Sea Slugs?

[Donya]

Hi, I'm mainly a freshwater invert person, but I've recently had to start looking into saltwater due to having aquired some snails that I thought were freshwater but...well...arn't lol. Anyway, since I am going to have to go the whole way and do live rock and all that to keep the snails happy, I'm starting to look into other saltwater inverts (pie in the sky type looking, since I know I am in need of experience/knowledge). I have been fascinated by sea slugs for a long time, the types that really look like aquatic slugs rather than the swimming flower beds. Do those guys have a big "not for newbies!" stamp on them, and are they expensive to keep in terms of food and habitat requirements?

 

[Donya]

Ummm....could somebody at least recommend a book or website with info on the topic?

 

[J-Money]

look on liveaquaria.com. they have some sea slugs, but they look adorned like you don't want. you might be thinking of sea cucumbers, which they have as well. good luck

 

[steelhealr]

Sea slugs, or nudibranchs, have one thing that could be dangerous. If not kept under pristine water condtions with adequate food, they can release toxins and nuke a tank. If you aren't planning on keeping fish and expensive corals, then, I don't sea a reason why you couldn't keep them if you are into a species tank. SH

 

[Donya]

I looked on liveaquaria.com, but other than the sea hair, I didn't see any of the non-tentacled varieties I've seen in pet stores over the years. The nudibranchs (thanks for the spelling there, I couldn't remember it) I've seen that I was interested in looked similar to sea hairs, but weren't an exact match.

If not kept under pristine water condtions with adequate food, they can release toxins and nuke a tank.

Ugh...I knew that was an issue for some, but I didn't realize they were all capable of that. I definitely don't want to take any chances and get tank nudibranch-bombed if I mess up, thanks for the info!

 

[Navarre]

Sorry to sound negative but sea slugs (nudibranches) arent just a "no no" for beginngers but they are "no" period! The problem with nudi branches is that 99.99% of them will only eat a specific food and will not under any circumstances change diet to anything else. Sadly this means that their needs cannot be met in the home aquarium and the nudi simply dies of starvation after a few weeks.
They also resemble their prey (i guess this is camoflague) so if you see brightly coloured nudis in a shop then consider what it might feed upon? Probably brightly coloured spnges or corals so this means that you either have to spend a fortune buying corals and sponges for it or leave it where it is.

Some people have had success with the Berghia nudi as this is a known aptiasia predator and as this is a nuisance critter in a tank these nudis are highly sought after. However they do eat these very fast so people usually farm out more aps to keep the nudis well fed or they loan them to other reefers who have similar aptasia problems.


If we are talking sea apples then again i would keep clear, they are gorgeous to watch when they open out yet if they become stressed they can release harmful toxins into the system which will kill everything in it. This doesnt mean all inverts are not to be kept, conches, snails hermits and other crabs etc are great additions along with brittle stars, shrimps and urchins.

 

[Donya]

Ouchness. Scratch those off my pie-in-the-sky list then...food requirements like that combined with the squished sea slug toxin ER trip story I read are plenty to convince. I know aquatic snails upside down and inside out, so I will stick to those guys in saltwater. Thanks much for the info!

Just curious, what are your opinions on bivalves?

 

[Navarre]

It really depends on the type of bivalve. I have quite a few in the tank that have hitchhiked in with my liverock and they seem to be thriving. However, such things as Sccarlet Scallops can be trickier. The majority dont need light which is a bonus when compared to corals and clams but this means that they derive their energy from the food they can catch so once again make sure you research its requirments and are sure you can meet the cratures needs.

 

[Donya]

Found some new hitchhikers today, first one I am pretty sure are nudibranchs (ugh! )

1...~5mm long and smaller, 4 tentacles/stalks at the head, little flower thing on the back towards the end, moves fairly fast, and can free-swim for a while before touching down and crawling again. I think they're really neat but I really(!) don't want my tank inked/bombed/crashed...at least I don't have any prized corals I'm trying to protect. At such a small size will they be a problem if they ink or die?

2...about the size of a pencil erasor, polyp type, white, long tentacles and retracts when prodded. There are 3 of them that have appeared on my heater, could be more elsewhere. A nem?

 

[Navarre]

The Nudi will sadly starve im afraid. If its possible to catch it then i would remove it but if not then you will have to run the risk im afriad. )

The others sound like they could be smal fan worms?

 

[Donya]

Bummer the little nudibranches are so small they'll be hard to catch, but I'll try if they decide to come out again.

For the little white guys on the heater, I can't see any hard parts that would be a tube. Some of the animal may be hidden, but they look 100% squishy.

 

[Donya]

Arg...well whatever the white heater things were, the nudis ate them and the snails are cleaning up the remains. Darnit. There are too many nudis to catch...I'm wondering if I ended up with eggs hatching or something, because it's a lot of 1mm ones I'm seeing, only a few larger than that.