Captive bred, tank raised Berghia are the ultimate aiptasia eating machines; because aiptasia is all they eat!
They are perfectly at home in the reef aquarium and will not eat or damage any coral or other inhabitant in your tank.
Berghia are the natural way to control aiptasia in your reef tank.
Successful ecosystems are ecosystems that sustain a balanced predator-prey relationship. When aiptasia populations are high, Berghia populations will also be high.
When aiptasia populations are low, then Berghia will be low as well. If aiptasia populations cease to exist, then Berghia populations will cease to exist as well.
When ordering, please keep this in mind, if you order too many Berghia with the sole purpose of eliminating the aiptasia, then you are numbering the days of these little fellows’ lives.
Please consider ordering only enough Berghia to keep your aiptasia population “under control” and let the predator-prey relationship find it’s balance.
The only real problem with aiptasia is that they will overpopulate and take over a tank; other than that, they do have a natural purpose; for example, they are excellent animal filters for your reef ecosystem.
Berghia nudibranchs’ have both male and female reproductive organs; however, they require two to reproduce. Therefore, we only sell Berghia in pairs; our objective is that the Berghia have the opportunity to multiply in your reef tank and maintain their population.
If Berghia are allowed to populate, they will always keep your aiptasia in check and under control.
Berghia have a life span of approximately six months (we’ve had Berghia live for as long as eight months) and will reach a size of 1 1/2″ to 2″ long. During this time, Berghia will have consumed huge quantities of aiptasia and laid thousands of eggs.
When we ship your Berghia, they are placed into a small clear plastic container, submerged into a plastic bag of tank water. The plastic container keeps your Berghia safe from being caught in wrinkles or folds in the bag, and the water in the plastic bag helps to maintain temperature.
Once you receive your Berghia, open the bag, and carefully open the lid on the plastic container; do not remove the plastic container from inside the bag. Place the whole bag into a supporting jug or container to begin your acclimatization procedure.
Acclimatization can be accomplished using the drip method or by transferring water from your aquarium with a turkey baster. As you add water, be sure to remove water from the bag as well (discarding the water removed), do this until all the water has been changed over to your tank water. It is essential to do this as slow as possible to allow your Berghia to adjust to your aquarium’s water parameters properly.
If your Berghia have not crawled out of the container during this procedure, the whole container can be carefully lowered into the tank and placed securely against some liverock and let your Berghia crawl out on their own.
Caution: If the Berghia have crawled out onto the outside of the container, do not expose them to the air. Instead, use a turkey baster to gently blow water on them until they finally come loose, then suck them up with the turkey baster, put your finger over the end of the baster and transfer them to the display tank. You can use the turkey baster transfer method with any Berghia that may have crawled out while you were acclimatizing them.
When you transfer them to the display tank, it is a good idea to shut all powerheads off until the Berghia have managed to get a good footing. If you are using the turkey baster method, be sure to release the Berghia gently and directly onto a rock next to an aiptasia colony.
Be careful not to release your Berghia into the mouth of an aiptasia, or your Berghia will become an aiptasia meal. Berghia are skilled aiptasia hunters, and they have their methods and strategies of attacking their prey. It is fascinating to watch these skilled little fellows in action!