Need an ID on these two sea slugs

[EthanPhillyCheesesteak]

Two different kinds of sea slugs at my lfs, she swears on the Bible that they eat algae, but I’m not so sure. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Never seen the first but the second one:

 

http://www.tfhmagazine.com/saltwater-reef/species-profiles/phyllidia-varicosa.htm

[EthanPhillyCheesesteak]

Yea, the first one is what I really want to know about. I love how it look like a snowy mountain top

[mndfreeze]

Pretty much all nudibranchs are impossible to keep in an aquarium setting.  They all have very very very very very very very specific dietary requirements that are usually impossible to fulfill.  Mostly sponges, hydroids, nems, or coral.  

 

There are a few exceptions, but they are not pretty.  Generally it's been my experience as an invert lover that only the tiny, ugly, PEST species seem to do well in your tank since you don't want them there.  All the pretty ones are impossible.

 

There are a few non-nudibranchs that are slug like that are pretty and a bit easier.  The Shield slug, or Blue velvet slug, eats flatworms which can be bred fairly easily.  The lettuce nudibranch actually DOES eat algae, one of the very few that does.  Not super pretty but can be kept.  Berghia eat aiptasia. They are tiny and boring looking, just little white things but serve a legit real purpose.  Most nudi's have a really short lifespan also.  

 

Generally unless it's one of those species don't buy it.  Admire it and feel bad that someone collected it, but leave it in the store.

[EthanPhillyCheesesteak]

7 hours ago, mndfreeze said:

Pretty much all nudibranchs are impossible to keep in an aquarium setting.  They all have very very very very very very very specific dietary requirements that are usually impossible to fulfill.  Mostly sponges, hydroids, nems, or coral.  

 

There are a few exceptions, but they are not pretty.  Generally it's been my experience as an invert lover that only the tiny, ugly, PEST species seem to do well in your tank since you don't want them there.  All the pretty ones are impossible.

 

There are a few non-nudibranchs that are slug like that are pretty and a bit easier.  The Shield slug, or Blue velvet slug, eats flatworms which can be bred fairly easily.  The lettuce nudibranch actually DOES eat algae, one of the very few that does.  Not super pretty but can be kept.  Berghia eat aiptasia. They are tiny and boring looking, just little white things but serve a legit real purpose.  Most nudi's have a really short lifespan also.  

 

Generally unless it's one of those species don't buy it.  Admire it and feel bad that someone collected it, but leave it in the store.

Will do, she called them sea slugs, not nudibranchs. Is there a difference? 

[EthanPhillyCheesesteak]

The white one that I actually kinda liked at my lfs is always on the glass, so it’s either eating the film algae or something else, or else it’s starving. Starving is probably the most logical option tho.

[EthanPhillyCheesesteak]

If I could possibly figure out exactly what the white slug eats and it does turn out to be algae. Would it be a good idea to get him. Something is keeping the slug alive tho. It’s been at my lfs for more than 2 weeks. So it has to be eating something.

[WV Reefer]

Don’t do it. 

 

There is a reason that no one has one in their tank......something that cool? Everyone would have them. 

 

Spend your money on something you can actually enjoy. 

[EthanPhillyCheesesteak]

9 minutes ago, WV Reefer said:

Don’t do it. 

 

There is a reason that no one has one in their tank......something that cool? Everyone would have them. 

 

Spend your money on something you can actually enjoy. 

Alright, thanks

[Rob22]

Ask your LFS what species name was on the sheet when they came in. If they don’t have one on the sheet, I can pretty much guarantee it came in as a hitchhiker on some rock or something. Also sea slug = nudibranch. These things will not survive long term in your tank because they are obligate feeders. They may survive short term but their food supply will run out soon. It can also take a few weeks for them to starve and they do not generally do well in high flow. You can check the below link and go through the hundreds of species to see if you can match it. 

 

http://www.seaslugforum.net/ 

[EthanPhillyCheesesteak]

Just to make a quick update. The 2nd pictured nudi died in the LFS tank after only like a week, but the white nudi is still alive in the LFS tank. It’s been alive for like 4 months. Idk what it’s eating? The only thing in the tank is algae on the glass, so it must be eating that.

[Tired]

They're brightly colored, so they live among brightly colored things, and probably eat those. The only algae-eating nudibranchs I can think of (sea lettuce and a couple of tiny ones reefcleaners sells) are colored like the algae they live among. 

 

That first one has either found some bits of sponge to eat, or is continuing to starve very, very slowly. Some animals can live months on no food. If it's still alive in a year, that's something to note. 

