Hyroid eating nudibranchs?

[dlh5150]

Are there any nudibrachs that eat hydroids? Who sells them?

Thanks,

dlh

[Anthony Calfo]

There are nudibranchs that consume almost any type of cnidarian animal that you can think of as well as many other reef invertebrates (sponges and bryozoans also being favs)

I have an internet website listed in the bibliography of my "Reef Invertebrates" book detailing the specific prey of a long list of nudibranchs. Please do search there for your type/target hydroid and its correlative ophisthobranch predator and also use the seaslugforum.org to help with the ID

As to who sell the nudis... we cannot say until you ID the nudi(s) needed/hydroid targeted. Frankly, do not count on anyone collecting of farming the species you need. Appropriately so, very few nudibranchs are collected or farmed for sale in the aquarium hobby with good reason - most cannot be kept alive for a full and natural lifespan (inability to maintain or even obtain their obligate food/prey).

Too many folks are looking to get such nudis to control nuisance growths like algae, anemones, or hydroids caused by other reasons (like excess nutrients and/or inadequate water flow/skimming) instead of treating the real problem. The result is that the nudi starves to death eventually. Not a respobsible use of resouces ;)

Do let us know what you find.

best regards,

Anthony

[dlh5150]

Anthony,

I appreciate you comments and I do have your "Reef Invertibrates" book. It is full of great info. I have found a web-site that sells "aptaisia eating Berghia Nudibranchs." Is is feasible that if a nudi eats aptaisia, it would also eat a hydroid? My problem my be a thing of the past, because my little nest of hydroids seems to have been eaten by a small snail of some sort. Does that make any sense?

Thanks again,

dlh

[Anthony Calfo]

DLH,

Unfortunately... many/most of the nudibranchs have very specific if not obligate diets. It is extremely unlikely that Berghia will eat this hydroid you have.

Again, we need an accurate ID on the hydroid before you could seek a nudibranch that preys on it. Theres a much better chance of finding another creature altogether (fish, mullusk, echino) that is less discriminating in the inverts it eats to consume your hydroid.

Your best solution is really to limit the flaw in the system/husbandry that is allowing the hydroids to flourish iun the first place (weak skimming, overfeeding, messy foods, inadequate water changes, etc). Something is feeding these hydroids to allow them to grow to nuisance levels... control that and you'll be happiest :) Else, the nutrients will shift to some other nuisance growth (often algae) when the hydroids go away.

kindly,

Anthony

[dlh5150]

Point taken. What about this snail that seems to be eating these hydroids? Ever heard of such a thing?

dlh

[Anthony Calfo]

yes... included in my (mispelled :p) reference above to a less dicriminate predator like mollusks (a gastropod snail in this case). Its not uncommon at all to have snails or starfish (echinoderm) that deposit feed or otherwise literally eat their way across a reef. Your snail may even be obligate too, although I doubt it.

Enjoy it in the meantime :D

Anthony