Blue Hypselodoris bullocki egg-laying

February 1, 2004
From: Matthew


I recently purchased a Hypselodoris bullocki from a local fish store and when I came back from work it appears to have left a yellow sponge-like formation on my live rock. I assume that the nudibranch left it because I've never seen anything like it since I've had the tank. Any idea what it is?
Matthew

matromo@msn.com

Matthew, 2004 (Feb 1) Blue Hypselodoris bullocki egg-laying. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/12058

Dear Matthew,
By coincidence we have had a few messages about this dark blue 'form' of H. bullocki recently. The yellow object is this animal's egg ribbon. It's most probable that the eggs, if there are eggs in the ribbon, are infertile. Unhealthy animals often lay eggs like this before they die, almost as though they are trying to leave some descendants. I don't know if your local fish store told you that these animals are specialised sponge feeders, and it is most unlikely that the store can provide you with the right food. One good thing is that the egg ribbon is a useful piece of information and looks very like a photo in an earlier message. If you look at some of the earlier messages about H. bullocki you will see we still are not sure just which colour 'forms' are different species and which are just variations. It may be that some of the diffferent colour forms can be distinguished by the shape and colour of their egg ribbons, even if we can't find good anatomical differences.
Best wishes
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2004 (Feb 1). Comment on Blue Hypselodoris bullocki egg-laying by Matthew. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/12058

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