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Author Topic: Nudibranch vs Aiptasia  (Read 2321 times)

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Offline DarinSchmidt

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Nudibranch vs Aiptasia
« on: June 24, 2011, 22:09:15 »
Berghia http://www.berghia.net/marketprice.html anyone try any of these guys or know anything more about them? Everything i have found says they are really great and dont eat anything else. Just hope that the aiptasia grows fast enough to sustain them so they dont just die off.

Offline Wall_Tank

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Re: Nudibranch vs Aiptasia
« Reply #1 on: June 24, 2011, 22:27:24 »
Berghia http://www.berghia.net/marketprice.html anyone try any of these guys or know anything more about them? Everything i have found says they are really great and dont eat anything else. Just hope that the aiptasia grows fast enough to sustain them so they dont just die off.

These guys are ultra small.  And if you have any wrasses or things that like to pick at the rock, they'll just be a meal.   I put some in my frag tank, and never saw them, never noticed aptaisia missing.

Offline DarinSchmidt

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Re: Nudibranch vs Aiptasia
« Reply #2 on: June 24, 2011, 22:33:20 »
i dont think i have anything that will eat them that i am aware of. I have no wrasse or anything anymore. I have a couple tangs in there that will pick at the rock and i hope that they wouldnt mistake them for some kind of algae meal or something crazy. Mostly just worried about what would happen when there is no more aiptasia left to eat, what will they find to eat, my clams??? hope not.

Offline Kenn

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Re: Nudibranch vs Aiptasia
« Reply #3 on: June 25, 2011, 00:01:13 »
Have you tried my favorite Aiptasia eliminator ??

Peppermint Shrimp !! 
Currently doing a 75g build | http://ohioreef.com/index.php?topic=16275.0| tanks of the past : 26g Bowfront LPS and Fish| http://www.ohioreef.com/index.php?topic=4858.0 || 37g a little of everything | http://www.ohioreef.com/index.php?topic=7751.0

"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it. Fifteen hundred years ago everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was flat, and fifteen minutes ago, you knew that humans were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow."   < K >

Offline Wall_Tank

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Re: Nudibranch vs Aiptasia
« Reply #4 on: June 25, 2011, 00:20:28 »
Have you tried my favorite Aiptasia eliminator ??

Peppermint Shrimp !! 

Peppermint shrimp work, just not on a well established population.  They do well eating new ones when they are little babies

Offline DarinSchmidt

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Re: Nudibranch vs Aiptasia
« Reply #5 on: June 25, 2011, 00:26:11 »
i bought a couple, since then i havent seen them and i have nothing that would attack them. So i donno what the deal is with that. But yeah, never seen any change after buying them so either they are dead or just not doing a good job...

Offline Kenn

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Re: Nudibranch vs Aiptasia
« Reply #6 on: June 25, 2011, 01:10:59 »
i bought a couple, since then i havent seen them and i have nothing that would attack them. So i donno what the deal is with that. But yeah, never seen any change after buying them so either they are dead or just not doing a good job...

They can be tough to acclimate to a tank in my experience. until I started doing the drip method I lost quite a few. I see mine all the time so I'm thinking you must have lost yours ( just an assumption ). But the ones that survive (my current 3 have been around 8 months now :) ) COMPLETELY eliminated my Aiptasia problems in 4 different set-ups. I know others haven't had this success with them, but for me they have been fool proof.
Currently doing a 75g build | http://ohioreef.com/index.php?topic=16275.0| tanks of the past : 26g Bowfront LPS and Fish| http://www.ohioreef.com/index.php?topic=4858.0 || 37g a little of everything | http://www.ohioreef.com/index.php?topic=7751.0

"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it. Fifteen hundred years ago everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was flat, and fifteen minutes ago, you knew that humans were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow."   < K >

Offline DarinSchmidt

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Re: Nudibranch vs Aiptasia
« Reply #7 on: June 25, 2011, 01:15:54 »
i may not have drip acc them long enough, i did it for 1hr, maybe a little longer, water displacement of about 3x. thats usually what i do, they seemed fine when i put them in, i donno, maybe some of my damsels didnt like new species on the block and may have roughed them up a bit...

Offline Wall_Tank

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Re: Nudibranch vs Aiptasia
« Reply #8 on: June 25, 2011, 08:14:18 »
Where did you get you're peppermints from?    There seem to be two very similar varieties, one that eats aptaisia, and one that doesn't.   Rich at Coral Ranch seems to be able to get the right ones.  Peppermints are funny, you won't see them much during the day.  But they are usually crawling all over the place at night.    I thought I only had 3, when I tore my tank down, I had 5.

