NuidIDF2

FAQs about Nudibranch Identification 2

Related Articles: Nudibranchs, Sea Slugs,

ID Please, Nudibranch, Tritoniopsis -- 9/29/07 Hi all <Hello, Brenda here with you tonight.> Please could you tell me what this is, it is very beautiful, it is about an inch long, pale yellow and hangs along the water line at the top of the tank, very interested to see what it is and if it is reef safe. Please get back to me as soon as possible. I have enclosed a photo hope you get it. <It looks to be a Nudibranch that is known to eat soft coral. More information here: http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet.cfm?base=triteleg Hope this helps! Brenda>

Nudibranch 8/16/07 Hi Crew, <T and D> We recently started a 70-gallon reef tank and have encountered a tiny slug-like creature climbing the sides. Obviously it was a stow-away on some of our live rock or coral. It doesn't have a shell, rather short protrusions out of the length of its back. Our best guess is that it's some kind of Nudibranch, but we were unable to find anything on the web that resembles this particular animal. (See attached photos.) <Is a Nudibranch of some sort...> If it's not reef safe, we'd like to get it out, but if it is, we're not sure how to take care of it. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Tisheena and Danny <Due to its small size... and lack of any apparent damage to your purposeful livestock, I would leave this wee-animal be... it is very likely consuming some aspect of your live rock fauna... And adding interest to your experience. Cheers, Bob Fenner>

Nudibranch? Good or Bad? Hard to tell from the photo. -- 06/26/07 Hi Bob: <Hi Chris, You have Mich as your crewmember tonight.> It's been a few years, but any clue to what this is (see attached) and if it's going to cause some issues in my Reef? <Appears to be a Nudibranch, but I can't tell much beyond that from the photo. It is more helpful to have a view of the dorsal side than the ventral side when looking at sea slugs. Looks a little like an Arminid sea slug, but I wouldn't put too much stock in this. You may want to check the sea slug forum at http://www.seaslugforum.net/ > Some on ReefCentral seem to think it is a soft coral eater and I should remove it (them). <Is possible that this could be predacious on soft corals or other creatures in your tank. Nudibranchs generally don't have terribly long life spans.> Do these reproduce rapidly? <They are generally hermaphroditic, and self-fertilization is rare. So unless you have two or more in your tank reproduction is not likely. If there are two or more about, there is more of a chance of reproduction but captive rearing is generally quite difficult as there are specific dietary requirements. I don't think you need to worry about plague populations if this is your concern> Thanks!
<Welcome! Mich>
Chris Goldenstein

Side Gill Slug?

Re: Nudibranch? good or bad? -- 06/27/07 <Hi Chris, Mich with you again.> Thanks! <Welcome!> I was able to pull one out today, got some pics from the topside... <I see, this is definitely a Nudibranch, and still looks consistent with the Arminid sea slug (Arminia spp.) mentioned earlier. Arminids are predatory on soft corals. Therefore, they are not considered reef compatible. (Perhaps good for those out of control xenia factories!) Bill Rudman's Sea Slug Forum will likely be you best source of further information. You might try a search as below on the Sea Slug Forum if you wish to further identify. http://www.seaslugforum.net/search_species.cfm Order: Nudibranchia Sub Order: Arminia Superfamily: Family: Armindae Subfamily: Hope this helps, Mich> Chris

Re: Nudibranch? good or bad? You guys rock! Thanks!
<Welcome! Mich>

Nudibranch, Sea Cucumber or Sea Slug? Aeolid Nudibranch 6/18/07 Dear WWM Crew, <Hi Matt, Mich here.> Yesterday I noticed an unusual spot of bright green in my 120g reef tank. At first I believed it to be a Nudibranch due to its body type, coloration and behavior, but would like your opinion. <I think you are correct here. More here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/nudibran.htm http://www.wetwebmedia.com/nudispt3.htm > It has four or five "tentacles" around a "mouth" which leads me to believe it may be a sea cucumber, except that it is moving around the tank and not hiding in a rock crevice like the other cucumbers I've seen. <Not a cucumber.> I took a couple hundred pictures trying to get a good shot, and have attached a couple of the best images. <Heee! I know that feeling all too well!> It's about a quarter of an inch in length and appears to have the soft body of a mollusk. I'd appreciate your help with the ID of this live rock hitchhiker. <Looks like an Aeolid Nudibranch to me. These typically eat cnidarians and some resemble their prey. This Nudibranch reminded me of Green Star Polyps (Pachyclavularia violacea) or an encrusting gorgonian (Briareum spp.) and there is an Aeolid Nudibranch called a Phyllodesmium briareum but the Google images didn't so much look like your photos. You might try http://www.seaslugforum.net/ if you want to attempt to identify further.> Thanks,
<Welcome! Mich>
Matt

