Chelidonura varians - shipping stresses?

May 28, 2003
From: James Urquhart

I recently purchased 2 Chelidonura varians or whatever they are calling "velvet seaslugs". They were shipped in the same bag and the water seemed somewhat tinted black. I followed a slow acclimation procedure and noticed NO movement on either slug. Both were very flat and seemingly devoid of blue strips.... Put them in the tank and subsequently one went drifting behind the rocks, the other went drifting off behind some other rocks...

Any words of wisdom with these? I was told by someone else I asked on another board that they could potentially release toxins when stressed and that shipping 2 together is not good...

Thanks in advance for you help.
James.

james.urquhart@nautica.com

Urquhart, J., 2003 (May 28) Chelidonura varians - shipping stresses?. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/10051

Dear James,
Sounds like they were dead on arrival - which I am afraid is not surprising. The water was apparently tinted black from the pigment released from the skin when the body began to break down. What killed these animals was humans not toxins released due to stress. Sea Slugs are very sensitive to changes in water chemistry, and to heat and cold etc. To ship them in small plastic bags around the world is irresponsible. To trade in them when we know that 99% will die from physical shock or starvation is criminal. While I have some sympathy for the poor villagers in 3rd world countries who wreck their environment to collect specimens to sell to relatively rich aquarium owners in the developed world, I have little sympathy for the dealers who make huge profits as middlemen. The only way to stop the trade is to encourage aquarium owners like you from buying this stuff. If you don't buy it the middlemen can't make a profit. Even the collection of such apparently harmless stuff as 'live rock' is causing huge damage to tropical shores. After all it is the very stuff which makes the reefs and the rocky shores and provides the home for countless plants and animals. How many thousand die each time a 'live rock' is hammered or dynamited off the shore. There is nothing wrong with keeping an aquarium, but try an restrict your plants and animals do those that are bred in captivity. Your aquarium should remind you of the beauty you can find in the sea, not be the last surviving remnant of a beauty that can no longer be found in the sea.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2003 (May 28). Comment on Chelidonura varians - shipping stresses? by James Urquhart. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/10051

Factsheet

Chelidonura varians

Related messages

  1. Chelidonura varians - laying eggs in an aquarium.
    From: Kim Schrier, April 21, 2010
  2. Re: Chelidonura varians in aquarium
    From: Robin Jerome, December 3, 2009
  3. Re: Chelidonura varians in aquarium
    From: Bill Brown, August 26, 2009
  4. Re: Chelidonura from Mayotte, Indian Ocean
    From: Sylvain Le Bris, January 30, 2009
  5. Re: Chelidonura varians in aquarium
    From: Beck None, October 7, 2008
  6. Chelidonura varians - mating behaviour
    From: Kamal El Tawil, September 19, 2007
  7. Philinopsis gardineri? from the Red Sea
    From: Dany Porras, July 26, 2007
  8. Chelidonura varians - strange behavior
    From: Erwin Kodiat, June 22, 2007
  9. Chelidonura varians from Bali
    From: Danny Van Belle, January 26, 2007
  10. Chelidonura varians from sthn Queensland
    From: Ian Banks, May 4, 2006
  11. Mating Chelidonura varians
    From: Erwin Kodiat, January 16, 2006
  12. Chelidonura varians from Bali
    From: Erwin Kodiat, December 6, 2005
  13. Chelidonura varians mating
    From: Mary Jane Adams, February 14, 2005
  14. Chelidonura varians in aquarium
    From: tlp, December 4, 2003
  15. Chelidonura varians from Sabah, Malaysia
    From: Asther M. Lau, September 6, 2003
  16. Re: Chelidonura varians - shipping stresses?
    From: James Urquhart, June 25, 2003
  17. Re: Chelidonura varians - shipping stresses?
    From: James Urquhart, June 24, 2003
  18. Re: Chelidonura varians - trailing behaviour
    From: Roberto Sozzani, May 21, 2003
  19. Re: Chelidonura varians - trailing behaviour
    From: Roberto Sozzani, May 20, 2003
  20. Chelidonura varians - trailing behaviour
    From: Leanne & David Atkinson, May 19, 2003
  21. Chelidonura varians egg laying
    From: Joe Yaiullo, April 22, 2003
  22. Chelidonura varians - larval culture
    From: Joe Yaiullo, April 9, 2003
  23. Chelidonura varians from Lord Howe Island
    From: W.B. Rudman, January 9, 2003
  24. Chelidonura varians - Mabul Island, Malaysia
    From: Richard Houghton, September 3, 2002
  25. Aquarium flatworm control
    From: Victor Hernandez, April 3, 2002
  26. Chelidonura varians from Indonesia
    From: Stuart Hutchison, March 9, 2002
  27. Re: Slug to control photosynthetic flatworms
    From: Patrick Webb, March 9, 2002
  28. Re: Slug to control photosynthetic flatworms
    From: Mark, January 25, 2002
  29. Re: Need Slug that will help with Flatworms
    From: joe, September 7, 2001
  30. Slug to control photosynthetic flatworms
    From: Darrell Gibson, September 7, 2001
  31. Need Slug that will help with Flatworms
    From: D. Scott Morrison, June 17, 2001
  32. Juvenile Chelidonura from SE Sulawesi
    From: Lindsay Warren , June 13, 2001
  33. Planaria-eating nudibranch?
    From: Drew Dram, April 2, 2001
  34. Chelidonura feeding observations
    From: Julian Sprung, December 22, 2000
  35. Re: Where to get Chelidonura varians
    From: Scott Crumpton, June 10, 2000
  36. Re: Where to get Chelidonura varians
    From: Gary J. Robinson, February 14, 2000
  37. Re: More on Chelidonura feeding
    From: Cory Pittman, February 8, 2000
  38. A nudibranch that eats Flat Worms
    From: john, December 10, 1999
  39. control of flatworms in marine aquarium
    From: Roger, May 29, 1999
  40. Red flatworm-eating Sea Slug
    From: pat, April 14, 1999
  41. Re: Where can I get Chelidonura varians?
    From: Donna Stimetz, March 29, 1999
  42. Where can I get Chelidonura varians?
    From: Paul Hranitz, November 30, 1998
  43. Chelidonura feeding
    From: Davide & Giovanni, October 14, 1998
  44. Reference for Chelidonura feeding
    From: Davide Giovine, October 8, 1998
  45. More Chelidonura feeding
    From: Cory Pittman, October 7, 1998
  46. Re: Chelidonura feeding
    From: Peter Firminger, September 18, 1998
  47. Chelidonura feeding
    From: Davide & Giovanni, September 8, 1998

Show factsheet and all related messages