Aeolid nudibranch Berghia

[GinaSofia]

Yesterday I killed two of these wonderful creatures,after not finding any similar pictures in a search(I found them in my zoa's and thought they were eating them).Today,I read the article.They were both quite small. I now know how my few aptasia disappeared.
Since mine were so small do you think I may have a chance of having more in my tank?I hope so, though I realize it's a double edged sword,having to have aptasia to keep them and keeping them to get rid of aptasia.Thank you.

[GinaSofia]

I can't find this unless I run a search on myself.I was afraid the Dr. wouldn't see it .Good excuse for a bump too.

[Skipper]

[moved]

[Anthony Calfo]

its tough to say if you could have any surviving offspring here. On one hand, its hopeful because they are sexually mature at a very early age (less than 8 weeks old!!!) and may have laid egg ribbons in the tank... but development of larvae in an aquarium with pumps and overflows is not realistic.

wishing you the best of luck,

Anthony

[GinaSofia]

I don't have overflows and all that jazz running, just alot of biological filtration and a few powerheads.

Thank you for your response.

[Anthony Calfo]

hmmm... the powerheads are just the sort of pumps I was worried about my friend. They have powerful intakes that can/will macerate larvae or advanced stage Berghia. Still hoping for the best for you.

Anthony

[GinaSofia]

I did find two more today.However,I keep finding them in my zoanthids(only)..
they seem to prefer one colony and while they are not eating the zoa's they do keep them closed up.I guess I'll try relocating them when I see them again.

Edit: Actually now I've found a total of 5,all in my zoanthids(different colonies)

[M.Dandaneau]

Perhaps a dumb question, but are there any Florida/Caribbean relatives of the Berghia that you know of that are considerably larger?
A year or so ago, we had a thriving population of several different species of anemone on one of our predatory FOWLR tanks for almost a year.........most were wild caught local anemones ranging from 1/2" up to 3" across, and in a wide array of colors and tentacle shapes, some hermit crab commensuls, the rest more normal, and even a few tube anemones, and in a lionfish/scorpionfish tank they were individually fed and appreciated for their appeal as an unusual addition.
Suddenly, the anemone population crashed within a period of 4 days to a week, going from several dozen to none, and it was then that the two nudibranchs appeared, almost identical to those you pictured in your great article, only closer to 3" in length and with more/thicker cerata on the back.
Since we'd not seen anything similar locally, we bought a couple of Condy anemones as food for them (approximately one day per large anemone) at which time they began to lay eggs, also as pictured in your photo.
Since their appearance was spontaneous, I assume they came in on a small piece of LR or a hermit crab's shell, and I've not seen others in the wild either, although I now keep a watchful eye.
Thanks in advance,
Mike, Clearwater, FL

[Anthony Calfo]

Ahh...yes. Fascinating Mike! There are indeed more than a few nudibranchs (gross undertstatement here) that eat anemones specifically among cnidarians. There is a list of prey by predator (species/genera) for nudibranchs somewhere that I came across while researching the group for NMA RI. I have it listed in the biblio of course but cannot find it at a quick glance.

Some of these nudis are obligate on one species... but some clearly accept more than one species and even genera (not uncommon).

All we need now is to get that Anemonia majano-eating one breeding ;)

Do share your pics/scans if you can MIke. Great stuff to see.

kind regards to all,

Anthony

[keefsama2003]

I have a haddoni in my tank and i have noticed a few large apatasia anenomes or so they look like at first i thought they were feather dusters but they look like mini bta's and close up and everything i guess there are mojanos. anyway can i get a nudi that will take care of the mojo's without bothering my haddoni?

[Anthony Calfo]

yes... I'm in theprocess of trying to find the note that I took from an academics mention of another Caribbean Aeolid that ate Anemonia as well as Berghia. Some speculation about Berghia doing it as well. I have not noticed this yet myself.

Will keep y'all posted if/whenI find out :)

Anthony