Resuming The Aiptasia Attack!!!

[Bergy]

jake..

i dont see / understand that picture...

Is that a mandarin being half eaten by an aptasia???

[cruzincaril]

eww gross.. i dont think i have any of those...hope not..

[psykokid]

jake..

i dont see / understand that picture...

Is that a mandarin being half eaten by an aptasia???

nope, just a big one next to my feather duster..

[Learner]

Back up to about 30  now......pleased yours seem to be getting to work. ;D

Thought I saw one of mine yesterday, wondering if it/they are dining on the small sweet ones out of view?

Ever the optimist....

Keep us informed of the progress please. 8)

[psykokid]

for what its worth, they do exactly that.. they chow down on the smaller ones that are back and out of sight. then as they eat more of the little ones and breed and reproduce then the next generation takes over and starts to knock them out. As they are obligate feeders of appies once they reach a critical mass of population they will quickly wipe out the remaining appies and then the population will starve and crash. The thing to do is once you start seeing egg strands and start seeing more individuals try and give them away to other reefers so your population will thrive a bit longer.On most reports i have heard they usually take months to make a big dent in the population of the appies. Also, they are nocturnal feeders so you wont normally see them until well after lights out.

They are definitely not an overnight solution.

[naturalbornrokstar]

Pics?? I have no idea what you guys are talking about  ???

[Just_Greg]

Aiptasia anemones (AKA glass anemones, appie, appy) are a small pest 'nem that can quickly overrun a tank.  they have a powerful sting, and they use it to kill other corals in order to make room for themselves.  there are various ways to deal with them.

in this case, we're discussing the use of an obligate appie predator, namely the Aeolid nudibranch Berghia verrucicornis (actually the true binomial name for these nudies is Aeolidiella stephanieae).

here's some good info on them:

http://www.berghia.net/market_size.html

interestingly enuff, while this species is considered beneficial, there are other Aeolids that prey on zoanthids that AREN'T a welcome critter.

[Learner]

Thanks for the article Greg, They really are fascinating creatures aren't they. 8)

Hope to spot mine soon.....hoping to see a SWAT team too. ;D

[pinkorchid]

oooh Tania that would be awesome  8) I hope they are doing just that....

[Learner]

oooh Tania that would be awesome  8) I hope they are doing just that....

Methinks I have a Ninja SWAT team.....completely invisible ;)

[pinkorchid]

LOL!!!

[psykokid]

well, i've seen a few small appies go MIA from places where i KNEW there were some before so that is a good sign. I also found a coil of eggs up under the base of my big toadstool tonight while looking for the 5 berghias i put in last friday. no sign of mum and dad but eggs are defenitly a good sign. :)

[Learner]

OOOH,
You are getting results already...so pleased for you, if not a little envious  ;)

Eggs too..a great sign. Well done you. :)

[psykokid]

Well last nite while target feeding my nps corals and bw hunting I found another coil of eggs and spotted one of the berghias hanging out in the crevice of a rock. Get that appy breeding tank ready Lanny

[naturalbornrokstar]

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/saltwater-fun

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