Smite's Stout CDA - 205G

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I’ve just floated and dropped them in, assuming salinity is the same. I don’t think they’re too sensitive to pH but I’m sure someone knows better than I.

Look like a good size.
 
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They arrived well packaged and alive. They supply a pipette to remove them as well which is cool. View attachment 116411

Should I drip acclimate them? Or float and release tonight?
Sorry I’m a bit late. Honestly they look a little hungry. When berghia are white like that they have not feed in a few days. When they are slightly brown or gray they are well feed. Like this


I personally would have tried to feed them before adding them to a system so they have enough time to scavenge in the tank. Usually when they are pale white they only have a day or 2 to feed before they starve.
I would have floated them for a hour or two then got a small container that could be squeezed in a small spot like a baffle or in between the wall and your skimmer. Put the berghia in that container with an equal amount of tank water that was in the container they came in. Put 2 or 3 aiptasia in the container and the berghia (make sure the berghia don’t land on the mouth of the aiptasia) and float them in the sump for a few hours. Being they are hungry they would feed fast. Just make sure it’s dark. They feed best when lights out. Then that night I would of added them to the tank after all the fish are asleep
 

drexel

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Sorry I missed this when you posted. I agree with Eric, I have always given them food in the container they're shipped in (or came home in), as this gives them an opportunity to eat before going in the tank and I usually take my time with inverts when acclimating (unless the water is funky looking, then it's about getting them to a better place as quickly as possible). I check salinity and if it's pretty close, then I remove half of their water, then double the water (usually steady drip) then wait for them to climb aboard a piece of rubble or whatever the aiptasia I gave them is on, then I try to dump out as much water as possible, then wait until lights go out, turn off/down flow, then put the whole container in the tank and move the rubble near rock with aiptasia close to them. If their cerata is completely white with no pigment or color at all, then they are hungry and need to eat asap. If there's a little color at the base of the cerata, then they've had a meal, but are hungry. The picture above that Eric posted shows berghia that have just eaten or had a meal within the past 24hrs. Healthy berghia will always have dark cerata, if not, they are hungry or near starvation. As mentioned, they don't live long without food. These guys only live 10-12 months at most, so a day without food is a long time to them.
 

Smite

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I appreciate the info! I had already added them to the tank unfortunately. I waited until evening killed flow and added them with the pipette to a section of rockwork they could easily hide in. I thought it was odd they didn’t hide, seemed to immediately attempt to forage and that makes sense now.
Hopefully they fair well. I have a shit ton of aiptasia at this point. I guess the good of that is they couldn’t crawl more than a few inches without finding a meal.

if this doesn’t work out, I’ll try again with feeding prior of white/hungry and acclimating more.
 

drexel

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They should be okay. I'm hoping mine survive the crazy amphipod population that I have. I moved one up from the basket in my sump to the display last night and the pods surrounded it. I didn't see them take any bites, but it made a b-line to the nearest crevice/hole to escape them. I may have to risk getting a CBB to eat mine, but I'm not sure how my clams will do?
 

deaclauderdale

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Sorry I’m a bit late. Honestly they look a little hungry. When berghia are white like that they have not feed in a few days. When they are slightly brown or gray they are well feed. Like this


I personally would have tried to feed them before adding them to a system so they have enough time to scavenge in the tank. Usually when they are pale white they only have a day or 2 to feed before they starve.
I would have floated them for a hour or two then got a small container that could be squeezed in a small spot like a baffle or in between the wall and your skimmer. Put the berghia in that container with an equal amount of tank water that was in the container they came in. Put 2 or 3 aiptasia in the container and the berghia (make sure the berghia don’t land on the mouth of the aiptasia) and float them in the sump for a few hours. Being they are hungry they would feed fast. Just make sure it’s dark. They feed best when lights out. Then that night I would of added them to the tank after all the fish are asleep
Good info. Howdy Eric!


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drexel

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Dude, your tank is looking awesome! Let me know if you want to borrow that Australian stripy


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How’s the stripey with clams? I know they’ll go after LPS, but curious if they would go after clams?


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Smite

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Thanks Jesse. I've been a broken record "I think this tank is starting to turn for the better" for the last few years, but I do feel it is doing better now.
I've gone back to basic maintenance/water changes and I am seeing some new growth and some better color. It's really just forcing me to pay more attention to the tank, but I do feel like the NYOS salt I've been using is good stuff.

That Creme de la Creme is starting to look pretty cool. I'll update once it gets some size.
 

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