CarrillXXP Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 Has anyone ever tried to keep a tank dedicated to sea slugs? I literally fell in love with sea slugs on a class trip to the rocky intertidal. I do know that they don't live long... Here's one species that I saw, Triopha catalinae: I also ran into a few sea lemons. Anyways let me know! Link to comment
Trick Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 I guess you could do a species tank, but only do it if you know what it eats. Also, if they die it's possible it could nuke your tank. Link to comment
CarrillXXP Posted November 5, 2011 Author Share Posted November 5, 2011 I guess you could do a species tank, but only do it if you know what it eats. Also, if they die it's possible it could nuke your tank. To be expected, I'd really like to see if anyone has had any luck with other species outside of lettuce slugs. Link to comment
altolamprologus Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 Most nudibranchs have extremely specialized diets (lettuce nudis only eat GHA, zoa nudis only eat zoas, etc.) and a good majority of them eat either a single species of sponge or a single species of tunicate. You could really only keep one alive if you found out exactly what it eats and were able to collect vast amounts of it from the wild. Link to comment
Squared Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 maybe theirs a public aquarium near you that keeps them? Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 Velvet sea slugs (Chelidonura varians) are so beautiful, and I wish I could keep one. Well, with the problems I've been having getting rid of flatworms that are resistant to Flatworm Exit, I might have to get one, but only if I could set up an exchange program with other local reefers who needed help with flatworm control so it wasn't a wasted life for only one aquarium. Unfortunately, some of the most amazing creatures in the sea are so specialized that we aren't able to enjoy them in our aquariums. Maybe I will get to see some of these amazing creatures when I go to Hawaii next week! Link to comment
mndfreeze Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 I want a blue velvet slug also and got one a long while back but it died due to messing up my tank acclimation. Most pet stores that deal in saltwater and basic inverts/coral should take it as a trade in, or as part of a local reef club. They are gorgeous and decent sized to enjoy in a nano tank. Link to comment
CarrillXXP Posted November 7, 2011 Author Share Posted November 7, 2011 I want a blue velvet slug also and got one a long while back but it died due to messing up my tank acclimation. Most pet stores that deal in saltwater and basic inverts/coral should take it as a trade in, or as part of a local reef club. They are gorgeous and decent sized to enjoy in a nano tank. That'd be awesome, but I'd want a Sea Lemon or maybe another CA coastal slug. Mostly dorid species. I'll look into it more, it's not something I would get myself into without enough preface. Link to comment
animalmaster6 Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 This is a cool idea but nudibranches are too tough when it comes to feeding them. No one really knows what each species eats and they don't always eat if you do know. They are really tough to keep alive. Link to comment
mndfreeze Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 The blue velvet IS a CA coastal slug. The monterey bay aquarium had some influx of them during a warmer season. Normally not found quite that far north. But pacific coastal US they are! Link to comment
mmcguffi Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 berghias are about your only real bet IMO Link to comment
Dani3d Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 exchange? they only live for about 3 months so there will be no time for exchange. They did take care of my flatworm problem. I put 2 in my tank and only one survived but became quite big and ate most of the flatworms. I still see a few here and there but now the population is not blooming and with the low nutriment they are going down in number without any predator. The black velvets have a lifespawn of about 3 months. Any other nudibranch is going to be hard to keep, at least the attractive ones. They eat mostly sponges and most only eat one very specific thing. There are a few ugly that can live in our aquarium like the sea hare, and the berghia if you can feed them with aiptasia but that's about it. Another problem is that you must cover your powerheads with a net as they will float about often and get sucked into the pump or powerhead and die there easily. Velvet sea slugs (Chelidonura varians) are so beautiful, and I wish I could keep one. Well, with the problems I've been having getting rid of flatworms that are resistant to Flatworm Exit, I might have to get one, but only if I could set up an exchange program with other local reefers who needed help with flatworm control so it wasn't a wasted life for only one aquarium. Unfortunately, some of the most amazing creatures in the sea are so specialized that we aren't able to enjoy them in our aquariums. Maybe I will get to see some of these amazing creatures when I go to Hawaii next week! Link to comment
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