I have a chronic issue with Aiptasia, never gets crazy but never really gets under control either. Over the years I’ve tried Berghia nudibranchs, peppermint shrimp (the right kind), Aiptasia-X, F-Aiptasia, high powered laser, Majano Wand. Among those, the Berghia have so far been the best, but I’ve tried it twice and each time they have just kind of died out after a few months after making some headway. Each time it’s expensive, and hard to track since I generally don’t see them after introduction, I only see Aiptasia decreasing over a few months and later rebounding.
I don’t have any of the top known Berghia predators, but I do have tons of bristle worms and pods, both of which are thought to eat their eggs, and the worms can supposedly also attack the nudi’s, defending their hole. Because of these or some other unknown factor, I think when I add a bunch of the nudi’s they get off to a good start but then can’t sustain their population breeding in the tank. I’ve read that it’s better to have ongoing breeding of them outside the tank and then introduce young adults periodically, and this makes sense to me. I could spend $200 in slugs once or twice a year, but that’s not super appealing.
I was thinking instead of giving Berghia breeding/culture a try. As much out of interest as to address my problem. I’ve read some good but older resources online such as Calfo’s article in Reefkeeping and Credebel’s in Advanced Aquarist. Neither of which really walks a person through the process though. I was wondering if anyone has personal experience with this, or knows of other resources for me to look into.
I don’t have any of the top known Berghia predators, but I do have tons of bristle worms and pods, both of which are thought to eat their eggs, and the worms can supposedly also attack the nudi’s, defending their hole. Because of these or some other unknown factor, I think when I add a bunch of the nudi’s they get off to a good start but then can’t sustain their population breeding in the tank. I’ve read that it’s better to have ongoing breeding of them outside the tank and then introduce young adults periodically, and this makes sense to me. I could spend $200 in slugs once or twice a year, but that’s not super appealing.
I was thinking instead of giving Berghia breeding/culture a try. As much out of interest as to address my problem. I’ve read some good but older resources online such as Calfo’s article in Reefkeeping and Credebel’s in Advanced Aquarist. Neither of which really walks a person through the process though. I was wondering if anyone has personal experience with this, or knows of other resources for me to look into.