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Juvenile Berghia, Aeolidiella stephanieae, gathered in a concentric ring as they finish an Aiptasia meal. Some are even piled on top of one another as they feast on the Aiptasia as a group of over 50 young sea slugs. A few have had their fill and are turning away so we can see the color gradients from heat to tail. Their heads and rhinopores are white, body dark golden brown with very light pastel yellow tips and translucent blue tails. At a distance the impression is one of a flower or the color rings of a zooanthid. Either way to see an Aiptasia go toward something worth while such as this is a beautiful sight. (magnified approximately x20)
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Hundreds of both Larval and Juvenile Aeolidiella stephanieae attack an Aiptasia. Some are already piled on top of one another as they begin their feast. They will continue to pile on top of each other and then over the top of the Aiptasia attaching in new places until every piece of the Aiptasia aneomone is completely consumed. It can take a couple months for these juveniles to grow to size ready to ship but with thousands more than this picture shows in our systems, it will happen sooner or later. (magnified approximately x10)
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Developing Larva of Aeolidiella stephanieae are clear and invisable. INSTAR Farm developed a state of the art Berghia Breeding system to produce this tiny sea slug. We use a combination of technology and tricks to photograph them in the grow out system. (magnified approximately x40)
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