Baby slugs!

March 17, 2001
From: Jeff Zimmerman

Note added 30 May 2006: This is Elysia clarki, a new species which was previously considered a colour form of E. crispata

I've got the beginning of a reef aquarium that I purchased a cleanup crew for. I ended up with 4 lettuce slugs to help clean the green algae that always comes with a reef tank. I'm down to 2 of them after 3 months or so, and I'm not really sure what happens to them. They don't seem to die, they just disappear never to be seen again.

What I saw today just amazed me though. I was trying to figure out what this little green blotch was on the front of my tank. Of course, it was a tiny baby lettuce slug! I started looking, and there must be hundreds of the little critters crawling all over the place. They are all about the side of a printed zero (look on a check, that's about the right size), and have a variety of colors. Some are grayish, some are bright green, and a few are a combination of the two.

Here's my question: I know there will be a lot of these guys that don't survive. The circulation in my tank is pretty brisk, and I'm sure lots of them will get swept into the sump. I want to keep as many of these cute little guys around as possible though... any suggestions on what I need for them besides lots of light and lots of algae (both of which are no problem for me at the moment!)

Jeff

jdzimme@qwest.net

Zimmerman, J., 2001 (Mar 17) Baby slugs!. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/3986

Dear Jeff,
It's always great when you have a success without really trying! Your babies have survived swimming in your tank as microscopic veliger larvae without being sucked in to the sump, and are now crawling around and clearly growing. I would say as long as conditions stay the same you should end up with some healthy slugs. It is possible a few may get too curious and get sucked down the outlet pipe of your filter, but I can't imagine this will be a major problem.

Any chance of some baby photos?
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Factsheet

Elysia clarki

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