anyone familiar to Nudibranches?

[mr. tuna]

Hey,
I have seen many incredible looking nudibranches in my LFS.
The thing is.. i have heard that they do well in captivity, and i have heard completely the opposite. I have a 92 reef, and i have stronium, calcium..ect in my water.
Anyone had one? suggestions?
Thanks,
Adam

 

[beachbum]

they are a great addition to any tank where the wont get eaten but be careful which ones you get as some are posionous when they die. I have a lettuce in my tank and i love it!

 

[mr. tuna]

sounds cool!! :joy:

 

[nas19320]

Cover your powerheads if you get one, they have a habit of getting sucked into them and also finding their way into overflows.

 

[mr. tuna]

oh ok.
But overall, are they good to have in a reef?
They sure are beautiful!!
And would they release toxins that can kill my fish, coral & invertibretes if it dies?

 

[nas19320]

The only ones I have experience with is the Lettuce slug and they didn't last long.

 

[mr. tuna]

oh ok.
In about 2 weeks i will try one and see how it goes.

 

[mr. tuna]

Thanks for all the info though!! :yes:

 

[beachbum]

they dont have a very long life span but are great additions to the tank both visually and working. have at it!

 

[greatfullreefer]

As far as i know the lettuce and blue velvet are the only ones that wont crash a tank...what does it look like?

 

[obtusewit]

Sea slugs are members of of the family Opisthobranch of which nudibranch are also a member. Lettuce 'nudibranchs' as they are known in the trade are actually sea slugs since nudies wear there gills on their backs, Lettuce nudies as all Ophistho's are highly specialized feeders. They have one food and that is Bryopsis algaes, of which hair algae is a member. It has not been dtermined what the young eat but it is suspected that they eat bacterial slime, but they young will starve if placed into a tank full of Bryopsis. Every Ophistho has a different food source, but generally they are speciallized to just one food. Most of the species available in the trade are captured as adults and will slowly starve to death. Even so, they may live 6 months slowly shrinking out of sight. If you have hair algae, lettuce slugs will clean it up and may live 2 years, which is about the maimum life span for any Ophistho species.
Here is the difnitive sight for these colorful critters
http://slugsite.tierranet.com/

 

[obtusewit]

 

[mr. tuna]

Those are really cool!!
I think that the one i want is a blue velvet.

 

[otradnoje]

I've had a Lettuce nudi, and I think everyone will agree that they are the easiest to keep, a good beginner's nudibranch.
I think the Blue Velvet eats sponge, and they're popular for eating flatworms.