Free Nudibranch for Clove polyp control??

[knltn]

Found this Nudibranch in the tank today. It has been munching on the clove polyp. 3 inch long. Is it a good guy for clove polyp control?

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

Usually Nudi's are diet specific. So If it was eating a clove polyps then that is what it eats.
Pictures please

 

[knltn]

Found this Nudibranch in the tank today. It has been munching on the clove polyp. 3 inch long. Is it a good guy for clove polyp control?

Pic attached

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

Pic attached

Not a Nudi... Maybe a sea cucumber...
@ISpeakForTheSeas

 

[knltn]

Not a Nudi... Maybe a sea cucumber...
@ISpeakForTheSeas

Whichever this is.. it ate half of my clove polyp colony. I’m debating on what to do with it…

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

I would say sump it, but if it has a specific diet, then it would starve. It is cool as heck though. Hopefully @ISpeakForTheSeas will come through with an ID and possible diet.

 

[winxp_man]

Looks to be a Dendronotus venustus species of the sea slug family, a dendronotid nudibranch.

 

[JoJosReef]

Whichever this is.. it ate half of my clove polyp colony. I’m debating on what to do with it…

Send it my way! I'm debating whether the clove polyps or aiptasia are a bigger nuisance on my cyphastrea/acro/pavona rock! :)

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Not a Nudi... Maybe a sea cucumber...
@ISpeakForTheSeas

I would say sump it, but if it has a specific diet, then it would starve. It is cool as heck though. Hopefully @ISpeakForTheSeas will come through with an ID and possible diet.

That's a Tritoniid nudibranch of some variety from the subfamily Marioniinae (three genera in the subfamily - Marionia, Marioniopsis, and Paratritonia; I would lean toward guessing a Marionia species from a first guess); they're octocoral or hydroid eaters depending on the species.

 

[Kasrift]

Super cool. Where in California are you? I'd love to have that eat some octo coral for me.

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

That's a Tritoniid nudibranch of some variety from the subfamily Marioniinae (three genera in the subfamily - Marionia, Marioniopsis, and Paratritonia; I would lean toward guessing a Marionia species from a first guess); they're octocoral or hydroid eaters depending on the species.

Dang I was wrong... I would’ve bet money it wasn’t a nudi. Sea slug yes, but not a nudi.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Dang I was wrong... I would’ve bet money it wasn’t a nudi. Sea slug yes, but not a nudi.

Haha, yeah, these are odd little nudibranchs.

 

[winxp_man]

Dang I was wrong... I would’ve bet money it wasn’t a nudi. Sea slug yes, but not a nudi.

That's a Tritoniid nudibranch of some variety from the subfamily Marioniinae (three genera in the subfamily - Marionia, Marioniopsis, and Paratritonia; I would lean toward guessing a Marionia species from a first guess); they're octocoral or hydroid eaters depending on the species.

Could be a Dendronotus venustus too. The brown vein variation gives it that look.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Could be a Dendronotus venustus too. The brown vein variation gives it that look.

D. venustus is pretty similar, but the veining isn't quite right - taking a closer look, I would guess this species is Marioniopsis viridescens because of the veining, the white spots at the base of each of the 10 or 11 gill structures (hard to count exactly how many from the video/picture), the unique "break" in the rhinophores, and their reported size being just under three inches (2.76"):
http://seaslugs.free.fr/nudibranche/a_marionia_viridescens.htmFor a couple of photos of some with similar coloration as the OP's:
https://www.reeflex.net/tiere/13404_Marioniopsis_viridescens.htmhttps://ru.reeflex.net/?show=galerie&galerieID=64942&galerieCode=5fca2726797e7

 

[knltn]

That's a Tritoniid nudibranch of some variety from the subfamily Marioniinae (three genera in the subfamily - Marionia, Marioniopsis, and Paratritonia; I would lean toward guessing a Marionia species from a first guess); they're octocoral or hydroid eaters depending on the species.

It’s definitely an octocoral eater… thanks for the info

 

[knltn]

Super cool. Where in California are you? I'd love to have that eat some octo coral for me.

San Diego. I put him in the sump and rehoming should happen soon or he’ll starve. He ate an entire large colony of Xenia then Clove polyps thus far..

 

[knltn]

Send it my way! I'm debating whether the clove polyps or aiptasia are a bigger nuisance on my cyphastrea/acro/pavona rock! :)

I’m in San Diego. Which part of CA are you?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

San Diego. I put him in the sump and rehoming should happen soon or he’ll starve. He ate an entire large colony of Xenia then Clove polyps thus far..

Both for legitimate scientific observation and for my own curiosity- what specific kind of Xenia and Clove polyps did it eat? Specific hobby names or actual species?

I ask as the only thing I've found speculated about their diet is that they may eat Heteroxenia genus coral(s).

Also, please let us know if it squirts any liquid - there has been a report of Tritoniid nudibranch (very tentatively ID'd as M. viridescens, though I can't confirm the ID from the pics provided with the report) squirting a liquid (presumed to be a toxin presumably gathered from the coral it eats) when it feels threatened; confirmation of that being a possibility with the species would be neat.

 

[Kasrift]

San Diego. I put him in the sump and rehoming should happen soon or he’ll starve. He ate an entire large colony of Xenia then Clove polyps thus far..

Oh, I'm in San Diego! I was looking for a way to get rid of an invasive clove polyp! Can I snag that from you?

 

[JoJosReef]

I'm in Irvine, but my that nudi probably shouldn't go in with my wrasses no matter how bad the cloves are--actually my Aiptasia are doing a great job at comtrolling them just now. And if it secretes toxins when threatened, probably not a good idea...