peppermint shrimp or berghia?

[ReeferScooter]

Have peppermint shrimp and no signs of aiptasia. so i would guess they are eating something else good for a CUC

 

[MrLeemr]

I used three peppermint shrimps in a 33long that was totally infested, its been a couple of months now not one sign of a single aptaisa to speak of.

 

[potterjon]

Does the skimmer suck up the berghia, or reactor pumps or anything else in the tank or sump for that matter? Certainly people can't be turning off their skimmers for two months. Actually, I could deal with that but what about power heads and return pumps?

 

[psidriven]

Does the skimmer suck up the berghia, or reactor pumps or anything else in the tank or sump for that matter? Certainly people can't be turning off their skimmers for two months. Actually, I could deal with that but what about power heads and return pumps?

just make sure to introduce them carefully into the tank to insure that they don't get swept into the water column. once they are on hardscape they generally won't get blown away by current.

most people use a smaller turkey baster or other syringe to put them on liverock right next to aptasia. can't hurt to turn off the return pump/powerheads too.

 

[accordsirh22]

i have always had good luck with peppermints eating them, i train them to eat aiptasia at the lfs i work at as well. all of them go into tanks where there are aiptasia rocks, and they dont get fed anything til they are gone

 

[acesq]

I put 12 berghia in my tank last week. Turned off the powerheads and used a baster to place them in the rock near aiptasia. After an hour, turned the powerheads back on. So far, no visible signs that they are eating the aiptasia, but its probably too early to tell.

I am worried that my mandarin or my chaoti wrasse may eat the berghia. Anybody know?

 

[TampaSnooker]

They will take a few weeks. It's not the first batch that eats the aiptasia but their offspring. Also - they hunt in groups. Single berghia vs aiptasia probably means the aiptasia will win. Look for egg masses - a c shaped ribbon or small swirl. I doubt the mandarin will eat them but the wrasse is a concern. I cleared a 800 gal tank with 2 wrasses but I was able to start my nudis in the 'fuge and used that as a breeding tank. I then moved all adults to the display. They got all but 1 aiptasia before the wrasses got them.

 

[acesq]

If this batch of nudi's doesn't take hold, I'll use the sump breeding tank idea. Sounds like a winner.

 

[Humu Humu]

Peppermints worked for me in my 125. I had, say, about 20 aiptasia and added 4 peppermints. It took about a month, but the tank is clear of aiptasia. And the peppermints are still ok. Yes, they do spend the day hiding under the rock, but they do their job. I have a yellow melanurous wrasse and he is leaving the shrimp alone as well. The LFS informed me that the peppermints work best in groups of 4 or 6.

 

[steveo9043]

peppermints worked for me in my 72 gallon. I put 3 into my tank where there were maybe 15 aptasia and within two days they were all gone. Unfortunately, only 1 peppermint is still living but I think that was my fault.

 

[sammie]

I'm going to go in a different direction than everyone else but thats the wa I go. I put a Kleinii butterfly in my 300 and have not had a single aptasia or mojono(sp) since. Doesn't bother any of the LPS or SPS. and is a model citizen and the best of all they are cheap.

Blacklip Butterfly
Chaetodon kleinii


$22.99

 

[potterjon]

Berghia didn't work for me but I also had a six line wrasse. They disappeared for weeks and then one day I saw one cruising up the glass and he was a fattie. I guess they ate some of them, but I still have aptasia. At the time I also had peppermint shrimp in there so who knows who go who in the end.
But I still have aptasia, not as many, but some.

 

[Fishbulb2]

One thing I would try with the Bhergia is to place all of the adults in a critter keeper and fill that critter keeper with as much aiptasia covered rubble rock as you can. This will protect the nudibranchs in the display tank while their numbers increase. Then as they deplete that stock of aiptasia, they can move out on their own in larger numbers.

That's what I would try,
FB