Death of a Aptasia
 

Early in the day this aptasia I had recently cut down the middle was minding its own affairs.
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...own/Image1.jpg

Later its luck ran out.
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...own/Image2.jpg

This guy must have got a whiff.
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...own/Image4.jpg

So did this guy.
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...own/Image5.jpg

ATTACK!!
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...own/Image6.jpg

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...own/Image7.jpg

Yum yum
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...own/Image8.jpg

Oh NO!! Trouble for the little guy....
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...own/Image9.jpg

....Or is it?
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...wn/Image10.jpg

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...wn/Image11.jpg

Watch him slide out. Is this guy Teflon or what?? Can't touch this. :)
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...wn/Image12.jpg

Running scared. :)
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...wn/Image13.jpg

Love it!!!!!

Nah, still hungry.
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...wn/Image14.jpg

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...wn/Image15.jpg

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...wn/Image16.jpg

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...wn/Image17.jpg

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...wn/Image18.jpg

Short break.
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...wn/Image19.jpg

Back for more.
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...wn/Image20.jpg

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...wn/Image21.jpg

Hey, that was good.
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...wn/Image22.jpg

Haven't I seen you somewhere before?? :)
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...wn/Image23.jpg

Lets mate.
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...wn/Image24.jpg

You stay over there junior.
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...wn/Image25.jpg

wow... nice shots. The blue one is real purty. :)

p.s. Is that the arms of a starfish in the back?

Thanks. I'm not sure what is up with that blue. Must be from the flash somehow.
That is a tiny serpent star who lived in one of the rocks I threw in there. I only had seen his tiny arms sticking out before this. I'm not sure how he climbed up to the top.
In some of the other pictures I swear it is eating the aptasia also!
Maybe he is getting a brine shrimp from inside the aptasia.

Who made those nice egg masses? :D

wow, i need to get a few of those

It does look like it's getting it's share of kicks in...LoL, especially in the "Back for More" shot.

Awesome pics! Nice :thumbsup:

Sweet action pics.

Arthur Miller would be proud. :)

looks great YGPM

:D

BEST POST EVER!!!!

Now, I gotta get me some of those bad boys, there is a buffet waiting for them in my tank (a couple tiny ones and one huge one).

Yeah this was a good post.
Nice clear shots too...and the berghia who came back after almost getting eaten was funny. :lmao:

Do all Nudis eat Aptasia? I have a HUGE aptasia problem and
pepermint shrimp sure do not do the trick!

No, "berghia" is what eats them (although I believe the name has "officially" changed many people in the hobby continue to refer to these particular nudibranchs as "berghia").

Nope, nearly every nudi has only one specific thing they eat.

I have some zoanthid eating nudis that look almost identical.
I am tempted to try and cross breed them, but the resulting monster would be bad news. :)

Here is a link to read more about the good guys:
http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet.cfm?base=aeolstep

Thanks.

A couple tiny ones and a big one aren't even a snack for these guys!!

The four of them ate 40 in about a week! Some were pretty big and they were still small.

kryppy: In your experience, what are some potential predators of the eggs, juveniles, and adults?

I have them isolated now, so nothing has attacked them yet, but I'd bet a green sea grass wrasse would eat them.

man I need those, i redid my tank with all new rock and they still came back!

I used to work in a lab that shared a room with Stephen Kempf (the guy who originally bred these guys), so I got to see lots of this. He had two 120s or 150s full of nothing but Aiptasia for these guys.

Wow, that is awesome. I have tried to read everything he has written on them.
I have some tanks devoted to aptasia already and will be expanding soon.
Where was the lab anyway? I am lucky I can drive an hour and collect more when these monsters eat them all.....which is happening FAST!!

It's here at Auburn. It's still here. I just don't work there anymore.