[sweetrav18]

I recently purchased a

-feather duster
-flame scallop
-sea slug

and was wondering how much, and how often I should feed them the phytoplankton supplement. Is there any exact measurings and do I have to feed them individually or just add some to the tank and allow it to circulate?

[Ninong]

Sea slugs are not filter feeders. There are thousands of different sea slugs, any idea what you have?

I pulled my previous comments on Flame Scallops and feather dusters for you:
feather duster,flame scallop

electric red flame scallop (not really sure what it is)

flame scallop

All filter feeders feed continuously. It doesn't help to target feed them because they cannot handle large quantities of food at one time. Phytoplankton (preferably live) should be added to the tank in frequent small quantities. Having a mature reef tank with a mature deep sand bed helps to provide an encouraging environment for filter feeders; however, some of them are almost impossible to maintain long term.

[sweetrav18]

Originally Posted by Ninong

Sea slugs are not filter feeders. There are thousands of different sea slugs, any idea what you have?

I dont know what kind of sea slug he/she is. I attached a picture of what it looks similar to only mine has a pink body with a white line outlining it and yellow "tentacles" off it back. What do they eat and are there any supplements? Thanks for telling me he doesn't filter feed.

[Ninong]

The animal pictured is a nudibranch. All nudibranchs are specialized carnivores. Usually they accept only one particular prey animal or at least limit themselves to just a few species in the same genus. For example, most of the dorids prey on sponges of one sort or another. Some nudibranchs prey on Montipora corals, others prey on other inverts.

None of them are filter feeders and none of them eat any sort of algae. If the appropriate prey is not available to them, they will gradually waste away. Their natural lifespan varies from species to species but is usually no more than 12 months, often less.

P.S. -- What you call "tentacles" are actually the naked gills (nudi branchs). Based on your description of the animal that you have and based on the fact that it is very commonly available in the trade, I will take a guess and say that you may have a dorid nudibranch -- probably Hypselodoris bullocki. The coloration you described is one of it's more common color morphs. It feeds on sponges and nothing else.

P.P.S. -- They are hermaphrodites.

[Ninong]

I googled Hypselodoris bullocki for you. Most of the pictures are correctly identified as H. bullocki but a few appear to belong to a different species, assuming they belong in the genus Hypselodoris.

See if your nudibranch looks like this: http://images.google.com/images?q=Hy...=Google+Search

[sweetrav18]

Thanks for all the info. I have attached the picture that is nearly identical to my sea slug. I have heard that sea slugs can be poisonous if they die releasign toxins into the water that can be harmful to the fish. Is this true and is so is this true of the species I have? Is there any food I can supplement it with? Thanks again ...all info is appreciated.

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by sweetrav18

Thanks for all the info. I have attached the picture that is nearly identical to my sea slug.

Your animal is actually a nudibranch. It would be better to call it a nudibranch rather than a sea slug. It's exactly what I suspected it might be. They import a lot of those. That's a shame!

I have heard that sea slugs can be poisonous if they die releasign toxins into the water that can be harmful to the fish. Is this true and is so is this true of the species I have?

There are literally thousands of different species of nudibranchs and sea slugs. Many of them exude toxic slime as a defensive mechanism. Many of them store toxins that they get from their prey. Some of them even store nematocysts that they get from their prey. That's why they have aposematic coloration. Most animals with very noticeable coloration and patterns are either venomous, poisonous, toxic or at least noxious and they would prefer if potential predators noticed them first before bothering to taste them. Think of Mandarin Dragonets, for example, with their noxious slime coating. Think of all of the brilliantly colored dart-poison frogs. Think of the brilliantly colored coral snake.

The particular nudibranch that you have will gradually die in your tank as it is not likely to find the appropriate sponge prey. If it were successful in finding the type of sponge that it feeds upon, it would store the toxins extracted from the sponge. Then if it dies, it would release all of those toxins all at once. How serious such an event could be depends on a lot of variables.

Is there any food I can supplement it with?

No, there is no food that you can feed it because it is not physically capable of eating anything other than its specialized prey sponge and it is not even known with certainty exactly which sponge it feeds on. And, of course, the sponge must be alive at the time. Feeding the tank canned or frozen angelfish/butterflyfish food that contains some sponge matter will not help. Almost all of these animals are destined to gradually die in captive tanks. The vendors know this quite well but they couldn't care less because these nudibranchs are extremely easy to collect and they are available by the hundreds of thousands in the Philippines and other collection locations.

Even if it happens to find the exact type of sponge that it requires for survival, its natural lifespan is quite limited. It will be difficult to say with certainly whether yours died of starvation or old age. Old age being 12 months or so.

[sweetrav18]

What would you suggest I do? I have read on sea Slug Forum that

"The only nudibranchs that could cause an 'Armageddon' in your tank are members of the family Phyllidiidae, such as Phyllidia varicosa, which secrete rather toxic chemicals into the water. But you mention 'frilly bits' which I assume are gills, so it can't be a phyllidiid as they don't have visible gills."

So should I remove the nudibranch or enjoy the color it adds until it dies? Is the above info consistent with what youv've read/heard?

[Ninong]

Was that statement written by Dr. Bill Rudman or by someone else?

[Ninong]

I think this reply by Dr. Rudman to someone named Terry might be informative:



Dear Terry,
I have difficulty with the way many aquariists work. I would have thought the first step would be to find out about animals you plan to introduce into your aquarium before you buy them. This is definitely a case in point. It is Phyllidia varicosa, and belongs to a family of nudibranch which are not a good idea to keep in aquaria as they produce nasty secretions which can kill everything in a tank. Have a look at an earlier message on the topic.

You ask is it 'reef safe'. In 'reef aquariums' it is not a safe addition, but it is perfectly safe when its left where it should be - on a natural tropical reef. Unfortunately natural tropical reefs are becoming endangered habitats because of the desire for people in temperate climates to have 'reef' aquariums. We live in a strange world.
Best wishes
Bill Rudman




There are all sorts of sea slugs and nudibranchs that can potentially cause problems. Some are just more problematic than others. I do not think that your nudibranch will cause any problems when it dies.