Breeding Journal, Species: Berghia verrucicornis

General
Species:  Berghia verrucicornis
Social Structure: 14 small adults 
Size of Individuals:  3/8 inches
Age of Individuals:  approximately 1.5 months
Date added to Tank:  May 7th, 2011

Broodstock Tank Details
Size of Tank:  19 fluid oz plastic container (3 in diameter, 5 in height) with hole drilled in lid
Substrate Details:  none
Filtration Details:  none
Water Changes:  50% weekly
Water Temperature:  84 °F
Lighting:  ambient
Lighting Cycle:  12 hr on, 12 hr off; reverse photoperiod
Other Tank Inhabitants:  none

Broodstock Feeding Details
Food Types:  aiptasia anemones
Feeding Schedule:  two large anemones once every other day

Spawning Details
Date of First Spawn:  5/9/11
Spawn Time of Day:  not known
Dates of Consecutive Spawns:  not known, frequent spawns
Courtship Details:  not witnessed
Egg Size:  ~1/20th of a mm?
Egg Color: white 
Egg Count:  approximately 100 per strand

Hatch Details
Hatch Date:  recorded a hatch on 5/30/11
Hatch Time of Day:  not known
# Days after Spawn:  not known
Larvae Description:  unable to see with naked eye, appear molluscan under microscope


Larval Tank Details
Temperature:  84 °F
Size of Larval Tank:  18 fl oz (3.5 in diameter, 3.375 in height) plastic container with hole drilled in lid          
Substrate Details:  none
Other Tank Decor:  none
Filtration Details:  none
Lighting:  ambient
Lighting Cycle:  12 hr on, 12 hr off; reverse photoperiod
Water Changes:  none (afraid that I will lose larvae with the waste water)

Larval Feeding Details
Food Types:  small aiptasia anemones
Feeding Schedule:  4-6 small anemones intruduced to container before eggs hatched

Metamorphosis/Settlement
Date of Settlement Start:  some larvae had settled on 5/30/11
Days after Hatch:  not known
Date of Settlement End:  not known
Description of Fry:  clearly molluscan in shape, movement

Grow-Out Tank Details
Temperature:  84 °F
Size of Grow-Out Tank:  18 fl oz (3.5 in diameter, 3.375 in height) plastic container with hole drilled in lid          
Substrate Details:  none
Other Tank Decor:  none
Filtration Details:  none
Lighting:  ambient
Lighting Cycle:  12 hr on, 12 hr off; reverse photoperiod
Water Changes:  50% weekly (once offspring are visible)
Size at Transfer:  no transferring yet
Age at Transfer:  no transferring yet, may not transfer until sellable size

Grow-Out Feeding Details
Food Types:  aiptasia anemones
Feeding Schedule:  1-2 "medium" anemones every other day depending on slug size and number

Additional Information
(No Pictures or Videos in the Section Please)
Miscellaneous Information: 
the 14 young adult slugs were in my possession while Daniel Walden (waldend) was out of town on vacation.  I returned the adult slugs to him and kept the egg strands for this rearing project.  It seems to me that there is little need to keep large "broodstock" berghia if small adults will spawn with this frequency.  


You will be required to provide photographic evidence in this thread of each event submitted for the MBI Program.
If your thread does not contain these photos the MBI Committee will not be able to approve your reports.

some pictures of the eggs, larvae and tiny "settled" slugs:
 




 




These next two are videos:

 

 



 
John

Nice photos! Thanks for documenting the hatch.

--Andy, the bucket man.
"Not to know the mandolin is to argue oneself unknown...." --Clara Lanza, 1886

Here are some updated photos.  The slugs are getting to the point where they are too large to photograph using the microscope but too small to get very good pictures with my camera.

 

 
The slug in these two pictures is about 1/4 inches long.  There is significant variation in size in this batch.  This is one of the largest and most robust slugs in the group.
 

 

 
It is amazing the size of aiptasia these guys can take down with them being no more than 1/4 inch long.  I am having a hard time keeping enough anemones for them.  Does anyone cut their large anemones (i.e. like people propagate rose anemones) in order to keep enough medium sized aiptasia for berghia grow-out?  I just asked my local aquarium club if anyone had an aiptasia problem I could take off their hands.  
 
Thanks,
John