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View Full Version : Aptasia Control - Berghia Nudibranch


acroholicreefer
12/01/2013, 07:02 AM
Anybody have any experience with Aiptasia-eating Berghia Nudibranches? I have been doing some research and it seems that these guys will take care of aptasia but it might take as long as 6 months to see the aptasia disappear.

How many should I buy for a 135g tank with a moderate aptasia population? Can I buy 2 or 3 of these and just let them reproduce? The sites that sell these call for .11 nudibranches per gallon. That means I am going to have to buy 15 of these guys at $22 per nudi. I'm not liking the idea of spending $330 plus shipping on something that will die off in a year and I will hardly ever see.

I have tried peppermint shrimp from live aquaria and my LFS with no success. My other option is to spend $40 on a Copperband and it will potentially stay around for years. I know that CBB will not completely get rid of the population and Berghias will, but $40 vs $330 sounds a lot better.

frogspawn74
12/01/2013, 08:15 AM
I've tried the berghia. Don't know if they did anything at all and could never find them after placing them in my 300. I spent 40 bucks on a filefish and after a month he cleaned them out. Plus they are easier than butterflies.

acroholicreefer
12/01/2013, 08:20 AM
I've tried the berghia. Don't know if they did anything at all and could never find them after placing them in my 300. I spent 40 bucks on a filefish and after a month he cleaned them out. Plus they are easier than butterflies.

That's awesome. Did the filefish pick on any of your other inverts? What kind of filefish did you buy?

frogspawn74
12/01/2013, 08:24 AM
I had no real issues at all. Lots of sps,zoas, and lps. Every once in a while I would see him nip my frogspawn. It's hit or miss with all fish for aptasia control. Good news is that files are slow and semi stupid lol a lot easy to get out and trade for another one.

Duality
12/01/2013, 08:58 AM
I also had an infestation of aptasias. I'm talking about 100s and 100s of the. I bought 10 BN in a groupbuy. Waited a few months and seen no dent in aptasia population. I ended up buying a copper banned butterfly. The CBB literally whipped out the aptasis population in a month. Also during that month period I was able to get him to take mysis as well and I few days ago I saw him eating a bristle worm. The CBB has even started to chase spectrum pellets but I have not yet seen him eat the pellets.

mfinn
12/01/2013, 09:48 AM
I've used everything to get rid of aptasias and majonos and the best thing that worked for me is a matted file fish.

acroholicreefer
12/01/2013, 10:30 AM
Does your Matted File fish pick at your corals? I have mostly SPS with some LPS corals. The only thing about getting a CBB is that I have a purple tang and I'm not sure if they would get along.

GroktheCube
12/01/2013, 10:48 AM
I purchased a bunch for my 120. After 3 months they had done virtually nothing, they were not even holding the aiptasia steady.

I think they might work OK in a smaller tank with low flow and zero chance of predation, but i cannot reccomend them for medium to large tank based on my experience.

I just added two dozen peppermints two weeks ago, and I'm going to let them munch for a few weeks before trying a filefish.

mfinn
12/01/2013, 11:00 AM
Does your Matted File fish pick at your corals? I have mostly SPS with some LPS corals. The only thing about getting a CBB is that I have a purple tang and I'm not sure if they would get along.



Mine didn't, but I have heard in some cases that they have.

Duality
12/01/2013, 11:32 AM
Does your Matted File fish pick at your corals? I have mostly SPS with some LPS corals. The only thing about getting a CBB is that I have a purple tang and I'm not sure if they would get along.

I have five tangs in my tang with the CBB, a sohal, purple, clown, blue, and a yellow. They mess with each other and never even look at the CBB. I believe he picked up eating mysis from the tangs. I think that's y he chases the pellets too, watching the tangs chase every thing.
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/12/02/une8yhyh.jpg

acroholicreefer
12/01/2013, 11:34 AM
I have five tangs in my tang with the CBB, a sohal, purple, clown, blue, and a yellow. They mess with each other and never even look at the CBB. I believe he picked up eating mysis from the tangs. I think that's y he chases the pellets too, watching the tangs chase every thing.
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/12/02/une8yhyh.jpg

What size tank do you have? I already have tight corners with a 135g (3X3 cube). I had a yellow tang and a CBB in a 120 for several years. They were fine with each other.

Duality
12/01/2013, 11:43 AM
What size tank do you have? I already have tight corners with a 135g (3X3 cube). I had a yellow tang and a CBB in a 120 for several years. They were fine with each other.

Standard 180

acroholicreefer
12/02/2013, 05:34 PM
Anybody else have any experience with Berghia Nudis? I am pretty sure that a filefish will eat my sexy shrimp, and possibly others. Also, I don't trust a CBB around my purple tang. It would be nice if these will work and if I don't have to spend $300 to enough of a population to take care of my aptasia.

