Keeping Lettuce Nudibranch

[zoaxanthellae]

Would it be possible to keep a Lettuce Nudibranch, by itself with Hair Algae and Live Rock in a 10g tank, providing there is very little flow?

[LeslieH]

Sorry, no. There are 3 species known as lettuce nudibranchs. None of them eat hair algae, and juveniles require different algae than the adults.

Elysia clarki http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet.cfm?base=elysclar
Elysia crispata http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet.cfm?base=elyscris
Elysia diomedea http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet.cfm?base=elysdiom

[zoaxanthellae]

But on the same site, it is stated that Crispata would eat Bryopsis Algae. Isn't that hair algae?

http://www.seaslugforum.net/display.cfm?id=3863

[iamwhatiam52]

Leslie,
Is there one type that does better in a tank?
I've tried them from every source I can find hoping to get one that can survive, but I never see them eat anything and they all waste away in a matter of weeks.


Has anyone had long term survival with them?

[LeslieH]

Bryopsis looks like fine green feathers so I don't think it's one of the species collectively known as hair algae.

I think any of them would do fine IF you had the right algae for them to eat. Otherwise they starve as you've already found out. LFSs usually don't have correct species names on algae (if they have scientific names at all) so you can't be sure that you're getting the right stuff. If you've read all the posts in the Sea Slug Forum threads it's clear that even the researchers who study them aren't always sure what they eat.

[3D-Reef]

I had a pair of 'em live for a year and a half,each laid 7 spirals of eggs,getting smaller each time,then they shrank to nothing.
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d26/3D-Reef/slugs.jpg

[Paul B]

Actually there is no such thing as a "Lettuce Nudibranch" they are slugs. Many people confuse these two animals because they look very similar but nudibranches have external gills that look like feathers while slugs have no external gills and can get oxygen through their skin. They don't really "eat" anything. They suck the chloroplasts out of bryopsis and use the chlorophyl from the plants in their own skin to make food from light. Thats why they are called Solar Powered Slugs. I sold many of them to a researcher who studies this phenomena.
They will "eat a little hair algae but they will not be very healthy or grow much. They turn bryopsis into slime by sucking it dry.
Here is an article I wrote about them
http://www.breedersregistry.org/Arti...oweredSlug.htm

[zoaxanthellae]

Thank you Paul B for the article, I found it very informative. At least now I know that Lettuce "Nudibranchs" don't eat Hair Algae.

However, you quoted Rudman as saying that they eat Caulerpa, and yet you couldn't get one to do so? (Maybe I misunderstood that sentence in which you said nothing was eaten)

Also, you said that other Nudibranchs actually do it eat Hair Algae. Could you provide some examples?

Thanks.

EDIT: I've also been told that Lettuce "Nudibranchs" can eat dried seaweed, or Nori, from supermarkets.

[greenbean36191]

There are at least three species sold as lettuce slugs. Up until quite recently two of them were thought to be a single species. One of them is reported to eat Caulerpa. The other species don't eat it.

All of the sacoglossans, which is the group these slugs belong to feed by piercing algae cells and sucking out the fluid inside. They can't eat dried seaweed, and wouldn't even recognize it as food. Almost every species is specialized to feed on one or a small number of algae species.

There aren't any nudibranchs that will eat hair algae since all are carnivores. The only slugs I know of that are reported to eat it are sea hares, and not all species will do it.

[zoaxanthellae]

Hmmm...then I'm assuming there isn't any Nudibranch/Nudibranch-like creature that would eat something readily available to the average aquarist?

[Paul B]

Quote "However, you quoted Rudman as saying that they eat Caulerpa, and yet you couldn't get one to do so?"

You would have to ask Rudman about that.

Nudibranchs are all carnivores and slugs are all vegetarian. As Greenbean said there are a few different slugs but they are not very readily available in the hobby.

[iamwhatiam52]

So.......... The short answer is that we should not try to keep them in our reef tanks.

Unreliable identification by suppliers makes it even more difficult if each has a specialized diet.

BUT................ Some of the articles report breeding them. There must therefore be a way to keep them long term.

[Paul B]

I Raised over 100 of them in my reef where they lived about 18 months. The offspring never really grew over about 3/4" but I had no bryopsis. The algae sustained them along with the light but they really need bryopsis if you want them to get large or spawn.

One of my babies