Dendrodoris nigra - hitchhiking again

February 4, 2003
From: Jeff Lord


Dear Dr. Rudman,
I guess the answer to my question is that this creature is Dendrodoris nigra. I set up a 100 gallon reef tank with 140 pounds of Fiji live rock. My guess is that this fellow came along for the ride with these rocks. Looking at its solid black color, with only white tipped rhinophores and the red border visible around its mantle makes me think that it is young. This nudibranch emerged after having the tank set up for two months - It made its debut in my tank three days ago, and I remembered your site. I read that this animal only eats sponges. Do these creatures ever eat algae? I have been watching it forage in areas on the glass where some algae is prevalent. (maybe sponge colonies are proliferating in the corners of my tank.)? Do you have anything I should know about keeping this creature (or not) in a reef tank...

Thank you,
Jeff Lord

JeffL7849@aol.com

Lord, J., 2003 (Feb 4) Dendrodoris nigra - hitchhiking again. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/9034

Dear Jeff,
It's nice when questions are self-answered. Yes it's D. nigra. Concerning its feeding. I'm afraid that just as lions can't survive on grass when the meat runs out, Dendrodoris will needs some of its particular sponges to survive. I'm afraid I can't help on this. I suspect it has been surviviung on a sponge colony in some crevice in your live rock which may now be at an end. I guess you coud try some more live rock, on the off-chance it will have the right sponge, but basically unless you know the food and have a ready supply of it, nudibranchs are not a good idea in aquaria.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2003 (Feb 4). Comment on Dendrodoris nigra - hitchhiking again by Jeff Lord. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/9034

Factsheet

Dendrodoris nigra

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