Lettuce sea slug - breeding success

May 31, 2003
From: Rick Hahn

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

I live in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA. I've been running reef tanks for about 4 years and recently set up a 75 gal. with VHO lighting and added two of these critters ][Elysia crispata]. One disappeared after about a month which was disappointing, but the other seemed to thrive on the various algae bloom cycles that the tank went through. I have had to move my tank to another house last week and as I was checking the tank today to check on any stressed animals or corals I noticed a baby lettuce slug on the front glass seemingly at rest, spread into a dot on the glass. At the back and sides of the tank I discovered several more, which all appeared to be feeding on the algae bloom that appears on the glass. The only activity with the adult that seemed different lately was that it spent a lot of time in the Caulerpa (I have two types mixed in the tank) and two days ago I had a large Caulerpa die off. Today there are babies everywhere, about 1/8 - 1/4 inch long depending on activity level. The adult also spends a lot of time trying to get at the brown algae in my overflow and managed to get into it for about three days before I discovered it whereabouts and put it back into the tank. I have noticed that even in the same tank and eating the same (supposedly) food there are still color variations in the baby slugs (light green, med-dark green, blue-green, and green with bluish fringe). They are great for algae control and the snails, hermits, emeraldcrab, and peppermint shrimp I have ignore them. I had heard that they are hard to keep and that water salinity and quality are important to them, but the adult I have went through some major changes last week and seems to be thriving. I do recommend VHO or metal halide lighting for anyone trying to keep them as the info here tells me they use photosynthesis also. Lighting is a huge factor in keeping many saltwater creatures alive and healthy, and if you want to raise them.

The local saltwater/reef aquarium shops will usually buy or give store credit for tank raised critters since they are usually more adaptable than wild caught and more reef tank owners prefer tank raised for environmental reasons. Hope I had some useful info for those who want to try to raise them and have not been in the hobby before.
Rick Hahn

Rick_Hahn@Hotmail .com

Hahn, R., 2003 (May 31) Lettuce sea slug - breeding success. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/10114

Thanks Rick,
It's great to hear success stories about tank bred animals.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman


Factsheet

Elysia clarki

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