are nudibranches bad for a reef?

[everl0ng]

title

 

[Fermat]

I'm gonna watch this because I think I just found a small one in my tank. I know some are definitely bad in that they can eat coral, but I'm wondering if they are ALL bad. Mine is completely white and does not (yet) show any signs of the tentacles characteristic of a Tritoniopsis elegans, but perhaps it simply isn't old enough to show that? It looks rather plain and I've seen it on the glass and on a rock (but not on my coral, yet).

 

[papagimp]

I wouldn't say that they are bad for a reef, more along the lines of a reef tank is bad for them. For the most part, their diet can be egnimatic at best. Some are known to eat certain types of foods while others, nobody knows. usually they do not live long in home aquariums but there are always exceptions.

Fermat, what you are seeing, I can almost guarantee is a stometella snail. Just from the simple description you gave. At least that is what jumped to my brain when I read your reply there. Look in my Photo album (the little camera picture above my post) and compare the stometella picture with what you are seeing. If it's one of those, then they are about as reef safe and friendly as they come, and harmless to boot.

 

[Fermat]

Hm. Don't stometella snails have shells? Mine is completely shell-less. Also, the two knobs at the head end are thicker and more pronounced. Though still rather hard to tell given that it is so small. If I can find her climbing on the glass again I'll take a close-up pic.

 

[frederickk]

Yes they are shell-less. It's probably a stometella snail!

 

[bertoni]

Nudibranchs are all predatory, and none will survive long in our tanks. They might take a species of coral or perhaps anemones with them, though.

 

[JENnKerry]

They usually seem to get sucked up in powerheads as well.

 

[papagimp]

stometella's are not "shell-less" but their shell looks a bit more like a little "pad" on their back vs. a normal snail shell. I thought I had slugs in my tank for a long time before I found out what they were. Now I have at least 5 different color variations of stometella's that I can find easily in my various systems.