Offline Boonjob

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Re: Nudibranch vs Aiptasia
« Reply #9 on: June 25, 2011, 09:33:56 »
I have researched this subject quite abit, and here are my thoughts/experiences:

Peppermint shrimp I purchased 3 and they cleared 1 rock's worth of Aiptasia then stopped wasn't even 10% of my population at the time.... Then they ate every feather duster I had in the tank, then pretty much just ate left over flake etc at night, And then my wrasse found them...I would never try these again, also there are multiple species that are sold as peppermint shrimp(look exactly the same), but are not; these species will not eat Aiptasia.

The Naudibranchs: I heard do extremely well, but there are several draw backs. They are expensive for as finicky as they are. They are picked on by just about anything in your tank(not just wrasse...crabs/shrimp will aswell). And since they only eat aiptasia, once it is gone they will be too unless you add more aiptasia.... I think the best and most common approach to ridding aiptasia this way is to put them in a separate tank and allow them to do their magic on a few rocks at a time. Most people will give them away or sell after they have cleaned the rocks and have no more food.

Chemicals: Waste of time IMO and experience... I know alot of people swear by them... but everyone that I talk to that does; still has aiptasia, or did not have a large established colony of them. IT appears to work great the first few weeks and then right around week 3 or 4 you notice you made a HUGE mistake and my colonies were easily doubling in size and population. I WOULD NEVER DO THIS AGAIN.

Klein's Butterflyfish THIS WAS MY HOLY GRAIL! I was at the end of the road in my war with my huge aiptasia problem, and was ready to yank the whole tank apart and restart after acid bathing the rocks. I did not want to do a CopperBand as they are not very hardy and are specialised eaters, My water's perimeters were all out of whack and I could not see risking 60 bucks on a fish that more than likely would die from my tank before ever doing the only job i wanted him for. Reefchik had suggested a Klein's butterfly as a more suitable replacement, She stated she has always had one and never had a single aiptasia ever since introducing him to her tank... AND I COULD NOT AGREE ANY MORE! I put mine in the tank and he was a pig, he started working his magic the next day, within a week it was very clear I had made the correct decision. He had cleaned my colony of 100+ within 2.5 weeks, and I have yet to notice a single aiptasia come back since. And as you know he died a week ago... They also are not specialized eaters like CBB, mine ate anything that didn't eat him first, he was real good on flake and frozen food. And I know they are not the most reef safe solution, however after the aiptasia were gone I only ever noticed mine picking at my xenia, and he didn't eat the whole thing he only ate the very tips(rich says his do that as well and he has never experienced any negative affects on the Xenia, and he has a ton)..... I WOULDN'T HESITATE TO BUY ANOTHER AT FIRST SIGN OF AIPTASIA, GREAT FISH... I would highly recommend this fish for you, also when he is done you can easily transfer him to someone Else's tank to clean theirs.
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Offline Kenn

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Re: Nudibranch vs Aiptasia
« Reply #10 on: June 25, 2011, 11:13:07 »
Where did you get you're peppermints from?    There seem to be two very similar varieties, one that eats aptaisia, and one that doesn't.   Rich at Coral Ranch seems to be able to get the right ones.  Peppermints are funny, you won't see them much during the day.  But they are usually crawling all over the place at night.    I thought I only had 3, when I tore my tank down, I had 5.

I ALWAYS get mine from Rich at Coral Ranch. Also my wrasse never touched them.
Currently doing a 75g build | http://ohioreef.com/index.php?topic=16275.0| tanks of the past : 26g Bowfront LPS and Fish| http://www.ohioreef.com/index.php?topic=4858.0 || 37g a little of everything | http://www.ohioreef.com/index.php?topic=7751.0

"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it. Fifteen hundred years ago everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was flat, and fifteen minutes ago, you knew that humans were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow."   < K >

Offline DarinSchmidt

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Re: Nudibranch vs Aiptasia
« Reply #11 on: June 25, 2011, 12:30:53 »
I got my shrimp from jacks. I can't get a Klein because I have clams. I'd be willing to try some shrimp again but I'm a huge fan of nudibranches, they are specialists.

Offline Bright79

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Re: Nudibranch vs Aiptasia
« Reply #12 on: June 25, 2011, 17:41:18 »
i have this anenome problem too, and i got a  pepermint from coral ranch and he hasnt touched a single one. so i dont know what his deal is but he just wont eat it...so im thinking about a copperband.......kinda scared to get one and then it dies on me. not sure what to do.
I am the tank crasher !!!

Offline DarinSchmidt

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Re: Nudibranch vs Aiptasia
« Reply #13 on: June 25, 2011, 18:16:07 »
I think I might give the nudies a try.

 

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