Tri-Color Nudibranch reef safe?

Picassoclown · Nov 18, 2022

Hello everyone. I saw 3 beautiful ultra vibrant tri-color Audi's at my LFS. My tank is 4.5 months old, post cycle. I know a lot of them are reef safe, but I wanted to ask if these were. I have hermit crabs, blood shrimp, fighting conches, LPS of all varieties, no SPS as of yet, black widow anemone, sea fans, crocea clam, helfrichi dart fish, pair of bullet hole clowns, orange shoulder tang, royal gramma, 3 neon blue gobies, and 3 masked gobies. Would these little guys be okay in my tank?

blaxsun · Nov 18, 2022

Do you have any pictures or additional details?

ISpeakForTheSeas · Nov 18, 2022

blaxsun said:
Do you have any pictures or additional details?

+1 to this - there are a number of species known as Tricolor Nudibranch, so pictures may help determine the species and if it's safe or not.

Picassoclown · Nov 18, 2022

Sure, here is what they looked like and what they were called in the LFS. If you can give a more accurate name, that would be great!

Underwater Photography & Video Portal | Sea slug, Weird sea creatures, Ocean creatures

Mar 11, 2013 - neon purple / periwinkle or ult blue / orange / yellow / grey (Nudibranch)

www.pinterest.jp

ISpeakForTheSeas · Nov 18, 2022

Picassoclown said:
Sure, here is what they looked like and what they were called in the LFS. If you can give a more accurate name, that would be great!

Underwater Photography & Video Portal | Sea slug, Weird sea creatures, Ocean creatures

Mar 11, 2013 - neon purple / periwinkle or ult blue / orange / yellow / grey (Nudibranch)

www.pinterest.jp

Hypselodoris sp. probably Hypselodoris apolegma. These guys reportedly eat sponges, specifically "a blue-purple dysideid sponge of the genus Euryspongia"* and possibly a few other sponges as well (such as the red sponge in question in the link below where I pulled the quote above from; importantly, these guys do not eat any sponge offered them - sponges are a very diverse group, and nudibranchs are incredibly picky).

Edit: the link.

The Sea Slug Forum - Hypselodoris apolegma

Picassoclown · Nov 18, 2022

Apart from their fine taste of sponges lol, are they okay in a mixed reef, minus the sponges?

ISpeakForTheSeas · Nov 18, 2022

Picassoclown said:
Apart from their fine taste of sponges lol, are they okay in a mixed reef, minus the sponges?

As long as your tank is safe for nudibranchs (no predators, covered plumbing and powerheads, etc.), yes. They shouldn’t hurt anything in the tank, but they will almost certainly starve. So, I wouldn’t expect them to last very long.

ReefMasta · Nov 18, 2022

Picassoclown said:
Apart from their fine taste of sponges lol, are they okay in a mixed reef, minus the sponges?

They will just starve to death. So why even consider them?

damsels are not mean · Nov 18, 2022

Well usually when they are reef safe it's only because they eat something every specific. And that is precisely why they never last in home tanks. Many of them eat specific kinds of sponges or other stuff that you can't possibly supply.

Picassoclown · Nov 18, 2022

Hey everyone. So that was actually the wrong one. I had my LFS send me a picture of it, because I wasn't sure. What species is this and is it safe?

Picassoclown · Nov 18, 2022

ReefMasta said:
They will just starve to death. So why even consider them?

I would like to get one that will help in reducing nuisance algae and add some color to the tank. If anyone has recommendations I'd appreciate it.

ISpeakForTheSeas · Nov 18, 2022

Picassoclown said:
I would like to get one that will help in reducing nuisance algae and add some color to the tank. If anyone has recommendations I'd appreciate it.

If you're looking for slugs for nuisance algae removal, than you're looking at Sacoglossan slugs and Sea Hares. You are most likely thinking of "Lettuce Nudibranchs" (which is a misleading name used to identify Sacoglossan slugs, as they are not actually related to nudibranchs).

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.

With either sacoglossans or sea hares, however, you'll want to make sure you have your plumbing, pumps, powerheads, etc. are proofed for the slug's safety (they have a tendency to climb into the powerheads and die).

