Nudibranch ID if Possible

[Adam Eramo]

Hello,

Was curious to know if anyone could ID this nudibranch and if so, would you happen to know anything about its diet?

Its currently in a 14 gallon nano tank that has been established for about 6 months. The only other livestock is the spotted mandarin that made a cameo here and a couple of astrea snails.



Best regards,
Adam

 

[Reefer Reboot]

Looks to be a chromodoris willani. Feeds on certain sponges.

 

[Adam Eramo]

Looks to be a chromodoris willani. Feeds on certain sponges.

Appreciate that. Any sponge in particular? I was pretty surprised at the lack of info on some of these nudis out there when trying to do research.

 

[hds4216]

Looks to be a chromodoris willani. Feeds on certain sponges.

+1

 

[duberii]

Super cool- unfortunately, it probably won't live too long. The Wikipedia page says that they feed on Cacospongia mycofijiensis and Semitaspongia, but I doubt that it's possible to find a supply of either of those without spending thousands if it's possible at all.

 

[Reefer Reboot]

Semitaspongia groups of sponges.
+1.

 

[duberii]

Just looking around, it seems that seaslugforum.net may have some good information for you- seems like a pretty cool site with lots of info

 

[Adam Eramo]

Just looking around, it seems that seaslugforum.net may have some good information for you- seems like a pretty cool site with lots of info

Thanks for the info!

 

[Adam Eramo]

Super cool- unfortunately, it probably won't live too long. The Wikipedia page says that they feed on Cacospongia mycofijiensis and Semitaspongia, but I doubt that it's possible to find a supply of either of those without spending thousands if it's possible at all.

This is unfortunate. Shame on me for buying this little guy pre-research and facilitating the further extraction of these from the ocean, but it also is kind of a bummer to know LFS' are selling these when there isnt an affordable way to keep them alive.

 

[taricha]

but it also is kind of a bummer to know LFS' are selling these when there isnt an affordable way to keep them alive.

this is a really unlikely possible solution, but....
Food for angelfish are now made with sponges as one of the main ingredients.
Likely wrong type of sponges, likely that what's there wouldn't make it into a form that the nudibranch would recognize as food.
small or negligible possibility of working, but hey - cheaper than buying a constant supply of quality live rock for a slug!

 

[Adam Eramo]

this is a really unlikely possible solution, but....
Food for angelfish are now made with sponges as one of the main ingredients.
Likely wrong type of sponges, likely that what's there wouldn't make it into a form that the nudibranch would recognize as food.
small or negligible possibility of working, but hey - cheaper than buying a constant supply of quality live rock for a slug!

I appreciate this advice, like you said, its a long shot, but definitely worth a try so Ill give it a go.

 

[duberii]

I appreciate this advice, like you said, its a long shot, but definitely worth a try so Ill give it a go.

Keep us posted! I would say defrost in a container (the food tends to retain nutrients and other "smells" better than defrosting it in water) then take a bit using tongs and place it in front of the nudi with all sources of flow in your tank off. I believe the nudi would gravitate to it pretty quickly because they have pretty refined sensory organs (called rhinophores- those 2 horn things near the front). Post updates- I'm excited to see how this turns out! No shame in it dying- I have yet to see somebody keep one successfully.

 

[olonmv]

The Sea Slug Forum - Chromodoris willani

www.seaslugforum.net

 

[Adam Eramo]

Keep us posted! I would say defrost in a container (the food tends to retain nutrients and other "smells" better than defrosting it in water) then take a bit using tongs and place it in front of the nudi with all sources of flow in your tank off. I believe the nudi would gravitate to it pretty quickly because they have pretty refined sensory organs (called rhinophores- those 2 horn things near the front). Post updates- I'm excited to see how this turns out! No shame in it dying- I have yet to see somebody keep one successfully.

Absolutely, Im going to head to the LFS this afternoon and scoop some of this food, will post updates tonight

 

[Adam Eramo]

Unfortunately I had no success with the Angelish Sponge Food. I dont know how much longer this guy has. Had him for about a week, have to imagine he was at the LFS for 2-5 days before I scooped him. That said, he is still motoring around the tank like crazy. If anyone has any other food suggestions they would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Reefer Reboot]

Getting your hands on Cacospongia mycofijiensis might be difficult as it is being looked at in the fight against Covid.

Anti-COVID-19 terpenoid from marine sources: A docking, admet and molecular dynamics study

covid19.elsevierpure.com

(Well now that was a weird little discovery.)

 

[king aiptasia]

Unfortunately I had no success with the Angelish Sponge Food. I dont know how much longer this guy has. Had him for about a week, have to imagine he was at the LFS for 2-5 days before I scooped him. That said, he is still motoring around the tank like crazy. If anyone has any other food suggestions they would be greatly appreciated.

they die within around a month with no food

 

[Adam Eramo]

they die within around a month with no food

Thats a bummer to hear but thank you for the info

 

[king aiptasia]

Thats a bummer to hear but thank you for the info

sorry you payed for this, it's unfortunate and part of why I never recommend trying to preserve them if they are in home aquariums in contrast to my normal tone