Elysia diomedea & E. clarki in home aquarium?

May 30, 2006
From: Matt Pedersen

In my prior message regarding Elysia clarki [#15227 ] I laid out my quick plans for productive captive breeding & rearing of the species.

However, perhaps on a foolish whim, I came across two specimens of a different Elysia sp. which I have identified as E. diomedea. They now currently reside in the same aquarium as my pair of E. clarki.

My question is simple - as these two species do not occur sympatrically in nature, what are the chances that these two species could hybridize in a captive environment?

A more sinister proposition perhaps, but based on my limited experience with E. clarki, I would suspect that mating occurs well in advance of the actual deposition of the eggs, perhaps hours or even days. The observations of other aquarists have led me to wonder; could one mating produce several batches of eggs? Furthermore, could the sperm received during mating be stored for later use throughout the lifespan of the nudibranch?

I welcome your thoughts, and have included images of both my E. diomedea [upper photo ] and E. clarki [lower photo] for review.

Best Regards,
Matt Pedersen

matt@cichlidrecipe.com

Pedersen, M.P., 2006 (May 30) Elysia diomedea & E. clarki in home aquarium?. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/15228

Dear Matt,
I am glad you had your whim to buy E. diomedea to go with your E. clarki. Your two photos are a very valuable complement to the message I am posting today [#16728] comparing those two species with 'true' E. crispata.

Concerning them cross-breeding - I suppose anything is possible, but I would be very surprised if they did.  Concerning how long it takes them to lay eggs after mating, that varies with different species, and we don't know very much about any species. Sea slugs are hermaphrodite, with both a functional male and female system. However often the male system develops before the female one and their is some evidence to suggest sperm can be stored for some days or weeks after mating, but what occurs in your species I would not know.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2006 (May 30). Comment on Elysia diomedea & E. clarki in home aquarium? by Matt Pedersen. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/15228

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