Keeping Aplysia in aquaria

August 29, 2001
From: Jessica Helm

I feel like the answer to this must be on this site somewhere, but darned if I can find it. What temperature is ideal for keeping Aplysia californica non reproductive and content? Also is 4/ 20 gallon tank too many you think? Thanks for your many interesting messages and responses here. I'm glad so many people think they are as wonderful as I do.

PS: Aplysia remind me of the creatures on the grey planet in A Wrinkle in Time - soft, gentle, beautiful, sensing their way through a world where sight is unnecessary and touch speaks volumes.

Jessica Helm

jessica_helm@hotmail.com

Helm, J., 2001 (Aug 29) Keeping Aplysia in aquaria. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/5149

Dear Jessica,
Have a look at the website of the NIH-Aplysia Resource Facility in Miami, Florida. It is at: http://www.rsmas.miami.edu/groups/sea-hares/. You can download their online newsletter Slimelines. They are working on a much larger scale than you have in mind but you should be able to find some interesting background information there.

Perhaps you could send the Forum a summary of your research plan. I have had quite a few inquiries about keeping small numbers of Aplysia in captivity so if you have success in keeping them I would be grateful if you could send us 'the recipe' so I could post it on the Forum for other researchers.
Good luck for your project,
Bill Rudman

PS: While preparing this reply I sent an email to Tom Capo who is Resource Manager at the NIH-Aplysia Resource Facility asking for some advice on keeping small numbers of Aplysia. I have posted his almost instant response separately.

Rudman, W.B., 2001 (Aug 29). Comment on Keeping Aplysia in aquaria by Jessica Helm. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/5149

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