eace: Direct email from supplier, he wanted to make sure everyone got this!!!
Your Guide to Adding Berghia to Your Tank
ALWAYS….
-Provide a slow drip acclimation which consists of doubling the water volume the berghia are in over a 30 minute period. This should be repeated three times for a total acclimation time of 1.5 hours. At the end of the first 30 minutes (when the water volume has doubled) dump out half the water and again drip in more water to double the volume in 30 minutes time. Repeat the process 3 times and by then your berghia should be ready to go into your tank. This is an extremely safe method of acclimation. Some may consider it excessive, but berghia are sensitive to water chemistry fluctuations and I highly suggest taking the proper amount of time to acclimate your new berghia.
-Always and only use a pipette to transfer the berghia!! The berghia will hold tightly to the inside of the shipping container - including the lid! Berghia are also notorious for sitting on the lid upside down in the shipping container. If you notice they are floating in the container when you’re acclimating them that does not mean they are dead!!! Using the pipette to jet water at them, you will get them to let loose and you can observe the will right themselves and being crawling again. Keep in mind they are slow lethargic creatures. Berghia will hold themselves down quite strongly. To get them to let loose from the container simply use the pipette to jet water at them rapidly. Once floating freely they can be sucked up into the pipette and transferred to the desired area. As you’re acclimating them you may also notice that they will float at the surface of the water. When placed in a container with little to no water movement berghia will hang upside down at the surface of the water. The majority of my adult breeding stock spends the majority of their time floating upside down and actually laying egg strands at the surface of the water. In an aquarium there is too much water movement to allow them to float on the surface so that behavior is rarely seen once the berghia are introduced to the tank.
- Please take diligent care when putting the berghia into the display tank. After you get them to let loose, suck them up in the pipette and gently expel them right onto a rock with nearby aiptasia. Please don’t just squirt them into the tank or put them right on top of an aiptasia. If they drop onto an aiptasia they will be eaten by it. The berghia likely won't begin eating the aiptasia right away. They’ll very likely just find a spot to hide and settle into the tank.
Once adjusted to the tanks conditions the berghia will go to work. They are nocturnal and very secretive so you may not see them for several weeks. Over 4-5 weeks aiptasia will begin disappearing and berghia populations will massively increase.
NEVER.....
-Never put them into the tank without proper acclimation first
-Never put them into the tank with the lights on. I suggest turning the lights off as you start the acclimation process (this gives the fish a chance to go hide while you’re acclimating the berghia). The lights should be kept off for at least 2 hours after the berghia have been introduced to the tank. This gives them a chance to be free of irritation from tank inhabitants as they further adjust to the tanks conditions.
-Never just drop them into the tank.
-Never transfer them by any means other than the use of the pipette (I'll send along a pipette).
-Never put them into the display while any pumps or powerheads are on (turn off all return pumps, powerheads, waveboxes, etc....). Once in the tank and on the rockwork or sand bed, the berghia will have no trouble with flow from pumps or powerheads so they can be turned back on about 5 minutes after you put the berghia in.
Frequently Asked Questions
1) Will my wrasses, shrimp or other aggressive animals eat my berghia??
I've been culturing berghia for several years now and sent them out to dozens of customers. I’ve never come across a reef safe invert or fish that will significantly affect berghia populations. There are many people that say certain wrasses or shrimp will eat them but I disagree. I've sent berghia to people who have all kinds of animals that were rumored to be "not safe with berghia" and I've never heard back from anyone who has any evidence to show the berghia were being preyed upon. I have berghia in my own tank which includes a melanarus wrasse that scopes the rockwork all day looking for critters to eat and he passes right by the berghia. I also have a five bar mystery wrasse, six line wrasse, CBB, and a purple reef lobster. I’ve never seen any of them show any interest in my berghia.
2) I’ve added the recommended amount berghia to my tank and it’s been several weeks since I’ve seen any of them. Where are they? Are they dead?
Adult berghia are nocturnal, very secretive, and have excellent camouflage that allows them to blend into the aquascaping very well. When stocked with berghia in the proper volume, a tank with aiptasia will show a small decline of aiptasia in the first 2-3 weeks. During those first few weeks you may rarely if ever see berghia. If you look through your tank about an hour after the lights go out that will be the ideal time to find them. Around the 4th or 5th week after adding the adult berghia there will have been a proper amount of time for hatchlings to grow out and heavily populate a tank. At that point the aiptasia will disappear very fast and you'll begin to see berghia much more frequently. Hundreds of berghia will emerge and you'll have more berghia than aiptasia in very short order. That's the time when you need to start sharing the berghia with a friend because they'll starve when all the aiptasia are gone.
3) I opened the shipping container and can’t find all of them. Did some die or was the order filled incorrectly??
If you can’t find all the proper amount of berghia check the lid of the shipping jar. I always ship berghia in containers completely full of water. This prevents them from being trapped in an air pocket which would likely kill them. Because there is no air in the container, the berghia are commonly found throughout the entire container and often there are a few on the lid. When you open the container, be sure to look at the lid and gently jet water at them to get them to let loose as described above.
4) I see some berghia floating in the acclimation container. Are they dead?
Absolutely not! It’s very normal for berghia to float upside down at the surface of the water when there is very little water movement. They are able to do this in low flow areas because of the water’s surface tension. This is noticeable in reproduction chambers and in containers while being acclimated because there is very little water flow under those conditions. Your berghia are not ill or unhealthy in any way if you see them floating upside down as you’re acclimating them. In fact, if you look close enough you’ll see them moving around a bit and moving from the water’s surface then back to the side of the container and vice-versa. Rarely will a berghia ever float on the surface of the water in a display tank because even the slightest bit of surface water disruption prevents them from being able to do those kinds of aquatic gymnastics.
5) Some berghia are very darkly colored and others are white or very pale. Does this mean that some are healthier than others??
The color change of the berghia is actually directly related to how long ago their last meal was. After they eat, they will have dark brown or even blue coloration primarily on their cerata (spines on their back). About a day after they have eaten their color will begin to fade. Berghia only have two concerns in life – eating aiptasia and breeding. Most of them go a couple days without eating because they are busy breeding and laying egg strands. They will then begin to look pale white but shortly thereafter they’ll take down another aiptasia and have nice bright bold coloration again.
