what kind of nudibranch is this?

I got this rock today with 2 toadstools and a mushroom (i'm not sure if it is a ricordia or hairy mushroom) and when i got home i saw in the bag this ugly slug that i thought it was part of the rock at the lfs. should i remove it from the tank or is it safe? it seems that it is going up the glass and eating algae
thanks

 

could it be one of the sea hares? Saltwater Aquarium Invertebrates for Marine Reef Aquariums: Sea Hare Sea Slug

 

Looks like a sea hare to me also. I think the mushrooms is a ricordea.

 

well it looks like it is from the same family but mine looks a lot creepier and more ugly.

 

it almost looks like the blue spotted sea hares my lfs gets

 

Wow, how big is it?

It looks just like a sea hare I had once. Mine was 4-5" long.

It is totally harmless and will eat all kinds of green filamentous algae... They are great to have, but if you run out of algae can die.

EDIT: my guess is that it was one of your LFS's livestock and probably didn't mean to give it to you, as these are commonly sold in the trade...

 

I believe yours is a Dolabella auricularia, seen here:

The Sea Slug Forum - Dolabella auricularia

Which coming from New Caledonia, means that it is in a tropical reef, where temperatures closer to 80F are seen, so would be better off in our tanks...

If you want to get rid of it, let me know, you can send it to me...

 

great thanks all for your response, i think gabbagabbawill is the winner. and it is Dolabella auricularia. it is huge, when it stretch its neck it is over 4". my only issue is that i do not have algae in my tank. i better get some. i donno if it will accept to eat nori since it is the favorite for my turbo snails. k+ all

 

It will likely eat nori, agardiella, and gracileria... at least, mine did. I never tried cheato with it, but it might eat that too... as long as it finds it...

It's going to need a LOT of algae to survive. You'll be feeding it at least a nori sheet a day. Don't be alarmed- they will bury themselves in the sand during the day and come out at night, or close to lights off...

Since you don't have algae, you may want to seriously consider giving to someone with a tank who does... sometimes local reef clubs pass them around to help clear each other's tanks of algae... they really do mow it down, it's unbelievable.

 

Yup, they get about as large as a decent sized house cat, but probably not in an aquarium. It can eat a lot, though, and may disappear under the sand for a while (if your sand bed is deep enough) then reappear days or weeks later.

Cheers,



Don