hitchhiker on soft coral - white frilly nudibranch

[lawmary]

Hi, anybody know what this nudibranch is, where it comes from or what it eats? It hitchhiked in on a soft coral I got at a recent frag swap.

Thanks,
mary

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[Elysia]

Hi --

This is most likely a Tritoniopsis spp. They eat soft coral. Its a shame, because they are really awesome looking animals. I found something similar on a gongorian that came from the Florida Keys. I only ended up w/ two in total, but you may want to be on the look out for some more.

 

[dalston]

^ +1...Tritoniopsis alba, found in Indonesia, Australia and Phillippines...as said, soft coral eater!

 

[lawmary]

OK, thanks!

 

[mutateddogbone]

get rid of it as fast as you can. i had a serious infestation of these when i bought a colt coral. you want to check under rocks and on the glass for eggs and more of them. when i first realized that i had one i started moving around my rocks and found 10 more of them as well as about 15 clusters of eggs. if you do have them then suck them out with a siphon and if at all possible rinse your rocks off with ro/di water.

 

[greenbean36191]

It's Tritoniopsis elegans. T. alba is a junior synonym (invalid name) for the white individuals of the species.