Nudibranch ID - 6/7/07 Hi <Hi Ian> This question is mainly about some form of identification for the attached photo, tank details first. My tank is approximately 50 gallons with 45lbs live rock from Pacific area, 2 clown fish, 1 regal tang, <This fish needs to be in a much larger tank. These guys grow to almost a foot and are active swimmers. Small tanks stress this species, which can lead to aggression, disease, and an early demise. Please read FAQ's re: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/paracsysfaqs.htm> ..and 2 blue Chromis, 1 cleaner shrimp, and 8 snails: 4 turbo and 4 strawberry. Filtration is through a V2 600 protein skimmer. Salinity is spot on, nitrate, nitrite and ph are perfect. All levels are checked religiously every 2 -3 days. The tank is about 2 months old now and I am a complete novice with marine setups, but I do quite a lot of research on the internet about all of the new life that is springing up on my live rock. <Good, lots of great information out there!> So the main question is this, what is the slug in the photo? <Appears to be a Dorid Nudibranch, possibly Dendrodoris nigra or Dendrodoris fumata? D. nigra is one of the more common hitchhikers that appear in people's tanks.> He, she, it, has acquired the name Gary and seems to be very curious about his surroundings <Undoubtedly searching for food.> and seems to be causing no problems with anything in the tank. <Hehee - with the exception of what's being eaten!> I really need to know if it could cause a problem in the future. <Yes, it could well do that. Nudibranchs, in general, are not good choices for aquariums because of their specialized diets. Because of this, they don't usually survive long term. Worse yet, when these guys do die, they can release some nasty toxins. Please see more information regarding this at WWM: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/nudispt3.htm.> He is about 1 inch long at the moment and is a very dark blue, purple colour. All of the research I have done suggests that he is a naked gill Dorid? But any pictures I have found show these slugs as various colours whereas Gary is just one. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. <Color varies greatly with these. Also, tank lighting can be a factor as far as what color they appear to be. For further ID information, I'd refer to the SeaSlug Forum. Here are several links to get you started: http://www.seaslugforum.net/display.cfm?id=4181 http://www.seaslugforum.net/display.cfm?id=1217 > Thank you in <You're very welcome. -Lynn>

Nudibranch ID - 6/1/07 <Hi Tom> I was hoping you could help me identify this Nudibranch. It is all black with no other markings (that I could make out). I found it in my tank and would like to know if it's good or bad. <I'm sorry, but without a better photo, and a little more information (size, where it came from, etc) the best I can offer is a guess. It appears to be a species of Dorid Nudibranch and if it was in my tank, I'd remove it. They don't usually survive long term because of their specialized diets. Worse, is that when they do die, they can release some nasty toxins. Please see more information regarding this at WWM: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/nudispt3.htm. You might also want to check out the Sea Slug Forum, it's excellent. Here's a link to a black Dorid (Dendrodoris nigra) there for comparison: http://www.seaslugforum.net/display.cfm?id=4181 > Thanks
Tom
<You're very welcome! -Lynn>

Unidentified Nudibranch 5/11/07 Hello Bob, I was told by a member of ReefCentral to email you with the link to this thread. I found this Nudibranch in my aquarium apparently eating my coral. If you know what it is, is there any chance you could let me know. I also have numerous other photos. Thanks, Steve http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=9922933#post9922933 <Well... is an Aeolid... maybe a Phyllodesmium species, perhaps a Flabellinid species... predaceous on stony corals for sure. You might want to send your query over to seaslugforum.com, a fab resource re this group. Bob Fenner>

Pics and ? Nudibranch and polyp/anemones 3/28/07 Hi there to all the crew. My name is Tracey. I have a 125 gallon reef tank and have for about 13 years now. I have two things I would like to address here. First, I have a couple of colt coral that started suddenly not doing well. Like they were being stung, <Consumed, predated...> but nothing was near enough even with current that would make that probable. I needed to top off my water and added my upped the alkalinity just enough to irritate the critter that was causing the problem to come into view. I am attaching a pic of this beautiful guy which I think is maybe a Nudibranch? <Yes... at least a Opisthobranch/Seaslug...> I'm surprised to see this now as I have not added anything new in months. I took him out and place him in quarantine until I learn more. I have seen and removed these before quite some time ago, and they had more of a pink color but were smaller. This guy is about 1 1/2" long and 3/4" wide. I removed him with tweezers and he had a sticky and slimy substance left behind what ever he came into contact with. I have found them near the base of the colt only. I'm not seeing flesh decay of the colt, it looks more like it being stung though I'm not certain. The base of the colt looks like it is separating some from the rock. He looks better already after only an hour of removing him. <Is/was being chewed... keep your eyes peeled for others> Ok, my next issue is this. I have several different polyps in my tank and have had a new species of some sort pop up and they multiply quickly. They split in half and they just move around and make more, even through the current. They grow on the glass, in the sand, on the rocks like crazy, and I have seen them grow attached to other coral. I'm wondering if this is some type of anemone rather than polyps. <Mmm, some pix look like Zoanthids... others summat like Anemonia species> I did have an Aiptasia problem and got that problem under control, so I'm pretty sure that's not what these are. I took out a few rocks that are just covered in about a months time and quarantined them also. I'm sending a few pics of these as well. Thanks in advance for your time and help. I love this site. Tracey <Do take a scan on/over WWM re these species... best to not let proliferate/cover too much of your LR. Bob Fenner>

Berghia verrucicornis ID 3/16/2007 Hi Richard, Mich here today, not sure who helped you previously.> Thanks for all your help. <On behalf of the crew, you're welcome. I will order the book about Cnidarian, one more question please: Is this Berghia verrucicornis (Aiptasia eater)? <Sure does look like it!> <Welcome. Mich>
Richard

Nudibranch pics from India......... 2/9/07 Hi there, hope u are having great day! This Sam here. I had recently visited my local beach where I found this Nudibranch specimen. I have now, preserved the specimen in glycerin for identification by our local Marine Biologist. But they are in the field now Diving and Observing marine life at Lakshadweep Islands! I live in the City of Bombay, India. I am attaching a few pics, see if u can ID it for me! Thanks in advance, cheers! Sam <Very nice... Please see the references and pages posted on WWM re Nudibranchs. Bob Fenner>

FAQs about Nudibranch Identification 2

Related Articles: Nudibranchs, Sea Slugs,

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