Re: Baby slugs! - Elysia crispata

June 4, 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 more pictures of the slugs as they are growing up and making families of their own. I estimate that the juvenile slugs in the pictures are the third generation of slugs in my tank. Pretty neat!

They seem to grow about 3/16 of an inch per month, to a maximum length of about 1 inch. The first set of slugs that I purchased were larger than that (1.5 to 2 inches), but I would guess that they probably had more food available to them. They seem to live about 3-6 months, with new slugs appearing every 2 months or so.

What I find really interesting is the "solar mode" that the slugs go into after cruising for algae for 5-8 hours or so. They "scrunch up" into an almost circular shape, with the area under the ruffles at maximum exposure to the light. It appears to me that they spend the first few hours of a light cycle looking for fresh food, and the last few hours in solar mode, recharging for the next day.

I'll post more as I observe more....

Jeff

jdzimme@qwest.net

Zimmerman, J., 2001 (Jun 4) Re: Baby slugs! - Elysia crispata. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/4484

Dear Jeff,
Thanks for keeping us informed - definitely 'pretty neat'. I think this is a far more rewarding activity than slowly starving some poor nudibranch like Hypselodoris bullocki to death. I have added a couple of insets to your photos to show the green specks, which are the little clusters of chloroplasts that the slug steals from its plant food. To those of you who don't know how it uses these to help feed itself, have a look at the information at the top of this page.

I look forward to further observations.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2001 (Jun 4). Comment on Re: Baby slugs! - Elysia crispata by Jeff Zimmerman. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/4484

Factsheet

Elysia clarki

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