Crusinjimbo
12/03/2013, 06:21 AM
Put six in a 60 cube loaded with aphasia about 4 weeks ago and saw zero positive results. Considering the price and shipping costs, not worth it IMO. Personally, I would like to find a better Aphasia X application method. It works but is a pain to get it where I want it at times.

shaginwagon13
12/03/2013, 07:00 AM
I have tried them in my tank and saw no difference either. I think in perfect settings they might work, one of the major problems is almost everything in your tank eats Berghia Nudibranch from crabs to fish. Sometimes, they end up getting eaten faster than they can eat/reproduce and make a dent in the aiptasia.

I have tried a CBB as well and the one I got didn't do anything either. So far, I have had zero positive result for 'Aiptasia' eating fish working on getting rid of them.

miatawnt2b
12/03/2013, 07:28 AM
what about a peppermint shrimp? Just be sure to get a real peppermint shrimp.

They may not eat the very large ones, but you should be able to kill those easily enough with some kalk paste... or depending on where they are, just leave them and let the shrimp eat the babies.

shaginwagon13
12/03/2013, 07:38 AM
what about a peppermint shrimp? Just be sure to get a real peppermint shrimp.

Anyone online selling 'real' ones? I might try a few.

duane9
12/03/2013, 05:45 PM
I've been fighting Apitasia for about 18 months now. I had three large poylps and treated them with Apitasia X, I must have done something wrong because it has turned into a nightmare for me.

We did three tries with the BN, 10 to 12 in a 75 gallon display. After the recommended wait time for them to breed the tank got overehelmed with Apitasia crowding out many of my SPS.

I put a CBB in the tank and was harassed by my powder brown, took out the powder brown for two weeks, but the CBB had no effect on Apitasia. Got rid of the CBB.

Next tried 6 peppermint shrimp, they did nothing and ended up down in the refug. We caught them and put them back into the display. They are nowhere to be found.

We have gone through at least three large bottles of Apitasia X, agressively attacking the Apitasia. We pull out some of the live rock, putting it in the refug then rotate it back into the display. In area of large infestation remove the rock and pour freshly squeezed lemon juice on it, then pour boiling hot water on it. That seems to help.

We hate to kill the good stuff, copepods, pineapple sponges and coraline, etc.

If there are any other ideas out there, we could use some advice.

Crusinjimbo
12/04/2013, 05:44 AM
Feel your pain there duane9. Gonna try the file fish option. Fingers crossed. These things can drive you out of this hobby.

alton
12/04/2013, 06:12 AM
Mature Berghia are the way to go (if you can find them) I typically buy two to three and my largest tank was a 158g. The trick is to get them to lay eggs. Wrasses, target mandarins, and peppermints are predators. One of the best solutions would be to start a QT tank with a foam filter, add some of your apitasia rock and propagate them in the smaller tank. As they start multiplying take the new ones and place them in in your display tank. For every apitasia you see there are several more in, behind, and around that you cannot see, so when you add Berghia's those are the first to get eaten. Berghia's are nocturnal but not stupid, they will eat the ones where they are protected and only when they run out will they come into the open. I added two to a forty gallon just recently and it took 4 months to rid the tank of apitasia. As a matter of fact I did not notice the decline, it was just like one day they where gone? If you are in a hurry add three or four adults, zap what you can see with Apitasia X and the Berghia's will take care of the ones you can't. And watch out for the egg strings on the glass so you don't destroy them.

acroholicreefer
12/07/2013, 09:34 AM
Mature Berghia are the way to go (if you can find them) I typically buy two to three and my largest tank was a 158g. The trick is to get them to lay eggs. Wrasses, target mandarins, and peppermints are predators. One of the best solutions would be to start a QT tank with a foam filter, add some of your apitasia rock and propagate them in the smaller tank. As they start multiplying take the new ones and place them in in your display tank. For every apitasia you see there are several more in, behind, and around that you cannot see, so when you add Berghia's those are the first to get eaten. Berghia's are nocturnal but not stupid, they will eat the ones where they are protected and only when they run out will they come into the open. I added two to a forty gallon just recently and it took 4 months to rid the tank of apitasia. As a matter of fact I did not notice the decline, it was just like one day they where gone? If you are in a hurry add three or four adults, zap what you can see with Apitasia X and the Berghia's will take care of the ones you can't. And watch out for the egg strings on the glass so you don't destroy them.

Thank you for the information. Do you know the best place to get mature Berghia's at? RPS?

Now another challenge is to get enough aptasia in my 40g qt but I'm sure I can figure that out.

acroholicreefer
12/07/2013, 09:43 AM
I've been fighting Apitasia for about 18 months now. I had three large poylps and treated them with Apitasia X, I must have done something wrong because it has turned into a nightmare for me.

