Aptasia eating nudibranch

[nemo's mom]

Is there such a thing? My LFS is selling them. What else will it eat? Any insight would be appreciated. I tried hot water and a lighter to get rid of my aptasia as well as pappermint shrimp. I really don't want to dump chemicals in there or inject them because it may affect something else. I haven't lost a fish in close to 1 year and would like to keep it that way. So if there's a natural preditor that won't kill anything else....I'm up for trying it...

 

[katieb]

I carved one out of a rock w/ a knife, that worked for me. Dep on how easy it is to get to him..It was a thin rock.

 

[nemo's mom]

Mine are way deep in the cracks. I tried that as well. The shrink in the cracks and I thought I got them only to see them popping back out when I place the rock back in the water...

 

[dogstar]

Yes there is a nudi that feeds exclusively on Aiptasia. It is called Berghia nudibranche.
Once all aiptasia is gone, they most likely starve and die, aiptasia is the only thing they eat...you could give/sell/trade them afterwards.
This is a photo of them by Anthony Calfo from an artical by Steven Pro.

 

[natclanwy]

If you can get them at your LFS I would jump on it since they are somewhat diffcult to find and expensive when you do find someone to ship them the best I have found was $15 each and then $25-$40 to ship them, and you should have the ability to return them to the LFS after your aptasia are gone.

 

[murph145]

yup i was thinkin of gettin a few for my 180.... ive had a lil outbreak of these lil terds on my rocks and the kalk paste only does so much i cant get the hidden ones but these nudis seem to be the answer.... yes they are expensive but multiply fast and once ur done i would try to sell them to other local reefers or the pet store if they can buy them from u

 

[nemo's mom]

They were $35 here I think. I guess I'll give it a shot, thanks

 

[murph145]

do u have lots of aptaisas? what size is ur tank??
$35 for each one is a lil expensive u can get them for $15 each online with a $25 delivery charge....
if u have lots of aptasia id say go for it but if u can keep them in check try that route first....
id be interested to see how these guys work

 

[copernicus45]

a good way to get rid of Aiptaisia is mixing a paste of Kalk powder and water, turn off your powerheads and apply the paste to the aiptaisia, the kalk will melt away the Aiptaisia in about 10 mins, then just turn your pumps back on and the kalk will dissolve into the water

 

[copernicus45]

plus kalk paste is the same as kalkwasser, the kalk wont raise your Ph to bad, and its reef safe

 

[murph145]

yeah that way does work and i do use it frequently when needed but u cant get all the aptasias that are hiding in your rock work i think the nudis would work awesome for that reason

 

[craigsclaw]

i just bought 9 berghia for my tank 3 days ago. i paid $15 online and 25 shipping. I'm infested with the aiptasia weeds, nothing worked, had so many i couldn't never get ahead of them. i've read lots on line about these berghia so i'm real excited. they repopulate in your tank laying eggs in rocks. they only prey on aiptasia so they will starve to death when they win the battle, but since they are hard to get i'm hoping to sell them back to my local store if i can catch them. they only come out at night and are hard to find, but i did see a couple the other night, hoping it works, csc

 

[nemo's mom]

I only have 4 aptasia. They have been there about a year. They don't really bother me but I don't want them to multiply. MY LFS knows me by name so I'm sure they'd buy the nudibranch back. I wouldn't need more than 1 so $35 would be better than $15 plus $ 25 for shipping....