You know... I *thought* I saw something funky on the back wall of the tank a while back. If it was this little dude, then he has doubled in size.
I am 99.9% certain this is some kind of nudibranch (possibly an aeolid), I see em all the time diving, even out here in the cold waters of the PNW.
The clowns were very interested in him. I'm guessing he must be poisonous, otherwise he'd be digesting right now.
Any ID on this dude? Assume reef safe?
Thanks!
(Sorry for the photo quality - he's really small, and I really need a macro lens. Oh and don't you love the beautiful scratch in my new tank. Augh... )
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is my guess. at least a hermissenda. then the spp can vary.
These nudi's eat hydroids and anemones, and actually takes some of its prey’s unfired nematocysts to the tips of its own cerrata, and uses them for defence.
so then one can infer that it is not home reef safe.
__________________ Adam J
you would think with a degree and professional career i could actually spell words correctly. sory.
So, I am assuming it should be destroyed the next time I see it?
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I just thought I would throw my 0.02 in here. First I think the photographs are just too blurry to determine what species or even type of nudibranch you have. It could possibly be an aeolid, but just too blurry to be sure.
I would recommend if you see any more to isolate it into a small cup and if you want to take pictures then take a plastic cup, cut it down to just about 1" tall and put just enough water to fully cover the creature. Then take pictures from the top down. Here is an example picture:
Adam,
Are you familiar with nudibranch taxonomy? I'm not very familiar, but I looked at the sea slug forum and a variety of other sites and there only appears to be one species in the Hermissenda genus, specifically Hermissenda crassicornis, which is a cold water species unlikely to survive long in reef tank temperatures. Do you know of another Hermissenda species? They are a pretty species:
If we go with the just laws of probability (based on the more commonly reported nudis) this might be a nudibranch that eats either zoanthids or montipora. Do you have either of those in your tank? If so, have they been closed up or looking sick?
But a better picture would definitely help narrow things down
It's not Hermissenda crassicornis. That is a PNW coldwater species. But the anatomy seemed to be similar in general.
I hit a bunch of other lists and I found many photos of this little guy. He is the baaaad man polyp eater and mushroom harrasser. So I toasted him. Didn't feel good about it, wished there was another way, but if I flushed him down the toilet... it might not be good with those things living 6 foot long in the sewers.
When I am diving, nudis are some of my favorite critters. Someday I will tell you the story of when I cam upon a field of just hatched alabaster nudibranchs. There were tens of thousands... it was wild.
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Here's some more information from that response I am adding here, in case someone may find it useful in the future...
Next time you see it take it out...You should also consider doing a iodine dip to your zoas to kill any that are not browsing in your glass. That procedure is also recomended later on as well just in case that there is some eggs that need to hatch because the iodine dip wont kill them...
__________________ "Knowledge is power. Power corrupts. Study Hard. Be evil."
The Palouse Region Aquarium Society is now PALOUSE REEFERS - http://www.palousereefers.com/
Abolish the IRS! Bring transparency and accountability to tax policy - close all loopholes and brings fairness to taxation. Support the Fair Tax plan... visit http://www.fairtax.org
__________________ "Knowledge is power. Power corrupts. Study Hard. Be evil."
The Palouse Region Aquarium Society is now PALOUSE REEFERS - http://www.palousereefers.com/
Abolish the IRS! Bring transparency and accountability to tax policy - close all loopholes and brings fairness to taxation. Support the Fair Tax plan... visit http://www.fairtax.org
I was doing a fairly significant water change today because I am leaving on vacation next week. I found another one! Dammit...
__________________ "Knowledge is power. Power corrupts. Study Hard. Be evil."
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