Lettuce Nudibranch

[Jowsepi]

I heard that the lettuce nudibranch will eat caulerpa? Is this true, or is there something that will? It has overrun my tank from where a friend gave me a frag that I didn't check. It is smothering everything

 

[HappySkittles]

couldnt you pull it out?

anyway
most sea slugs i've read about have a very specific diet and seem to be pretty hard to keep

i dont know if they will eat that but i did read somewhere that they mostly ate Bryopsis Algae (not sure of calurapa is that) and they use the chloroplast from the algea they eat to make a little of their own food pretty neat

 

[Jowsepi]

I have tried to pull it out and just can't seem to get it all. Then it grows back. I leterally have to "cut the grass" in my tank twice a week right now!

 

[greenbean36191]

It depends which lettuce slug (they aren't nudibranchs) you get. Elysia crispata and E. diomedea which are the first and second most commonly sold species don't eat it. E. clarkii is the only one that does and it's by far the least common in the hobby. It also doesn't really mow it down or anything. It just pierces the cell and sucks out the juice. You would have to have quite a few slugs to make a noticeable dent in the Caulerpa.