Yet another, "What is this" thread!!!

Birdlady · 11-19-2004, 10:47 AM

I found these 2 little guys in my sump. It is hard to see the one, but they are green and are definitely some sort of slug/snail with no shell/nudibranch.

Help me out! I can't find any pics of it on the net....

OoNickoC · 11-19-2004, 04:13 PM

A very nice looking snail. I forget the genus name but i believ they are specific feeders. I will do some digging tomarrow @ work. I just searched on a bunch of search engines with nodda....How many of em are in your tank? It is a type of snail though. Be back with more info.

Birdlady · 11-19-2004, 04:43 PM

So far only 2. Thanks for checkin! It has no shell so, I figured nudibranch? Specifically feeds on what I wonder? It is in my fuge, nothing there but algae and rocks and DSB.

Thanks!

OoNickoC · 11-19-2004, 06:27 PM

It does have a shell, just not a calcerous one as most picture when they hear the word snail. Def not a nudi, i have seen them before and found them in my invert book@ work. The shell of this genus is almost identical to the skin in texture,color, and patterns...the skin even smoothly continues lines and designs that stop on the shell, i highlighted the outer edge of the "armor" that is most visible. You can also tell by the foot and the break in the white design where the shell ends and the body begind, i circled the break in design in the right pic and the edge of the shell in the first.

Birdlady · 11-20-2004, 11:03 AM

Ooohh, you are very observant!!! I did realize later last night that it was not a nudibranch....no "naked lung or gill"...

I had picked it up when I originally found it and did not feel a shell but it is sooooooo small....(I was prayin it wasn't a stinging or biting critter...I know that was not a smart move)

Looks like a shell now that you have pointed it out! thanks! Let me know if you find anything out about it....

Diver_1298 · 11-20-2004, 01:30 PM

They kind of look like the ones that were in my 20 gallon tank. They pretty much destroyed my Caulerpa Racemosa ( Grape Caulerpa)before I figured out what they were doing and got rid of them. I'm not sure where they came from??
Jim

Birdlady · 11-20-2004, 02:22 PM

Oh

>

They are in my sump and on my feather caulerpa.....should I be concerned? Can I move them to the main tank to keep valonia under control ..I wonder....

OoNickoC · 11-20-2004, 02:58 PM

K got a species id on the lil things. They are a type of slug with a thin fleshy shell.... Oxynoe antillarum (reticulated sea slug) and as diver mentioned they seem to feed specificaly on grape caulerpa (C. racemosa). They come from FLorida, the Bahahmas, and the Carribean and grow to 1.5" max. A large population can be very destuctive to grape caulerpa. Im not sure if they feed on anything besides grape cal. 2 or 3 could probably keep the caulerpa in check so you dont have to trim it...? Thats all the info I could scrounge up on them so I hope it helps.

OoNickoC · 11-20-2004, 03:02 PM

There's alot more info on em if you use the scientific name on google.

Birdlady · 11-20-2004, 05:26 PM

Cool! Thanks, I will do that.

I can tell you they also feed on feather caulerpa cause....
the piece they were on in the picture..is GONE!!!!! So I got one out (and an aptasia anemone that was in the sump as well) and I found what appeared to be eggs...so I took out the rest of that piece. There is still one in there....