Lettuce Nudibranch
- Thread starter spw4949
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SirToppemHat
Member
Not as a perminant solution. I found and saved mine from the sump a few times before they were lost. They will find there way into overflows, pumps etc... I didn't notice them putting a dent in algae.
No nudibranch is going to eat algae, as the entire group is made up of carnivores.
There are herbivore sea slugs, some with the common name of "lettuce." They need living algae to survive, and they only eat certain species of algae. Actually, "eat" isn't really a good term. They pierce the algae cell wall and suck out the contents, chloroplasts and all, and are able to use the chloroplasts themselves for some time. But the outer cell membrane of the algae remains, leaving a sort of husk.
Certain lettuce slug species are known to feed on Bryopsis, but not every member of the genus, and not every member found in the trade.
Sea slugs are often killed in tanks by power heads, filter intakes, cleaner shrimp, and/or fish that typically pick at things. Any rip in the body of a sea slug can be fatal.
They aren't animals that should be hapshazardly tossed into a tank.
There are herbivore sea slugs, some with the common name of "lettuce." They need living algae to survive, and they only eat certain species of algae. Actually, "eat" isn't really a good term. They pierce the algae cell wall and suck out the contents, chloroplasts and all, and are able to use the chloroplasts themselves for some time. But the outer cell membrane of the algae remains, leaving a sort of husk.
Certain lettuce slug species are known to feed on Bryopsis, but not every member of the genus, and not every member found in the trade.
Sea slugs are often killed in tanks by power heads, filter intakes, cleaner shrimp, and/or fish that typically pick at things. Any rip in the body of a sea slug can be fatal.
They aren't animals that should be hapshazardly tossed into a tank.
Western_reefer
Reef keeper
I have a Lettuce Nudibranch and didn't notice him putting a dent in my hair algae but he sure is fun to watch! My Lettuce Nudibranch did make it to a few powerheads and survived and after getting sucked in a powerhead a few times hes learned to stay on the rocks and not go on the glass. I have tangs that graze on the hair algae that's on the rocks and one day one of the tangs thought the Lettuce Nudibranch was a piece of hair algae on the rocks and took a HUUGGEE chunk out of him and I thought it was going to die. But, it healed up and grew back and now he looks as good as new. 
Hes a hardy little bugger.
Hes a hardy little bugger. 
TampaBayReefer
New member
Does anyone know if this is the kind of nudibranch that will nuke your tank if it dies?
Lettuce Nudibranch
Also this site says that they eat GHA, but here on other forums people are saying they only eat bryopsis. Which one is it?
Lettuce Nudibranch
Also this site says that they eat GHA, but here on other forums people are saying they only eat bryopsis. Which one is it?
A few things, not to be a stick in the mud.
Now, there are a few classification systems in use, but generally speaking, sea slugs, snails, squid, etc. all belong to the phylum Mollusca. The snails and slugs are further divided into the class Gastropoda, and the majority of seaslugs into the subclass Opisthobranchia. Then, depending on who is doing the classification, the subclass is divided into various orders, including Anaspidea (sea hares), Saccoglossa (sap-sucking slugs), and Nudibranchia (the nudibranchs.)
So "sea slug" can be used as a general term for Opisthobranchs, but "nudibranch" should really only be used for those slugs who are in the order Nudibranchia.
The "lettuce slugs" are in the order Saccoglossa.
The one in TampaBayReefer's link is identified incorrectly. First, an old genus name is used. The correct genus name is "Elysia." Second, that most likely isn't the correct species name, either, by the color on the rhinophores. Rather than a Western Atlantic species, it is likely the Pacific species E. diomedea. I am not aware of any scientific food studies on E. diomedea.
There is no scientific evidence that Elysia sp. will eat any green hair algae; studies done with some of the species from the Western Atlantic did show that these species could survive on Bryopsis alone, although Bryopsis is typically a food only for the younger slugs.
Oh, and no, these slugs will not "nuke" a tank when they die, unless you do not have the capacity to take up the extra bioload of the animal's decay.
Now, there are a few classification systems in use, but generally speaking, sea slugs, snails, squid, etc. all belong to the phylum Mollusca. The snails and slugs are further divided into the class Gastropoda, and the majority of seaslugs into the subclass Opisthobranchia. Then, depending on who is doing the classification, the subclass is divided into various orders, including Anaspidea (sea hares), Saccoglossa (sap-sucking slugs), and Nudibranchia (the nudibranchs.)
So "sea slug" can be used as a general term for Opisthobranchs, but "nudibranch" should really only be used for those slugs who are in the order Nudibranchia.
The "lettuce slugs" are in the order Saccoglossa.
The one in TampaBayReefer's link is identified incorrectly. First, an old genus name is used. The correct genus name is "Elysia." Second, that most likely isn't the correct species name, either, by the color on the rhinophores. Rather than a Western Atlantic species, it is likely the Pacific species E. diomedea. I am not aware of any scientific food studies on E. diomedea.
There is no scientific evidence that Elysia sp. will eat any green hair algae; studies done with some of the species from the Western Atlantic did show that these species could survive on Bryopsis alone, although Bryopsis is typically a food only for the younger slugs.
Oh, and no, these slugs will not "nuke" a tank when they die, unless you do not have the capacity to take up the extra bioload of the animal's decay.
