eMac’s Berghia Diary

[Emac909]

Let me start of my saying if you message me about buying berghia at this point in time (2/21/22) your messages will get deleted. I already have a list of buying that’s bigger then my ladies fake tits.

Ok that being said. I started off at the begging of the year with 10 3/4” sized berghias. I tossed them in my 70g frag tank. For a few couple days I was seeing/finding berghia crawling around at night. Then then I slowly started seeing them less and less. There was no fish in the system, just corals, couple piece of LR and 2gyres for flow. Then 2 weeks ago I was spot checking at night and I saw a berghia on a gyre. As soon as I went to grab the sucker to suck him up and put him back on the rock a saw him get sucked into the gyre and get annihilated.

I figured this was happening to most of the berghia I put in the tank. I got a 20g and set it up as a berghia prop tank.

The tank is a standard 20g. I have 1 bubble filter and one hang on the back filter. The HOB has sponge around the inlet of the motor and a put a filter sock around the grate on the inlet section. I’m running a 1/4 cup of carbon and 1/8 cup gfo in the HOB filter.

I found 4 berghia left in my frag tank and tossed them into the prop tank. I also acquired 2 1/4” juvs from a local reefer. The tank has been up and running for 2 weeks now and as of this morning I’ve found 10 egg spirals. Now I just need to play the waiting game.

 

[sorinwilcox]

Haha I was just about to do this

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[adayrit]

This is a nice diary.

 

[jaxcarnage]

If you want I can donate 2 large sized Berghia

 

[Emac909]

Found a few little guys walking around last night.

Still have yet to see any egg spirals catch. Hope they are fertile. I have read that it could take berghia 2-3 months to come out of there larval state.

 

[Emac909]

If you want I can donate 2 large sized Berghia

Thanks you sir I’ll have to see when I can get out your way.

 

[jaxcarnage]

Thanks you sir I’ll have to see when I can get out your way.

For sure. I’m just starting to travel for work again. I have to make my way up to Bakersfield up to Paso Robles soon. When I do I’ll let you know

 

[Emac909]

For sure. I’m just starting to travel for work again. I have to make my way up to Bakersfield up to Paso Robles soon. When I do I’ll let you know

I’m actually out east in Perris ca 92571.

But I do go to Bakersfield every now and then for work. I drive all the eff over SoCal tho. Like tonight I went from riverside to San Fernando then back to riverside then out to Torrance then Anaheim and back to riverside.

 

[drexel]

To prop aiptasia, you can pick up a plastic storage bin and toss is some rubble or tiles, small heater and a bubbler. Then grab a razor and start chopping. Tiles, might be easier and cleaner for both aiptasia and berghia to navigate? Don't forget to feed the aiptasia, they multiply faster when they get a steady source of food.
When adding berghia to a tank, I'll lower the flow at night until they get established or they're finished cleaning up the mess. I'm glad you were able to find some left and good luck with getting these little guys going, should be fun!

 

[Coloredrock]

For those of you that dont R2R:

interesting post on this topic. not sure the forum rules on cross posting so I will just copy and paste. THIS IS NOT ME.. the conversation keeps going .. very informative.


"IMHO:

1) Berghias travel together to mate. (And they do that alot! ;Woot ) Although I've seen them group together to eat 1 large aiptasia, I've also seen them go solo on a different aiptasia for each of them. For hours. You also have a small tank. so I think if you had a couple of them, they'd make short work of your aiptasia.

2) I think if you had 1 breeding pair of berghias, the eggs won't make it. The amphipods will eat the eggs. Now if you had an army of berghias then each pair will lay hundreds of clutches a day. Very often. So just like in nature, a few will make it to hatch.

3) They will eat the largest aiptasia. Even ones that are much larger than them. The largest aiptasia, Willie the copperband won't touch. But tiny berghias will eat them.

4) I've seen them get eaten by Aiptasia too. They are at the weakest when they don't feed. When they eat aiptasia, they get stronger against aiptasia. You can tell if a berghia is weak or strong by their color. If they have a hint of brown highlights on their cerata, the "spikes" on their body, then the easier it is to eat the aiptasia and not get eaten by one. (I assume they get the brown highlights when they eat aiptasia. They absorb not only the nemacysts, but also the zooxanthelle too)

5) They are hardy regarding water conditions. I have a little nano tank to breed them but a few times I forgot to top off and have survived hypersalinic levels. (Worst they've been through is 1.028) They also survived 72 temperature when my cheap nano heater crapped out.

6) The most annoying part of propagation is to make sure you get rid of the amphipods on the live rock you bring in for aiptasia cleaning. Even a brief freshwater dip on the rocks that need aiptasia cleaning isn't enough. Amphipods are like cockroaches. They'll survive."

 

[Emac909]

No up dates at this time. Still finding a lot of egg spirals but no baby berghia to be found. At night I find the adult out on the hunt. They seem to be doing a great job of eating any aiptaisa I put in the farm tank.

 

[Emac909]

Here’s the tank

Here’s a large berghia out and about

 

[Emac909]

Found another large one

 

[Coloredrock]

Nice!

 

[drexel]

Looking good!

 

[Emac909]

Come in little guy feed on them aiptaisa

Tossed in around 30 aiptaisa. I’d like to see how long it takes them to eat all these aiptaisa

Even finding eggs in the wide open. Not even under rock or in the media.

 

[deaclauderdale]

You got to get some video of them killing aptasia Emac.

 

[Emac909]

You got to get some video of them killing aptasia Emac.

I’d have to catch that in action to get the vid. I yet to see them feast. I’m betting it a slow ass process tho. So maybe I should set up a Timelapse cam.

 

[DoTheDrew]

This is awesome! Might have to just set a camera and run a time lapse would be the only way I think?


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[OGFrenchHorn]

Are you feeding your tank phytoplankton? Aptasia love that stuff lol. I just went to war on with the aptasia in my tank


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