Jay Hemdal · Nov 18, 2022

Picassoclown said:
Hey everyone. So that was actually the wrong one. I had my LFS send me a picture of it, because I wasn't sure. What species is this and is it safe?

That may be one of the Chromodorids. I’ve never heard of them surviving long in reef tanks.
Jay

ISpeakForTheSeas · Nov 18, 2022

Jay Hemdal said:
That may be one of the Chromodorids. I’ve never heard of them surviving long in reef tanks.
Jay

+1 to this. Looks to me like a Chromodoris sp., but we would need white lighting pics to get a specific ID. Either way, they also have highly specific diets and would starve in the tank. Two species in the genus for example:

ISpeakForTheSeas said:
Super old thread here, but yes, pyjama nudibranchs (Chromodoris quadricolor) and false pyjama nudibranchs (which are what the OP had - Chromodoris annae) to our knowledge only eat sponges, and only specific kinds of sponges at that (typically Thorectidae family sponges, including Petrosaspongia sp. or spp.). So, no, they don't eat flatworms (though there may be a different specific species of nudibranch somewhere that eats a specific species or two of flatworms). Like most nudibranchs, these guys have incredibly specific diets.

StatelineReefer · Nov 18, 2022

ISpeakForTheSeas said:
+1 to this. Looks to me like a Chromodoris sp., but we would need white lighting pics to get a specific ID. Either way, they also have highly specific diets and would starve in the tank. Two species in the genus for example:

First image resembled H. Bullocki, unfortunately H. Bullocki and I have a long and recorded history together.

I never could keep one for more than a year, and I suspect that is their captive lifespan even when fed their obligate food source.

My 6 ate Aplysilla Glacialis. And they ate a lot of it. I never could end up breeding them, although their egg ribbons absolutely adorned most of the rock in my 75.

Of the six I had, two lived beyond 6 months, and only 1 lived 384 days from date of purchase.

ISpeakForTheSeas · Nov 18, 2022

StatelineReefer said:
First image resembled H. Bullocki, unfortunately H. Bullocki and I have a long and recorded history together.

I never could keep one for more than a year, and I suspect that is their captive lifespan even when fed their obligate food source.

My 6 ate Aplysilla Glacialis. And they ate a lot of it. I never could end up breeding them, although their egg ribbons absolutely adorned most of the rock in my 75.

Of the six I had, two lived beyond 6 months, and only 1 lived 384 days from date of purchase.

Yeah, H. bullocki and H. apolegma look super similar (and they were thought to be the same species until very recently), as does H. variobranchia. My understanding (which may be wrong) of how to differentiate between H. bullocki and H. apolegma is the spotting around the skirt (no spots meaning H. bullocki, with spots meaning H. apolegma).

Tired · Nov 18, 2022

Any of those very brightly-colored nudibranchs will only eat one very specific thing. They're reef-safe, yes, but reefs are not them-safe. They're doomed to starve as soon as a collector gets ahold of them.

Sea hares and lettuce nudibranchs eat algae, but aren't colorful, and have fairly specific requirements. If you want color and algae removal, and you don't have an acrylic tank, try a tuxedo, collector, or Halloween urchin.

StatelineReefer · Nov 18, 2022

ISpeakForTheSeas said:
Yeah, H. bullocki and H. apolegma look super similar (and they were thought to be the same species until very recently), as does H. variobranchia. My understanding (which may be wrong) of how to differentiate between H. bullocki and H. apolegma is the spotting around the skirt (no spots meaning H. bullocki, with spots meaning H. apolegma).

Radula structure and gill 'fronds' also differ, but they look so similar to the naked eye that it doesn't surprise me that they were believed to be the same species this long.

TheReefDiary · Nov 18, 2022

Picassoclown said:
I would like to get one that will help in reducing nuisance algae and add some color to the tank. If anyone has recommendations I'd appreciate it.

nudis won't last long without proper food. so it's most likely an expensive snack for the tank. I'd recommend a sea hare but you won't get that color.