Tiny orange slug

[Zoa.Mania]

Hi

I found this hitchhiker slug on a frag I got today
Is it an anaspidea? Are they reef safe?

 

[FishPham]

no picture was posted. can you try uploading it again?

 

[Zoa.Mania]

no picture was posted. can you try uploading it again?

I edited the post thanks

 

[FishPham]

vayssierea felis? i'll wait for others to chime in

 

[Zoa.Mania]

vayssierea felis? i'll wait for others to chime in

the color seems right beside that black stain inside the one I posted

plus mine seem to have some folds on its back (the photos don't really show it)

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Bit of a shot in the dark here, but possibly Elysia obtusa or Elysia flava?

 

[olonmv]

How small is it? I have a sea lettuce that had babies and they kinda look similar to yours. The babies are approximately 1/4” long when fully elongated.

 

[OrchidMiss]

Vayssierea sp. - Neat little sea slug

I caught this guy this morning. I thought it was a nudibrach and was going to post and ID but I was able to find it rather easily via r2r search. Surprised I have never encountered these guys before. Since apparently the eat tube worms I put him back. Just thought I'd share a video and photos.

www.reef2reef.com

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Well, one relatively easy to figure out what you have for sure (assuming it is either Vaysierea felis or an Elysia sp.) - put it in a box with some spirorbid worms and green, siphonalean algae and see what it eats. If it eats the spirorbids, its Vaysierea, if it eats the algae, it’s Elysia.

The Sea Slug Forum - Vayssierea felis

Some lettuce slugs (typically from the genus Elysia) will eat nuisance algae species, but their wild diet varies pretty drastically from one species to another, and some species have some pretty specific wild diets (I don’t know if these are required diets or preferred diets, but Reef Cleaners reports that they'll eat just about any green, fleshy algae). That said, Elysia slugs generally feed on siphonalean algae such as Caulerpa, Codium, Acetabularia, Halimeda, Udotea, Byropsis, and Valonia spp. So, in theory, these guys should eat nuisance algae that pops up in your tank.

 

[Zoa.Mania]

How small is it? I have a sea lettuce that had babies and they kinda look similar to yours. The babies are approximately 1/4” long when fully elongated.

Pretty small. The one in the photos is about 3mm long

Vayssierea sp. - Neat little sea slug

I caught this guy this morning. I thought it was a nudibrach and was going to post and ID but I was able to find it rather easily via r2r search. Surprised I have never encountered these guys before. Since apparently the eat tube worms I put him back. Just thought I'd share a video and photos.

www.reef2reef.com

Looks identical. Only thing is there are some mixed opinions there

Well, one relatively easy to figure out what you have for sure (assuming it is either Vaysierea felis or an Elysia sp.) - put it in a box with some spirorbid worms and green, siphonalean algae and see what it eats. If it eats the spirorbids, its Vaysierea, if it eats the algae, it’s Elysia.

The Sea Slug Forum - Vayssierea felis

Thanks I’ll try do that when I get back from work.. assuming it survived in a container. I kept it outside the tank. Better safe than sorry. In case it’s still alive and it eats algae, it’s total reef safe? I could use something like that to eat some turf algae

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Pretty small. The one in the photos is about 3mm long

Looks identical. Problem is they also didn’t figure it out

Thanks I’ll try do that when I get back from work.. assuming it survived in a container. I kept it outside the tank. Better safe than sorry. In case it’s still alive and it eats algae, it’s total reef safe? I could use something like that to eat some turf algae

Yeah, if it’s an algae eater (Elysia sp.), then it’s a sacoglossan slug and totally reef safe (a lot of places sell Elysia slugs - typically as “lettuce nudibranchs” though they’re not actually nudibranchs).

 

[Zoa.Mania]

Bit of a shot in the dark here, but possibly Elysia obtusa or Elysia flava?

Yes looks pretty identical to some orange Elysia obtusa photos I googled

Yeah, if it’s an algae eater (Elysia sp.), then it’s a sacoglossan slug and totally reef safe (a lot of places sell Elysia slugs - typically as “lettuce nudibranchs” though they’re not actually nudibranchs).

Thanks. I hope it survived the cold night

 

[Zoa.Mania]

Quick update

They did survive but they didn’t seem be interested in the variety of algae we have to offer

To whoever cares:
From what I found, Elysia sp. has some white color on its “folds” and mine doesn’t.
Plus I found some more places online suggesting it’s a Vayssierea felis which feed on spirorbid or similar tube worms, and I like my tube worms so…. bye

 

[Kasrift]

Quick update

They did survive but they didn’t seem be interested in the variety of algae we have to offer

To whoever cares:
From what I found, Elysia sp. has some white color on its “folds” and mine doesn’t.
Plus I found some more places online suggesting it’s a Vayssierea felis which feed on spirorbid or similar tube worms, and I like my tube worms so…. bye

I had these, they ate spirobids. They left the other feather dusters alone because they are so small, so it shouldn't be an issue. Their population will self regulate based on available food source.

 

[Zoa.Mania]

I had these, they ate spirobids. They left the other feather dusters alone because they are so small, so it shouldn't be an issue. Their population will self regulate based on available food source.

Anyway I have only few of these spirobids
I had a hard time yesterday only to find one to see if it will react to it

 

[resortez]

Dealt with that problem around a year ago. Someone I know bought a coral from a store, forgot the name of the shop & the owner of that store was very care free of the infection attached to the coral he sold. At the beginning there was an explosion of them, reproducing at a rapid rate, to the point of seeing 50+ on a single rock the size of a shoe. Fortunately the slugs did not survive, could have been lack of food source because there’s plenty of algae in the tank. The slugs died off during my research but never got to pinpoint a proper ID, my search yield a plethora of results. The system does have a mandarin goby, copperband butterfly & a trio of wrasses, but I doubt the fish were feasting on the slugs, I could be wrong. Hopefully the hitchhikers also wither away & you don’t have to deal with a massive problem. Good look.

 

[Zoa.Mania]

Dealt with that problem around a year ago. Someone I know bought a coral from a store, forgot the name of the shop & the owner of that store was very care free of the infection attached to the coral he sold. At the beginning there was an explosion of them, reproducing at a rapid rate, to the point of seeing 50+ on a single rock the size of a shoe. Fortunately the slugs did not survive, could have been lack of food source because there’s plenty of algae in the tank. The slugs died off during my research but never got to pinpoint a proper ID, my search yield a plethora of results. The system does have a mandarin goby, copperband butterfly & a trio of wrasses, but I doubt the fish were feasting on the slugs, I could be wrong. Hopefully the hitchhikers also wither away & you don’t have to deal with a massive problem. Good look.

Thanks for the concern it’s much appreciated
I guess they did died off due to lack of food source in your case as it seems they have a specific diet
I doubt the fish you mentioned would overpower such a slug infestation even if they did feast on some
In my case I found two on a frag during a dip. I hope I didn’t get any eggs in