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Aiptasia Wanted


DaveZ

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Anyone in the Vancouver (preferable) / Portland area with loads of aiptasia they’re willing to part with?

This might sound a bit crazy but willing to trade coral for your aiptasia 🤣

Berghia Nudibranch Farm starting up. Need some food for these little buggers. Looking to eventually supply some local reefers and shops with Berghies.
 

…But need the aiptasia farm to coincide with that Berghia farm. 

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21 minutes ago, obrien.david.j said:

Love your idea for floating the berghia containers!   Better approach than I took.  

Thanks! Ya, I saw some good articles on Bergie farms that helped give some inspiration and this is V1 of my system with what I had laying around. 
 

I have a few “fat marker” plans of a full system I can put in place that gets water changes through the system with a mini-manifold. 

Once I get some further experience and really dial in the setup and best methods, I plan on eventually building out a full acrylic farm tank that will make for easier Nudi farming, maintenance, and age grouping for those ready to be sold / brought into shops. 
 

But right now the real need is a big aiptasia farm. Hopefully there are enough reefers in the area with aiptasia infestations that can help me out and get some coral or live-rock replacement in exchange 

Edited by DaveZ
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That’s awesome that you are trying to grow them.  The people I know that have tried found they are such voracious aiptasia eaters it’s trying to have enough aiptasia to grow.

Good luck! I wish I had aiptasia to give but then again I’m glad I don’t . Joes juice in a small tank has kept my aiptasia at bay. 

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2 hours ago, Emerald525 said:

That’s awesome that you are trying to grow them.  The people I know that have tried found they are such voracious aiptasia eaters it’s trying to have enough aiptasia to grow.

Good luck! I wish I had aiptasia to give but then again I’m glad I don’t . Joes juice in a small tank has kept my aiptasia at bay. 

Ya, thanks Kim! I have ideas on the aiptasia farm but just need to collect as much as I can to start. 

the goal is going to be to turn around a lot of the Nudis to reefers and stores, so hopefully it’s not about trying to breed 100s and 100s of nudi’s at this stage and just keeping a small amount of breeders. Which means less Aiptasia needed at this stage. 
 

but ya, it’s always one of those funny situations where people want to help but also are glad they can’t because then it means they’re dealing with an aiptasia issues. 
 

I have a few sources that are going to be able to help over the weekend but really looking to get as much as possible for the time being to build up the aiptasia stock. Figured I’d ask in as many places as possible, especially if people were having issues and wanted to get rid of some. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have an excessive load of aptasia that I would love to donate.  But the buggers are lodged in all the cracks and crannies of large rocks, most of which are an integral part of my seascape.  How in the world can you utilize these?  I do have 5 or 6 that embedded in the sand.  Will that help?

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  • 4 weeks later...

@cdp1276Yes, I have been primarily bringing adults into LFS and letting them sell em. I’m in Vancouver WA.

If you’re interested in getting them direct from me with the current hatch that is being raised, you can shoot me a DM. 

Edited by DaveZ
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I have around 15 Berghies so far in this growing batch and I am finding more babies each day. Not sure when they’ll be fully ready for a new tank though. I don’t like selling the real small babies or even small juveniles. They’ll like be big enough for a new tank in the next 2 to 3 weeks. 

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On 10/15/2022 at 6:23 PM, DaveZ said:

I have around 15 Berghies so far in this growing batch and I am finding more babies each day. Not sure when they’ll be fully ready for a new tank though. I don’t like selling the real small babies or even small juveniles. They’ll like be big enough for a new tank in the next 2 to 3 weeks. 

I’d be interested but have heard horror stories about using them for aptasia, do they just die and rot after all the aptasia is gone? I have hundreds in my tank and need them gone. Would it be a good idea to buy a few nudis and maybe just give them back once the aptasia is gone? 

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30 minutes ago, PowderBlue said:

I’d be interested but have heard horror stories about using them for aptasia, do they just die and rot after all the aptasia is gone? I have hundreds in my tank and need them gone. Would it be a good idea to buy a few nudis and maybe just give them back once the aptasia is gone? 

As aiptasia is the only food source of Berghia Nudibranchs, yes once they eat all the aiptasia they die. 
 

just keep in mind that once you have aiptasia in the tank it’s never going to be eradicated. It grows in your plumbing and every possible nook and cranny of rock. Best case once you have it is aiptasia management. 
 

if you have hundreds of aiptasia just keep in mind a few Nudis will not make quick work of it. This is more like a 3 month project of killing them back. 10+ would get the job done faster. 
 

but eventually yes once they eat all the aiptasia the Nudi’s die. It is not so easy to get them out as they only really come out at night and unless all flow is off they do tend to hide. So likely not catching all of them in time but always a great idea to take them into a shop. Some shops will give $ for them if you are selling back at wholesale pricing. Less generous shops will give some mediocre store credit (but better than dead Bergies). 
 

Just keep in mind that the aiptasia will likely come back at some point and it’s a constant but long cycle of needing Bergies, getting rid of Bergies after they eat all the visible aiptasias, then aiptasia growing back and then getting more Bergies. Repeat. 
 

but as for rotting Bergies when they die, that depends on your clean up crew. I’ve had clean up crew make quick work of dead fish in the past before I notice the fish is missing. Bergies are small. The biggest ones will be the size of the tip of your pinkie finger. So as long as your tank is mature and you have some semblance of a clean up crew, I wouldn’t be worried about dead Bergies for your system.

 

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6 minutes ago, DaveZ said:

As aiptasia is the only food source of Berghia Nudibranchs, yes once they eat all the aiptasia they die. 
 

just keep in mind that once you have aiptasia in the tank it’s never going to be eradicated. It grows in your plumbing and every possible nook and cranny of rock. Best case once you have it is aiptasia management. 
 

if you have hundreds of aiptasia just keep in mind a few Nudis will not make quick work of it. This is more like a 3 month project of killing them back. 10+ would get the job done faster. 
 

but eventually yes once they eat all the aiptasia the Nudi’s die. It is not so easy to get them out as they only really come out at night and unless all flow is off they do tend to hide. So likely not catching all of them in time but always a great idea to take them into a shop. Some shops will give $ for them if you are selling back at wholesale pricing. Less generous shops will give some mediocre store credit (but better than dead Bergies). 
 

Just keep in mind that the aiptasia will likely come back at some point and it’s a constant but long cycle of needing Bergies, getting rid of Bergies after they eat all the visible aiptasias, then aiptasia growing back and then getting more Bergies. Repeat. 
 

but as for rotting Bergies when they die, that depends on your clean up crew. I’ve had clean up crew make quick work of dead fish in the past before I notice the fish is missing. Bergies are small. The biggest ones will be the size of the tip of your pinkie finger. So as long as your tank is mature and you have some semblance of a clean up crew, I wouldn’t be worried about dead Bergies for your system.

 

Awesome! Thanks for all the info. I’m in Oregon city and if or when you have some ready I’d be interested in some. I don’t need it to be a quick turn around on them clearing them out, so maybe like 5 of them? It’s a reefer 425xl. Feel free to shoot me a pm if you’re wanting to sell some soon! 

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