Unknown reef tank inhabitant

July 23, 2002
From: Dean Burchell

Hello,
I hope this forum doesn't mind a reef hobbyist who is curious about an ID. It appeared in my 65 gallon tank's overflow and I never saw it in my main tank. Just under two inches. Beige in color with purple and yellow highlights. Perhaps a Phyllodesmium magnum ?
Dean Burchell
Boston, MA, USA

dean@deanburchell.com

Burchell, D., 2002 (Jul 23) Unknown reef tank inhabitant. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/7558

Dear Dean,
Yes your animal does look like Phyllodesmium magnum, which suggests it arrived in your tank on the soft coral that it feeds on. You don't give any indication of size - but clearly it has grown in your tank so you must have, or had, a healthy soft coral colony. There is another message on the Forum suggesting that P. magnum has done this before. I can't give you any tips on keeping it in an aquaria but if its food is there it should survive. I have included a closeup of one of your photos as it shows some of the cerata with abnormal double tips.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2002 (Jul 23). Comment on Unknown reef tank inhabitant by Dean Burchell. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/7558

Factsheet

Phyllodesmium magnum

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