Tritoniopsis - another hitchhiker
September 23, 2000
From: Jim Roth
Hi,
I received a mystery nudibranch in some corals from Indonesia. Picture attached. It has been living on (and eating) a soft-coral I think is Cladiella. Initially I removed it, then I decided It was more interesting to have a beautiful nudibranch than another Cladiella. I put it back.
Somebody has tentatively ID'd it as Tritonopsis. I have a couple of questions:
1) Will it eat anything besides Cladiella? (Colt or Xenia?) I'd like to get another fast-growing soft coral to feed it.
2) I believe I have only one of these. Can it still reproduce in my 90g tank? I don't want an infestation.
Thanks for your help.
Jim Roth
roth@monmouth.com
Roth, J., 2000 (Sep 23) Tritoniopsis - another hitchhiker. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/3057Dear Jim,
Yes your nudibranch is Tritoniopsis elegans. You'll see from the other messages below yours that this is not the first time it has been reported as a hitchhiker. Concerning whether it will eat other soft-corals. Our knowledge of what many tropical nudibranchs eat is still very rudimentary. Tritoniopsis is a soft-coral feeder and presumably it arrived and survived in your tank on a piece of soft-coral. However I can't say which ones it will eat and so can't recommend a fast growing one for you to buy.
Concerning it reproducing in your aquarium. If you have only one then the chances are zero. Although nudibranchs are hermaphrodites, with a full set of male and female organs, they do not self-fertilise. Since your animal was obviously very small when collected, it is unlikely to have mated before you got it. The apparent infestation reported in an earlier message is probably the result of a lot of microscopic juveniles being on a soft-coral when it was introduced into the aquarium.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.
Related messages
-
Tritoniopsilla elegans - egg laying
From: Sven Kahlbrock, September 19, 2008 -
A case of Caphira yoodokai eating Tritoniopsis elegans
From: Seiko Kuroe & Akira Mada, July 7, 2007 -
Tritoniopsis elegans in aquarium
From: Andrea Urban, March 13, 2007 -
Feeding Tritoniopsis elegans
From: Vik Shah, August 17, 2006 -
Can you help Identify this hitchhiker?
From: Jimmy Carmichael, January 13, 2006 -
Unidentified Nudibranch in aquarium
From: David Seibel, December 24, 2004 -
Tritoniopsis elegans from Red Sea
From: Oren Lederman, August 11, 2004 -
Tritonopsis elegans from Kenya
From: Ann Clear, July 19, 2004 -
Re: Tritoniopsis elegans in aquaria [2]
From: Albert Jeffer, March 16, 2004 -
Tritoniopsis elegans in aquaria
From: Wade Waldman, March 12, 2004 -
Tritoniopsis elegans in aquaria [2]
From: Albert Jeffers, March 12, 2004 -
Finally found in Queensland
From: Gary Cobb, November 19, 2003 -
Re: Tritoniopis elegans in aquarium
From: Chris Peacock, July 18, 2003 -
Tritoniopis elegans in aquarium
From: Chris Peacock, July 5, 2003 -
Tritoniopsis elegans in aquarium
From: Ember Barnett, May 30, 2003 -
Tritoniopsis elegans in home aquarium
From: Brian Lindsay , February 28, 2003 -
ID Sea Slug
From: Joe, February 13, 2003 -
Re: Tritoniopsis elegans in aquarium
From: Marc Daniels, January 25, 2003 -
Are these Tritoniopsis elegans eggs?
From: Onel, January 25, 2003 -
Tritoniopsis elegans in aquarium
From: Marc Daniels, January 22, 2003 -
Tritoniid in aquarium
From: Mary Middlebrook, January 18, 2003 -
Tritoniopsis elegans - causing aquarium problems
From: Sam Young, November 11, 2002 -
Unexpected Tritoniopsis elegans guests
From: Mark Armstrong, May 31, 2002 -
Tritoniopsilla alba ? from the Philippines
From: Erwin Koehler, April 24, 2002 -
Tritoniopsis elegans and camouflage
From: Nishina Masayoshi, October 18, 2001 -
White nudibranch from Dendronephthya
From: Wyatt Patry , September 26, 2001 -
Another aquarium mystery
From: Christy Falkenberg, September 16, 2001 -
Tritoniopsis elegans - eggs
From: Bernard Picton , August 19, 2001 -
Tritoniopsis elegans feeding
From: Leslie Chan, August 18, 2001 -
Tritoniopsis elegans from Hong Kong
From: Bernard Picton , August 18, 2001 -
Tritoniopsis elegans - hitchhiker
From: Tom O'Toole, July 31, 2001 -
Tritoniopsis elegans from Hong Kong
From: Leslie Chan, July 8, 2001 -
Tritoniopsis elegans in aquarium
From: Donna Pinnock, May 11, 2001 -
Tritoniopsis elegans in aquarium
From: Tracey Bollier, February 9, 2001 -
Tritoniopsis elegans from South Africa
From: Valda Fraser, January 27, 2001 -
Unknown Nudibranch
From: Marc Elig, December 12, 2000 -
Tritoniopsis elegans in aquarium
From: Cindy Nichols, January 4, 2000 -
Tritoniopsis from Thailand
From: Erwin Koehler, July 9, 1999 -
Sponge-feeding tritoniid?
From: David & Leanne Atkinson, April 14, 1999 -
Nudibranch in reef tank
From: Eirik Mack Eilertsen, January 4, 1999 -
Re: Nudibranch in reef tank
From: Eirik Mack Eilertsen , January 4, 1999