Nudibranch ID?

[Jesse89]

I saw a Nudibranch at my LFS today while i was there... i saw this nudibranch that was crawling in between and out of rocks with zoanthids... dont think it eats zoas because it was just scavenging between them.. they would open up after the nudi moved on from the spot....
Well anyways the LFS owner and i are good friends.. ive bought from there a lot. She said it came on a rock as a hitchhiker and i could have it if i wanted it... was very tempted cuz it was so cool looking... but i know each and every nudi has specific feeding habits. So i decided to research first.. i cant find a pic of it on the net... Can anyone help me out?

When i first saw it on a zoa rock i thought it was a little white anemone...
Sorry i couldnt get a picture of it... but
its all white.. and like i said it looks like a small anemone.. with sorta bulbing tips... was about an inch and a half long.... it appeared to be feeding on stuff inbetween the zoanthids?

ty

 

[seapug]

Hitchhiker Nudibranchs can't be trusted so I'd keep an eye on it. There is one that fits that description that is known to eat Xenia and other soft corals.

 

[StunnaShadez]

it can be any kind of nudi by the way you're describing. give us more detailed description and maybe some of us can give you a little help.

the anemone might be a majano. give us a picture and we'll also help you ID it.

GL

 

[BLKTANG]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12502987#post12502987 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by seapug
Hitchhiker Nudibranchs can't be trusted so I'd keep an eye on it. There is one that fits that description that is known to eat Xenia and other soft corals.

No doubt.

 

[Peter Eichler]

Does this look familiar?

http://www.seaslugforum.net/images/030465.jpg

 

[Jesse89]

i didnt bring it home with me... im finding about if i should or not... if its reef safe and i cant provide the food it needs im not taking it either...

Peter.. thats not it either.... thanks though

 

[Jesse89]

http://www.sergeyphoto.com/underwater/nudibranchs/phestilla-melanobrachia.html


looked like that, except its all white and the tips are a bit more bulby

 

[demonsp]

You need to NEVER trust any LFS or online FS before you get more educated on any purchase. Its much harder to remove the stock after you name it then before you buy it, then you need to know its feeding needs and besides is it even a good deal. I think more money is wasted on inpulse buys then anything else. Cant blame LFS as he needs to eat and pay bills so any sale is a good sale.

I also think if it dies then a total crash could happen from toxins it releases.

In this hobby its best to measure 3 times and buy one time.

 

[Peter Eichler]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12503038#post12503038 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jesse89
http://www.sergeyphoto.com/underwater/nudibranchs/phestilla-melanobrachia.html


looked like that, except its all white and the tips are a bit more bulby

If you don't find it here you probably won't find it anywhere.

http://www.seaslug.info/specieslist.cfm

The chances of you having a sustainable food source for whatever it might eat are slim to none.

 

[Peter Eichler]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12503041#post12503041 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by demonsp
You need to NEVER trust any LFS or online FS before you get more educated on any purchase. Its much harder to remove the stock after you name it then before you buy it, then you need to know its feeding needs and besides is it even a good deal. I think more money is wasted on inpulse buys then anything else. Cant blame LFS as he needs to eat and pay bills so any sale is a good sale.

I also think if it dies then a total crash could happen from toxins it releases.

In this hobby its best to measure 3 times and buy one time.

Doesn't sound liek the store is trying to sell him anything, I believe they were just going to give it to him. Also, it's quite unlikely that a nudibranch of seaslug would relase enough toxins to be responsible for an entire system being wiped out.

 

[greenbean36191]

There are only a few nudibranchs that could potentially wipe out a tank.

Like the others mentioned, without a picture it's next to impossible to identify a nudibranch. Even with one it's often quite hard. There are lots of small, important characteristics that are hard to see or describe. The description of the animal having tentacles and looking like an anemone almost definitely means it was an aeolid of some sort though. All of them feed on cnidarians, which pretty much means either it will eat some sort of coral or it will starve to death in captivity.

 

[pagojoe]

Well, here I go again agreeing with greenbean. It seems like the general consensus is that nudibranchs pose a serious danger of nuking a tank if they die, but the truth is that only the phyllidiids are likely to do this, and they aren't the ones that are normally encountered in reef tanks. They are usually hard, have brightly colored bumps or "warts" on them, and move very slowly. They don't have cerata like the aeolids, and they don't have a gill on the back like the dorids. The dorids are generally sponge eaters, and it's hard to grow a specific sponge as fast as they can multiply and eat it, so they will usually starve. The aeolids feed on cnidarians of some sort as greenbean says, and there are clues to what they eat in the shape of their cerata. Most of them would be considered undesirable. Some are predatory on other nudibranchs, and some will eat other sea life, but in general you'd only want to keep a nudi in a species-specific tank, and supply it with its required food. It still might be hard to balance, since you may end up with them reproducing in the tank, and eventually they still might starve. It would be a tricky proposition, in any case.

Cheers,



Don