We did three tries with the BN, 10 to 12 in a 75 gallon display. After the recommended wait time for them to breed the tank got overehelmed with Apitasia crowding out many of my SPS.

I put a CBB in the tank and was harassed by my powder brown, took out the powder brown for two weeks, but the CBB had no effect on Apitasia. Got rid of the CBB.

Next tried 6 peppermint shrimp, they did nothing and ended up down in the refug. We caught them and put them back into the display. They are nowhere to be found.

We have gone through at least three large bottles of Apitasia X, agressively attacking the Apitasia. We pull out some of the live rock, putting it in the refug then rotate it back into the display. In area of large infestation remove the rock and pour freshly squeezed lemon juice on it, then pour boiling hot water on it. That seems to help.

We hate to kill the good stuff, copepods, pineapple sponges and coraline, etc.

If there are any other ideas out there, we could use some advice.

Sounds like you have a serious problem with aiptasia. Back in the old days I would nuke them with very very concentrated kalk water. This needed to be so concentrated that it was still white and pasty. It never got rid of aiptasia completely because there are so many of these deep inside the rocks but it is much cheaper than Aiptasia X. I'm looking for a permanent solution for aiptasia.

acroholicreefer
12/07/2013, 09:47 AM
Anyone online selling 'real' ones? I might try a few.

I bought 3 "Aiptasia Eating Peppermint Shrimp from Live Aquaria. 1 arrived DOA. I have not seen the other 2 since I put them in my tank 6 weeks ago. I also went to a LFS and bought 2 of their peppermint shrimp, rolling the dice that these will eat aiptasia. I'm only finding 1 now in my tank and have not seem an reduction in aiptasia. Maybe they are eating the ones deep in the rocks first, I don't know.

chefbill
12/07/2013, 10:48 AM
I put 2 peppermint in a 29g BC with a light to moderate aptasia infestation, and withing a week or 2, 99% of the aptasia was gone. I do occasionally see one in a hole in a rock, but they disappear in a day or 2. The shrimp do act like they are starving, going as far as stealing food out of the mouths of LPS, though my understanding is this is common. I need to go get a berry basket to keep them away when I target feed.

acroholicreefer
12/07/2013, 11:05 AM
I put 2 peppermint in a 29g BC with a light to moderate aptasia infestation, and withing a week or 2, 99% of the aptasia was gone. I do occasionally see one in a hole in a rock, but they disappear in a day or 2. The shrimp do act like they are starving, going as far as stealing food out of the mouths of LPS, though my understanding is this is common. I need to go get a berry basket to keep them away when I target feed.

I guess you got the shrimp from your LFS?

shaginwagon13
12/07/2013, 07:10 PM
Ya it seems everything is hit or miss which is frustrating...

phillrodrigo
12/07/2013, 09:14 PM
Blue zoo sells listed as apstasia peppermint shrimp

OU11BB
12/07/2013, 10:18 PM
I believe its called the majano wand. I have had ok luck with it. its kind of fun to go hunting with it every now and then. I am trying to keep a copper banded butterfly in the tank. those are supposed to eat aptasia

Mussin
12/08/2013, 07:50 AM
I had a Cbb, he wiped out my aiptasia problem but died 4 months later. I haven't had a Cbb last longer than 7 months?

ryansc
12/08/2013, 10:43 AM
i had a small aiptasia outbreak and used this. One treatment and haven't seen any since. been about 1 month.

http://www.thatpetplace.com/aqua-vision-aiptasia-solution-68oz

Das awesome
12/08/2013, 12:09 PM
I'm having the same aiptasia problem in my 55g but I can't put any fish or inverts in cuz its home to a green spotted puffer and a really mean fimbriated moray that's killed every fish I've tried to add and aiptasia x seem to just make it worse.

My experience with peppermints in my reef is that for some reason, whenever I buy more than one, eventually they all disappear except for 1. No matter how many I buy. The one that's left was the first peppermint I've ever had that actually ate the aiptasia.

acroholicreefer
12/19/2013, 05:01 AM
Well I solved my aiptasia problem. A LFS had a grand opening this past weekend and has pepperment shrimp on sale for $2.99 so I bought 10 of them. 5 days later, all of my aiptasia is gone!

This is my 3rd attempt at pepperment shrimp. They did kill a single head frogspawn but I was recovering this frag anyways. I'm thinking 10 shrimp was too many.

casey187
12/19/2013, 09:13 AM
maybe but it worked. I would pull most of them out.

