Nudibranchs
- Thread starter brewboy
- Start date
I'm not a salt-water person, so I'm not familiar with them (I wondered if this post wasn't similar to some of DMD's before I read it 
). However, after looking them up they look really cool and thier variations are very eye-catching!
This bit from Wikipedia was really interesting "The surface dwelling nudibranch, Glaucus atlanticus is a specialist predator of siphonophores, such as the Portuguese Man O' War. This predatory mollusk sucks air into its stomach to keep it afloat and using its muscular foot it clings to the surface film. If it finds a small victim Glaucus simply envelops it with its capacious mouth, but if the prey is a larger siphonophore the mollusk nibbles off its fishing tentacles, the ones carrying the most potent nematocysts. Like some others of its kind Glaucus does not digest the nematocysts; instead, it uses them to defend itself by passing them from its gut to the surface of its skin"
Is this something you're thinking of for your tanks?
). However, after looking them up they look really cool and thier variations are very eye-catching! This bit from Wikipedia was really interesting "The surface dwelling nudibranch, Glaucus atlanticus is a specialist predator of siphonophores, such as the Portuguese Man O' War. This predatory mollusk sucks air into its stomach to keep it afloat and using its muscular foot it clings to the surface film. If it finds a small victim Glaucus simply envelops it with its capacious mouth, but if the prey is a larger siphonophore the mollusk nibbles off its fishing tentacles, the ones carrying the most potent nematocysts. Like some others of its kind Glaucus does not digest the nematocysts; instead, it uses them to defend itself by passing them from its gut to the surface of its skin"
Is this something you're thinking of for your tanks?
nudis are not really that common in aquariums. They do not have a very long life span, and most will eat coral. Zoanthid polyps in particular. There is not really a lot known about their diet, so they dont usually live long in captivity. I suppose if you had a fish only tank you should be able to keep them. I wonder if some fish would eat them though. A lot of fish eat inverts. Some of them are toxic.
There are some really beautiful nudi's though.
There are some really beautiful nudi's though.
Lettuce nudis are very common and yes they are really pretty. As your tank matures and you no longer have algaes growing, they too will run out of food and die. Just like a sea slug. When the algae is gone, they will die. Best to control algae by water changes and RODI water. You can get one for the meantime to help control it. They are pretty small. I had a few at one time. They couldnt handle the flow in the tank and I found one in my filter and no idea what happened to the other one. Probably ended up in the same place or my wrasse at it.