Berghia breeding questions

marv1111n · Dec 18, 2024

Hello, I'm very new to this forum, but I joined here hoping to get some advice from experienced breeders of berghia nudibranchs.
I couldn't find any sufficient information online regarding my question.

I'm thinking of purchasing some berghia nudibranchs in the near future to combat the growing aiptasia population in my nano tank.

But the thing is, I also keep a coral banded shrimp in there. I love that little guy, but he would most likely view them as a tasty snack the second I introduced them to my tank. And since berghias only live for a very short time, I thought about breeding them. I know the breeding process isn't all that complicated in theory, but I like to complicate things.

I was wondering if anybody had experience with breeding them in a hang on breeder box or something similar. My idea is that it would be an even more inexpensive way of breeding them, since I wouldn't need to buy an extra tank, heater, etc. (And I already have an air pump I don't use).
But those readily available breeding boxes don't seem to fit my specific needs. They are usually designed for fish and not for inverts and their larvae. The larvae could easily leave the box and settle in the main tank. And who knows if they could survive there. So a controlled development inside a box would be ideal.

Could I babyproof one of these with some filter matt/mesh? Or does anybody have ideas or suggestions for breeding berghias in such a setup? Or if someone could share their experiences or direct me to a post that deals with something similar, that would be great.

Tahoe61 · Dec 19, 2024

But they have to have access to Aiptasia, wouldn't a breeding box type of isolation prohibit them from eating?

Jmp998 · Jan 12, 2025

If you want to breed small scale, you can easily use a 5 gallon salt bucket with some cycled sand/rubble and an air pump. Heater is not needed for Berghia as long as your house temp is >65F (generation time will be longer but they will grow and reproduce fine). They are tolerant of poor water conditions.

If you prefer to do something that hangs on your tank, you could just use one of those specimen containers that LFS use when they are bagging guppies etc. Hang it on your sump, once a day swap out half the berghia water with tank water. Use the smallest air pump you can find to keep the water oxygenated.

There is only one thing that is challenging about breeding berghia-providing enough Aiptasia. Whatever strategy you decide on, you need to be able to supply the Berghia with plenty of Aiptasia.

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Some people have done a more complicated setup with a flow through container in their sump, but I would probably flood my floors if I tried that.

William Bruckmann · Jan 22, 2025

Raising Berghia is easy. They reach adulthood in about 45 days, and spend their time hiding in the rockwork and making little Berghia by the 100's. Keeping them fed is the hard part. They mow through the Aiptasia faster than you can grow it. If they go more then 5 or 6 days without eating they die. I have been breeding them for about 2 years and I never consider myself just a Berghia breeder. I am first and formost an Aiptasia farmer. I spend about 2/3 of my time tending to my Aiptasia tanks, and 1/3 with the Berghia. For real estate I would guess my Aiptasia tanks have my Berghia beat by 4 to 1. My advice to anyone thinking of raising Berghia is to start your Aiptasia tanks first and then get your Berghia once they are established and giving you new Aiptasia every day.

The Berghia Farm