What is this?

[rystrom]

I got this from the shop when I bought some fish. They said it would eat the dirt from my aquarium (don't know if they thought I would need it...?)

However I never understood what it was (as they don't speak that good english in the part of the world where I live).

Help me out with ID and what do I feed it with?

Also it left this on one of the rocks after been sitting there for a couple of hours.. what is it?

Thanks
Rob

 

[minibowmatt]

IMO it is some sort of Nudibranch.. the spiral thing is probably an eggsack.. I dont know if i would have introduced that if you werent sure of what it is.. some nudi's eat corals...

 

[Anonymous]

I don't know of any Nudibranch that eat dirt so most likely it will just slowly starve. They are very specialized carnivores and typically can only eat a couple different species of whatever their food is. Often they'll look similar to their prey.

The ribbon is definately an egg swirl, probably from the new Nudi.

 

[rystrom]

Hm, so I guess I really need an ID of this fella so I can get him what he needs/eats...
He was up on one of the corals today but ignored it so I guess he's not into that.. Also I have some green things growing on one rock that he went up to and sniffed out for 30 minutes but then left and has since been sitting on the glass...

I thought the guy in the shop knew what he was selling, but maybe not.. I just took his word for it as the "thing" looked kind of cute..

Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

Look for pictures of Diaulula sandiegensis and see if it looks like your animal. This particular Nudi eats the Orange Finger Sponge.

 

[Anonymous]

Nudis are also known for fouling up a tank something fierce when they die.

My suggestion would be to remove it. I have never heard of anyone keeping one long term, and have read some horror stories of the poisoning of othe rinhabitants when it deid :-(

 

[FragMaster]

Only the large ones will foul the tank when they die, and then you only have to worry about it if your tank is smaller than 29g.
The spriral thing is its egg sack. Personaly I would REMOVE the egg sack as you DO NOT know if it is a coral eater yet.

 

[Len]

Only the large ones will foul the tank when they die, and then you only have to worry about it if your tank is smaller than 29g.
The spriral thing is its egg sack. Personaly I would REMOVE the egg sack as you DO NOT know if it is a coral eater yet.

But must nudibranch tissue are toxic to varying degrees, and this does get back into the tank water when they die. In most cases, it's not a issue. in small tanks or with larger specimens, it may be.

I'm very leary of any nudibranch in my tanks because most have very specific diets that no one can reasonably support. It looks like Guy's ID is close or correct, and unfortunately, this specimen will likely die by starvation (not to mention it may be subtropical).

 

[rystrom]

Thanks guys!

Well I guess I will buy a small tank and put it alone in there.
I don't know what to do with it otherwise... I will see if I can find that sponge type somewhere... but might be difficult here... Too sad...

 

[Anonymous]

Only the large ones will foul the tank when they die, and then you only have to worry about it if your tank is smaller than 29g.
The spriral thing is its egg sack. Personaly I would REMOVE the egg sack as you DO NOT know if it is a coral eater yet.

Exactly how do you determine that the cutoff is 29 Gallons? How can you be so definite about that? Have you tested the results on different sized systems or something?

:lol:

 

[Anonymous]

Here ya go.

http://www.seaslugforum.net/display.cfm?id=12636

 

[Rikko]

Re: Knowse's link.. Note they're found as high as British Columbia, and as low as California.. That's some pretty chilly water regardless - I think our water is a whopping 13 degrees at the moment.
I wouldn't give it very good odds at surviving long in full tropical temperatures.

If you want to give it a shot, don't have a heater in the separate tank and see if you can locate a food source (good luck).

Also, find a new fish store. If you don't know of one, go into this one and ask if they know of another one with ethics.

 

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't bother trying to feed it. I think acquiring food for it and adding the food to the tank (temperate sponge?? - guessing) is a recipe for a tank crash.

Just enjoy it for as long as it's around.