I may have found a consumer of Bryopsis

best of luck finding a constant supply of them unless you breed them. small green on green algae in a big ocean doesn't lead itself to being caught easily! Lettuce nudis colonize, I don't think these guys do. Anyway, next time I get one I will put it in the fish breeder net to QT it for you. If you want to check it out and have byropsis for it, let me know if you can pick it up for free. I would rather not ship if I can. Would be cool to see though. I think I have like 3-5 in my sea hare /slug / macro/hitcher mixer tank.

 

Hi Guys,

I've seen several posted on the forums that came in as hitchhikers, but I think most of them made the trip as juveniles. I don't know how well they would ship as adults, but they seem to be fairly fragile. Elysia ornata is probably the most common Elysia in the Pacific, and they are usually found on the sheltered side of the fringing reef in well-aerated but not super turbulent water. The only ones I ever got home alive were collected in a jar and taken straight home to my tank. If I continued to snorkel looking for other animals for more than a few minutes, they tended to be expired when I arrived home.

The place to look for them is on Bryopsis covered rock, of course, and they do seem to feed on it. I normally found them in less than two feet of water during the day time. Another form of Elysia that may or may not be a variation of E. ornata also feeds on Bryopsis. This form or species was actually more common in Pago Pago harbor than the typical Elysia ornata:




They also don't seem to attach as well as many other sea slugs. They can survive some surge without being dislodged from their feeding spots, but a tank with significant water movement might keep them flying around the tank or direct them into powerheads.

If the importers wanted to have the collectors catch them, I'm sure all they'd need is a pic and some instructions on handling them.

Cheers,



Don

 

I think I found someone who might be interested in having them, will keep you posted on results if they take them.

 

Sorry to resurrect a OLD thread here...
But I'd really like to know what you found out John?

 

so would I

 

i have them, the one that was originally linked, looking at the new picture on this page I think it is a different slug. I just dont have byropsis to test it with, and I havent gotten around to doing another byropsis experiment.Treatments with magnesium seem to be working for everyone one I have talked to about it, except for a few and it is likely they had uncommon species of byropsis. But let me find the link to the slugs I have, be right back....

 

this is the guy:

The Sea Slug Forum - Elysia ornata

 

they eat algae for sure, I will try to pick up some byropsis next time I am out. Have to setup a whole new tank for it though....is there enough interest in such an experiment?

wow i should have used the edit button there like I am doing now....

no one ever took them after I gave them the "I do not know if these critters will crash your tank if they die". Now I can see they wont crash it if they die in a 250 gallon system. Not sure in a smaller one, but no ill side effects observed. They seem to have a short lifespan, the ones I have had dont seem to make it past 4 months. Could even be shorter than that.