I think the secret with CBB is to make sure they're getting enough food. They're such slow and considered eaters, that by the time they decide to suck up that piece of mysis, half the time it's either blown away or someone else has grabbed it. Over time they'll figure out how to compete (most fish usually do), but I think most starve to death before they really adapt. I think people would have much better overall success with them if they provided newly arrived CBB with a steady supply of clams on the half shell. I've never seen a CBB that didn't go ape $#%& for clams, newly arrived or not, and if you drop one in while it's still on the shell, it has all the time in the world to pick at it. That's how I acclimated my CBB to prepared foods. It quickly became my favourite fish, even though mine didn't seem to even see the aiptasia I bought him to eat.
Moral of the story, using an animal that isn't an obligate feeder of something to control that something is always hit and miss. Even animals that are supposed to love the thing you're trying to get rid of might not have gotten that particular memo.
I would also say that if you've tried peppermint shrimp to eliminate aiptasia (I did once, and it didn't work at all for me), don't bother with Berghia unless you can get all the shrimp out of the tank. Peppermint's like Berghia a heck of a lot more than they like aiptasia. As do several wrasses, and possibly CBBs. That was a very expensive lesson to learn.
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11-07-2012, 09:58 PM
Hybrid Mode
