Help with hitchhiker slug ID/Care?

Hey all! I've been so busy I haven't been able to spend much time on the forum so HEY! to all. I've just gotten some new snails in and got a cool looking hitchhiker in the bag. After an hour of searching I think i've id'd it? But don't know what the care is for it, or if it should be removed as a pest?

Any help or thoughts would be appreciated greatly! I'm going to try to post a pic here (crossing fingers)

I think it is Phyllidiella pustulosa ??


Yeay! I think the pic worked :0)

So... any care help or OMG get that our of your tank NOW advice?

Thanks a heap,
Grey Beard

PS I hope it's ok I posted in ASAP... I'm worried I may have a big problem andneed to run to the tank to remove this after the little info I could find... If this is not ok please someone move me to the right section (the kids table maybe?) D

 

Hey greybeard.

Problem with sea slugs/nudibranchs is that they are specialized eaters. It they eat a certain type of gorgonian than that is usually all they will eat. There are hundreds of different types of them, so unless someone has experience or they are common it is hard to get a ID.

I would put it in the sump if possible until you know for sure.

Sometimes they come in on new corals and look like the foods they eat.

Good luck, I hope you get an ID

 

Thanks Corailline. I'll move it to the fuge for now I guess. My other worry was that one place said they could release a toxin strong enough to kill the fish in an aquarium.

This one came in a bag of nassarius snail... I've expected to see a hitchhiker in with liverock or maybe corals but didnt' expect this one

 

Did your snails come from Hawaii? If so, that is definitely one of those. Also, you'll need to provide live sponge for it to eat.

 

Hey Inwall! Long time no see/speak... I'm not sure where those snails came from? Got them from my wholesale supplier. The ID photo is an exact match to the one in my tank. I read about them eating sponges but I dont' have any... should I buy a sponge with the idea of it being the sacrifical food source?

My biggest concern, other than not starving it if I am to keep it, is that I've read that if these guys get stressed they can give off a toxin that could wipe out all the fish in my tank. At this time all four of my present tanks are hooked to one sump/fuge. If that is a real possiblity and not a one in a million kind of occurance I would consider setting up a nano tank for just him and his sponge "friend".

Any input on just how likely this little buy is to wipe out my fish with his toxin would be very helpful.

Thanks guys! I'll be waiting to see if anyone can answer this part for me.

GreyBeard

 

A lot of the worries about toxins are a little exaggerated IMO. I've had a monster sea apple and two holothiuroid cucumbers all in the same tank. I've never blinked an eye. With that said, I had a lot of water volume and I run carbon 24/7. I set up species tanks for all sort of weird things and I would probably keep it. (However, for me, setting up a tank is just a matter of going to the basement and getting a spare powerhead, heater, and tank. I.e. no money involved). If you decide to go this route, make sure you take pics!!!

 

While I have seen a few nuked systems from livestock, I have never nuked one with a cuc, sea apple or nudi I only hear of rumors and read it in books

 

Thanks all! I'm breathing a lot easier about the nuke worry. I've decided to leave him in the 55gallon which is very lightly stocked ATM, and hooked to the 'system' of about 120 gallons. I think i'm going to go your way, Inwall, with running carbon on this system. Are there any other concerns I should have about running carbon? Trace mineral depletion... etc? I do small (10%) weekly water changes to this system so I don't think it will be an issue, but correct me if I'm wrong.

He (the nudibranch) is a cool addition IMHO to the tank. Seems to like hanging out in the fastest water flow just inches in front of a 1600 gph powerhead. My next worry is what to feed him? Is adding a sea spong of some sort the way to feed him? If so is this just going to kill the spong? Also what kind of spong should I be looking for? I have ZERO spong experience.

Thanks again for all the help!

 

The main issue you are going to have is finding the correct species of sponge. There are a lot of differences. Some utililize Calcium Carbonate as building blocks, however some use Silica instead. Some have toxins, some don't. Some are photosynthetic, others are not. You'll definitely have to do some research. I've had some that feed just fine on readily available orange tree sponge. However, I've never had this species before. You might want to do some research on Bill Rudman's site Sea Slug Forum.

A general rule for all sponges is don't expose it to the air. Another one is to make sure you are feeding it phyto. In that way, it's growth will exceed the amount eaten by the nudi. To avoid overdosing, when I feed my sponge, I turn off the powerheads, pour some phyto into a Dixie Cup, then suck it into a syringe and target feed. Then 5 minutes later, I turn the pumps back on.

 

Nudi's new home

The little guy seems to be doing great! He likes to hang out up in the flow from my powerhead during the day, and at night he heads down to my live rock.

Haven't named him yet... thinking about calling him "Broccoli".

Also, the firefish is doing very well... posting a pic in my tank build thread

Thanks Greybeard!