ID Help Please, Weird Hitchhiker

mako417 · 07/31/2007, 12:12 PM

Can anyone ID this for me..hitchhiker on Florida Live Rock. Has antenna and flowery tail. Usually crawls around on rock but have seen it swimming from top of rock to the sand bottom.

Is there anything special I need to know about him...good guy, bad guy and dietary needs?

Thanks,

Travis L. Stevens · 07/31/2007, 12:35 PM

It's a Nudibranch, but I'm not sure what kind. Dorid maybe? Maybe Greenbean36191 will chime in here soon.

mako417 · 07/31/2007, 01:37 PM

I have heard these are pretty hard to keep longterm is that true?

Travis L. Stevens · 07/31/2007, 02:06 PM

All nudibranchs are hard to keep long term unless you can find what they eat and have plenty of it. They are specific eaters. Most likely this guy is a sponge-muncher and it's doubtful you'll be able to keep it alive. Like I said though, Greenbean's the man for this. Can you take some pictures of it underwater?

Amphiprion · 07/31/2007, 02:16 PM

It almost looks like a noxious Phyllidia species, but nudibranchs are very difficult for me to identify. Others may have better luck if you can photograph it underwater.

greenbean36191 · 07/31/2007, 04:09 PM

It's a dorid, and probably an easy one to ID for someone who really knows the species in the Atlantic, but without a shot of it underwater I don't even know which genus to look at. Maybe Leslie or Don will be more help until then.

I don't think it's a phyllidiid since they're mostly Pacific animals, and I'm pretty sure this isn't one of the few exceptions. I wouldn't be worried about it doing anything bad to the tank.

LeslieH · 07/31/2007, 05:12 PM

A better shot of him underwater, and especially of the front area would be nice as Mike said.

Might be Dendrodoris warta AKA the warty sea slug. See http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet.cfm?base=dendwart

pagojoe · 07/31/2007, 05:19 PM

Yep, if it has a gill on its back it's not a phyllidiid. I was just about to post the same thing Leslie posted, but I actually CHECKED before I sent it, so I won't duplicate it, I'll just second it. I can't find anything similar in my sparse Caribbean library, and the only one I can find that looks remotely similar is Dendrodoris warta. I'd like to see a pic of it in the water, also. It bothers me a little that the bumps appear to be so regularly spaced, but that may be something you wouldn't see in an adult, assuming this one is a juvenile. The one on the Sea Slug Forum species page is NINE INCHES LONG, and it looks like this one isn't nearly that big, judging by the size of the things surrounding it.

Cheers,

Don

07/31/2007, 12:12 PM	#1
mako417 Registered Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Nixa, MO Posts: 192	ID Help Please, Weird Hitchhiker Can anyone ID this for me..hitchhiker on Florida Live Rock. Has antenna and flowery tail. Usually crawls around on rock but have seen it swimming from top of rock to the sand bottom. Is there anything special I need to know about him...good guy, bad guy and dietary needs? Thanks,

07/31/2007, 12:35 PM	#2
Travis L. Stevens Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Perry, OK Posts: 13,946	It's a Nudibranch, but I'm not sure what kind. Dorid maybe? Maybe Greenbean36191 will chime in here soon. __________________ Travis Stevens Current Tank Info: Restarting 28g Bowfront

07/31/2007, 02:06 PM	#4
Travis L. Stevens Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Perry, OK Posts: 13,946	All nudibranchs are hard to keep long term unless you can find what they eat and have plenty of it. They are specific eaters. Most likely this guy is a sponge-muncher and it's doubtful you'll be able to keep it alive. Like I said though, Greenbean's the man for this. Can you take some pictures of it underwater? __________________ Travis Stevens Current Tank Info: Restarting 28g Bowfront

07/31/2007, 02:16 PM	#5
Amphiprion Premium Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Mobile, AL Posts: 6,611	It almost looks like a noxious Phyllidia species, but nudibranchs are very difficult for me to identify. Others may have better luck if you can photograph it underwater. __________________ You've done it now, haven't you? Current Tank Info: 40g breeder patch reef w/ seagrass; 2-250w XM 10K; Vortech MP40wES & MP10wES; BM Curve 7 skimmer; carbon & occasional GFO

07/31/2007, 04:09 PM	#6
greenbean36191 Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Ft. Lauderdale Posts: 10,598	It's a dorid, and probably an easy one to ID for someone who really knows the species in the Atlantic, but without a shot of it underwater I don't even know which genus to look at. Maybe Leslie or Don will be more help until then. I don't think it's a phyllidiid since they're mostly Pacific animals, and I'm pretty sure this isn't one of the few exceptions. I wouldn't be worried about it doing anything bad to the tank. __________________ Some say the sun rises in the East. Some say it rises in the West. The truth must be somewhere in the middle. Current Tank Info: tore them down to move and haven't had the time or money to set them back up

07/31/2007, 01:37 PM	#3
mako417 Registered Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Nixa, MO Posts: 192	I have heard these are pretty hard to keep longterm is that true?

07/31/2007, 05:12 PM	#7
LeslieH Premium Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 3,178	A better shot of him underwater, and especially of the front area would be nice as Mike said. Might be Dendrodoris warta AKA the warty sea slug. See http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet.cfm?base=dendwart __________________ Cheers, Leslie So many worms, so little time... Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

07/31/2007, 05:19 PM	#8
pagojoe Team RC Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Conroe, TX Posts: 2,761	Yep, if it has a gill on its back it's not a phyllidiid. I was just about to post the same thing Leslie posted, but I actually CHECKED before I sent it, so I won't duplicate it, I'll just second it. I can't find anything similar in my sparse Caribbean library, and the only one I can find that looks remotely similar is Dendrodoris warta. I'd like to see a pic of it in the water, also. It bothers me a little that the bumps appear to be so regularly spaced, but that may be something you wouldn't see in an adult, assuming this one is a juvenile. The one on the Sea Slug Forum species page is NINE INCHES LONG, and it looks like this one isn't nearly that big, judging by the size of the things surrounding it. Cheers, Don