Nembo
12/19/2013, 11:43 AM
I used aiptasia X on mine which turned out to be a big mistake.Seemed to kill them but a few weeks later they had increased 10 fold and were growing everywhere.
Bought a small filefish to tackle the problem.He ate the aiptasia but i had to take him back to the shop because he was also eating lots of my other corals.Once he was gone more aiptasia regrew.
Now I've got 3 peppermint shrimps in there.I do see the odd aiptasia growing but a few days later it's gone.The peppermints also seem fond of my yellow polyps and have been nibbling the long fringes off them.

jlylec
01/01/2014, 09:11 PM
About a year or so ago I had 10-12 peppermints in my tank and never saw an aiptasia. Then they killed (or so I thought) a beautiful frogspawn I had. Then the peppermints started to disappear and one night I found a Sally Lightfoot munching on one like a cocktail shrimp. As soon as my last peppermint disappeared my frogspawn started to come back from the dead (glad I left the skeleton in there!) and aiptasia started growing. I blasted the biggest of only like 3 with aiptasia X and no less than a week later I had about 20-30 tiny ones ALL OVER the tank. I'm convinced that stuff causes them to spread.

Meanwhile I noticed aiptasia taking off in my coral QT tank. I decided to give berghias a try. I bought 15 of them and put them all in the QT. I very quickly noticed the smallest of the aiptasia disappearing. Maybe in a week or so more than half were gone. The thing was I could only ever find 1-2 of them and the biggest aiptasia were still there. I decided when I spotted them again I was going to transfer them to the DT because I spent like $160 on them and wanted results in the DT. I was able to move 3 of them and I figured I was screwed. But then about a week ago I started to see babies in the QT! I even found an adult in the sump of the QT and transferred him to the DT. At night I've caught the BNs in the DT munching on aiptasia a few times. I now have a bunch of babies in the QT and I'm going to move the big ones whenever I find them and hope I just keep a steady supply coming. All of this has happened over about 4-5 weeks.

All of this said, I don't think BNs are a one-stop solution to aiptasia. I've been fighting these guys in this hobby for what feels like 50 years but is more like 15 I guess. Peppermints have always been the most effective (they are singly hit-or-miss so you have to buy a bunch...10+) but they can be destructive to other stuff when they get hungry.

My plan now is to keep the BNs coming as long as I can and probably try a matted file fish along with a few peppermints. I wanted to chime in because I didn't read much success with BNs on this thread but I have very recent (current!) and new semi-positive experience with them. I do think I've witnessed this easier than most because I have them in a bare bottom QT with very little in way of predators. The activity in my DT is much less pronounced, but for all I know they've been mostly eaten by my crabs or something. They do prey on aiptasia and can wipe them out quickly when the numbers are right. Like I said though, not a perfect solution.

jimmy n
01/01/2014, 09:25 PM
I've found angels or dwarf angels the best solution for my tanks in ridding them of aptasia. Of course there is some risk involved. I've had majestic angels wipe out aptasia completely, I currently have a flame angel that rids my tank of them.

markalot
01/01/2014, 09:31 PM
I tried 5 berghia. One night a week or so after adding them I saw two of them on the glass, but that was it. This was over 4 months ago (8/14/2013). Last week I noticed that I can't find even one aptasia anywhere in the tank. They were all over the place, in the sandbed, growing on frag plugs, it was horrible, and now gone. I still haven't seen any berghia, even at night, and I'm wondering if they are perishing due to lack of food.

So in short, expensive, and slow, but they work. :)

Chevrefils
01/01/2014, 10:02 PM
I bought 3 peppermints to clean 120 lbs of liverock. Had a visible 50 or so aips. Week after there were none. Still have the pepps in there as my cuc.

ReeferKimberly
01/01/2014, 10:05 PM
I have done berghia twice, both times they ate every aiptadia visible and then starved to death and the aiptasia slowly came back. I have also tried a matted filefish and though it ate all my aiptasia, it also ate my duncans, xenia, and a few other corals. Peppermint shrimp are my number 1 pick, except I have an eel. If you don't have something that will eat them then go with the peps. I also have a laser but it is too much of a PITA (needs recharging often, and cannot get every aiptasia behind rocks).

jlylec
01/01/2014, 11:24 PM
See I'm glad I read this thread because I have a nice Duncan I wouldn't want to lose to a filefish. Thanks!

Tonight I went and checked for BN and got lucky with one just starting to attack an aiptasia on the front glass of my QT sump. Got a pretty good pic of it in action!
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/02/2u7ene7u.jpg

ReeferKimberly
01/01/2014, 11:37 PM
From reading and experience the duncans seem to be the first coral they go for. I have a 15 head duncan that was massacred for months. Every tentacle was eaten. Cool thing about duncans though is as soon as I traded the filefish it grew right back to normal.

nizakov
02/17/2014, 05:50 PM
I have a beautiful clam in my tank. It I add a filefish to fight aptasia, will it bother my clam? Clam also has an aptasia attached to it.
Thank you.