clicking noise. I located the rock (the biggest on in that tank) it was coming from and began to search every crevas and low and behold I found him. Can't tell weather it's a mantis or a pistol because he is in a nice hidden cavern and is pretty small. I got a dark glimpse of his body and eyes but couldn't make a positive ID. I've yet to make a decision on what I am going to do. I'll keep ya posted.
 
sulp said:
Can't tell weather it's a mantis or a pistol because he is in a nice hidden cavern and is pretty small. I got a dark glimpse of his body and eyes but couldn't make a positive ID. I've yet to make a decision on what I am going to do. I'll keep ya posted.
Click to expand...


Will they eat your Nudi's?
 
sulp, that is so awesome!!!! I cannot wait to hear the progress you WILL be making please keep us posted. I like to hear someone who has done all of the leg work to make sure that the little adventure they are taking on will be healthy for the animals they are dealing with. I really think you will be successfull in this venture. best of luck to you and keep us all posted :beer:
 
Grnatn- No these nudi's ONLY eat aiptaisa. Thats why they are so good at clearing tanks rather quickly. The down side is that once the aiptasia is gone, the nudis die. Originally I was only going to get them to clear up my tank that has recently started getting a lot of small aiptasia with some new rock purchases. Since then I have been reading a lot on breeding these guys and figured I'd give it a shot.

graphixx- Thanks! Hopefully all will go well and I will be able to share some of these nudis with you guys.

anthworks- Thanks as well! Now that i finally got the first batch of these guys I can really start getting busy. For a while there I was just watching a tank full of UGLY aiptasia grow and spread. Pretty boring!

Yes, Im sure that given the chance the mantis/pistol would go after these nudis which poses a slight problem that I haven't totally figured out how I am going to handle. I definatley don't want to kill the manitis/pistol. It may not totally eat the nudi because they have a pretty potent sting but even still the nudi would get so damaged in the process that it probably make it. And also, the nudis will never just be thrown in the aiptasia tank anyway. They have a small closed off area of the tank that will keep them safe. But still I have to get him out at some point.

Thanks again all! I can't wait to watch these guys devour a nudi. And now that I have the ability to post videos I will definatley be posting a video or 2 of the carnage.
 
sulp said:

Thanks again all! I can't wait to watch these guys devour a nudi. And now that I have the ability to post videos I will definatley be posting a video or 2 of the carnage.
Click to expand...


Ummmm...Check that. I can't wait to watch the nudi devour an aiptasia.


Oh and to clear something up. There are rumors that large aiptasia will eat these nudis. That is FALSE. Yes, an aiptasia could eat a juvenile nudi but not adult (like my size) ones. I have read quite a few stories about this and finally got the correct information. In fact, I was told by an expert that "For Fun" you could drop a nudi into a large aiptasia and the aiptasia would swallow it. Wait a few minutes and you would see the nudi climb back out of its mouth (****ed off) and immediatley start ripping it apart. Wouldn't that be soooo freakin' cool to watch. I don't know if I am at that point yet but I'd definatley like to try it.
 
btw do not expect these guys to clean your tank of aiptasia. they will kill off MOST of the aiptasia then starve befor they can get the last few.. so in another week or two.. infection is back lol
 
Good thing they arent the colorful nudis or they would be $100 a pop.

:rollface:

Very cool project. Cant wait to see the outcome.

How fast can a nudi eat say a large aiptasia?
 
reefmaint - Maybe so, but these guys can actually last a pretty long time without any aiptasia. Also, colony size will inrcease given there is enough aiptaisa. As the aiptasia dwindles so will the size of the nudi colonies. If the aiptasia starts to spread again, these small colonies will also start to increase again. Also, I don't mind having a few small aiptasia in remote areas as long as it doesn't get out of hand. But you'd be suprised how effecient these nudis can be. It's pretty amazing that given their size they can be so productive. I guess I'll just wait and see what happens. It seems that you may have some knowledge on this subject. What experiences have you had with them? Please share, thats why I started this thread.
 
Last night after a long and careful acclimation into the breeding tank, I had the nudis in the holding area. They seemed kinda stressed but healthy. I took 1 med. size aiptasia (approx. 1/2" diameter disk) and placed it in with them. Until I went to bed they never even noticed it. This morning my father (the breedign tank is a his house) called me and told me that they were all over it. They had all turned a deep brown and plumped up a bit. Needless to say I was happy to hear that they were eating. I wasn't there so I don't have any pics but tonight and this weekend I will try to get pics of them eating.

Zedar - It depends how many are eating. With larger aiptasia these nudis tend to work together as a group and can go through one pretty quickly. They actually sneak up on the larger ones from all sides.
 
CONGRATULATIONS!!! This is a very exciting thread. You wouldn't happen to have a simple microscope to record information that you see that can't be posted as pics would you? When they lay eggs a sample examined under a microscope would be awesome.
 
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