nudibranch ID

Rivalpc · #1 08/09/2005, 10:41 AM

I dont have pics yet but I can discribe it pretty well.

its about 1 3/4-2" long Brown cucumber shaped with 4 rows of Short nubs on its back running length wise. On occassion feathered "anteni" type things come out of its head.

It Doesn't move alot, ok doesnt move, for the most part. When i first got my TBS rock it was attached to a rock and didnt move for about 6 months then one day it crawled across the tank and attached to the glass where it has been for the last 6 months. It doesnt seem to bother anything and nothing bothers it. Snails cwal over it sometimes.

rshimek · #2 08/09/2005, 11:30 AM

Hi,

If it doesn't move, it isn't a nudibranch. They are mobile animals and really are never still.

I really need an image of this one.

Rivalpc · #3 08/09/2005, 11:48 AM

thanks. i will try to get a good pic of it. Until then, what type of crit would act and look similar to this?

rshimek · #4 08/09/2005, 11:56 AM

Hi,

If I knew that, I would have told you.

liverock · #5 08/10/2005, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Rivalpc
I dont have pics yet but I can discribe it pretty well.

its about 1 3/4-2" long Brown cucumber shaped with 4 rows of Short nubs on its back running length wise. On occassion feathered "anteni" type things come out of its head.

It Doesn't move alot, ok doesnt move, for the most part. When i first got my TBS rock it was attached to a rock and didnt move for about 6 months then one day it crawled across the tank and attached to the glass where it has been for the last 6 months. It doesnt seem to bother anything and nothing bothers it. Snails cwal over it sometimes.

Easy..... donkey dung cucumber!

TBS

rshimek · #6 08/10/2005, 10:48 AM

Hi,

It may be a cuke, but the so-called Caribbean donkey dung, Holothuria mexicana, is a mobile sand mopper. This one, if it is a cuke, is likely a dendrochirote, or suspension-feeding form, see here and here.

If it is a cuke, it will need a lot of phytoplankton or phytoplankton-sized particulate material in the water to keep it fed.

Rivalpc · #7 08/10/2005, 03:19 PM

Trying to get a good pic of it still.
No the donkey dung cucumber is doing fine and bout 8 inches long now, the thing moves about the tank alot. The last one i might add, the others fell victom to something or are hiding real well.
this one was a hitchhiker and hasnt grown more than a 1/4 inch nor does it move about (see above) alot. Kinda squarish/trapazoid body (cross section), more pronounced nubs and the anteni.

Rivalpc · #8 08/10/2005, 11:55 PM

here is the best shot i could get. it was near the top of the tank so forgive the mirror image effect.

liverock · #9 08/11/2005, 07:33 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Rivalpc
here is the best shot i could get. it was near the top of the tank so forgive the mirror image effect.

Donkey dung cuke...your other cuke is a tiger tail..

TBS

rshimek · #10 08/14/2005, 05:52 AM

Hi,

It is NOT a donkey dung cucumber (= Holothuria mexicana), those are different animals altogether, for an image, see here.
These animals are sand-feeding, bottom-mopping sea cucumbers.

The animal in question is a suspension-feeding sea cucumber, in the group called the dendrochirota. It is similar, and related, to the temperate sea cucumber (Cucumaria miniata) shown in the image below.

These animals use the highly branched oral tentacles as feeding appendages which catch phytoplankton or phytoplankton-sized particles.

Now, READ the articles I linked to for some information about the care of these animals.

This