Re: Purple sea slug

April 23, 2008
From: Ben Newsome

Concerning message #4316:

How would you know what they eat if you can't tell us what they eat?

Ben Newsome

ob1bog@aol.com

Newsome, B., 2008 (Apr 23) Re: Purple sea slug. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/21544

Dear Ben,

Good question - but you are confusing various levels of information. Although I didn't know exactly what they ate I certainly knew that they didn't eat plant material. From my knowledge of the anatomy of this family of nudibranchs it is quite clear that they are carnivores not herbivores. Just like a mammal expert can distinguish  carnivores from herbivores from aspects of their anatomy, an expert on molluscs can do the same with sea slugs. In fact all nudibranchs are carnivores, which makes the advertisement from Aquacon that they have 'nudibranchs' which 'will take care of your algae' quite irresponsible and quite incorrect.

Since that message was posted in 2001 I have published a research paper which brings together all the information we have on precise food choice in this family (Rudman & Bergquist, 2007) which shows that Hypselodoris bullocki and closely related species feed exclusively on sponges of the genus Euryspongia (Fam: Dysideidae). However knowing this name or even the precise species of sponge they eat is of little value to aquarium enthusiasts because sponges are extremely difficult to collect and keep alive in aquaria, even if the collectors could correctly identify the species. Also, if you had the right sponge, and found just the right conditions to keep a colony alive in a tank, your aim is basically to sabotage your sponge husbandry by letting a nudibranch loose on this fragile sponge colony to eat it alive! Damaged sponges quickly rot and die and produce or release toxic chemicals into the water which will soon foul your aquarium. I have said this many times before so have a look at the messages listed under Keeping Sea Slugs in captivity for more comments on the topic.

  • Rudman, W. B. & Bergquist, P. R. (2007) A review of feeding specificity in the sponge-feeding Chromodorididae (Nudibranchia: Mollusca). Molluscan Research, 27(2): 60-88

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2008 (Apr 23). Comment on Re: Purple sea slug by Ben Newsome. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/21544

Factsheet

Hypselodoris bullocki - Page 3

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