[EthanPhillyCheesesteak]

4 hours ago, Tired said:

They're brightly colored, so they live among brightly colored things, and probably eat those. The only algae-eating nudibranchs I can think of (sea lettuce and a couple of tiny ones reefcleaners sells) are colored like the algae they live among. 

 

That first one has either found some bits of sponge to eat, or is continuing to starve very, very slowly. Some animals can live months on no food. If it's still alive in a year, that's something to note. 

We have no idea what most of these nudis eat, and I can’t seem to find any information on the one that’s white. I’ve searched online and I can’t find anything. I’m almost considering that it’s not a nudi, bc it has something like a shell over it more like a chiton of some sort. I doubt that any animal could survive this long without food tho

[Tired]

It does have a little bit of a shell appearance to it. Can you touch it and see if it's soft? It doesn't look segmented like a chiton.

 

Linkia starfish starve slowly in all but the very largest home aquariums, and people regularly keep them for longer than 4 months before they die. Invertebrates have slower metabolisms than other animals. 

[EthanPhillyCheesesteak]

22 hours ago, Tired said:

It does have a little bit of a shell appearance to it. Can you touch it and see if it's soft? It doesn't look segmented like a chiton.

 

Linkia starfish starve slowly in all but the very largest home aquariums, and people regularly keep them for longer than 4 months before they die. Invertebrates have slower metabolisms than other animals. 

I would like to touch it to test if it’s hard, but I doubt my lfs would let me just stick my hand in and touch it

[hypostatic]

On 7/14/2019 at 10:58 PM, EthanPhillyCheesesteak said:

she swears on the Bible that they eat algae

 

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

 

bwahaha what a bold-faced lie. If she can't give you a species name that you can positively ID the nudi with, she has no freaking clue what she's talking about and is just trying to get you to buy it lol.

 

kinda hard to make a good ID without seeing the rhinophores

[mndfreeze]

Fairlt certain both of those are sponge eaters.

[Tired]

Bit strange that one is (or, at least, was) still alive. Could it be another, newer individual of the same species? Or I suppose the poor thing could just be starving especially slowly, maybe finding traces of something it can eat somewhere.

[sadie]

kinda looks like that.  Maybe a bit diffetent because of age or gender, or starving.

 

[Lovemyreef2015]

phyllidia sp.

[EthanPhillyCheesesteak]

Thanks for all the help everyone. So far the white one is still alive and I know it’s been the same white color since the lfs got it in. I was in the store when they got their shipment in. So it hasn’t changed colors. I have no idea what it’s eating.

[EthanPhillyCheesesteak]

The lfs does have some rocks in the same tank as the white one that have some small sponges on it, but the nudi doesn’t seem interested in the sponges, it just roams the glass

[mndfreeze]

Nudis tend to be specific eaters.  So a sponge eating nudi won't eat just any sponge, but only one or two very specific species.

 

Eventually it will die.  

[johnmaloney]

On 7/18/2019 at 5:05 AM, mndfreeze said:

Pretty much all nudibranchs are impossible to keep in an aquarium setting.  They all have very very very very very very very specific dietary requirements that are usually impossible to fulfill.  Mostly sponges, hydroids, nems, or coral.  

 

There are a few exceptions, but they are not pretty.  Generally it's been my experience as an invert lover that only the tiny, ugly, PEST species seem to do well in your tank since you don't want them there.  All the pretty ones are impossible.

 

There are a few non-nudibranchs that are slug like that are pretty and a bit easier.  The Shield slug, or Blue velvet slug, eats flatworms which can be bred fairly easily.  The lettuce nudibranch actually DOES eat algae, one of the very few that does.  Not super pretty but can be kept.  Berghia eat aiptasia. They are tiny and boring looking, just little white things but serve a legit real purpose.  Most nudi's have a really short lifespan also.  

 

Generally unless it's one of those species don't buy it.  Admire it and feel bad that someone collected it, but leave it in the store.

So many beauties out there! But you are right. The sarcoglassans do well in captivity though.  I have kept Cyerce species that are gorgeous and easy to keep alive, but messy in the sense that those appendages they have come off when touched or stressed and then wave about and eventually decay in the system and have to be cleaned. They are quicker to shed them than sea hares are to ink or porcelains to drop claws etc...Very mucousy. Every other sarcoglassan I have come across has been Ok in captivity as long as their size and ability to get into powerheads is taken care of. 

[Tired]

Oh, wow, the Cyerce slugs are STUNNING. How does one keep them? What do they eat?