sea slugs

[Chemical_Whore]

I have done some reading on all kinds of sea slug questions that have been posted, but I have a question on one that i want, and glass slug ( Cyerce Nigricans ) , all info I have found to say they are a herbivore and photosynthetic. Why arnt these in most reefs then, if fish dont like to eat them then the toxin thing cant effect much, what else is there to look for??

 

[Anonymous]

Because their main food is Chlorodesmis fastigiata (a green algae) which contains toxins, this is what make these members of the family Calliphylidae toxic themselves. If someone can set up a captive breeding program and produce these animals so that they'll survive on other types of algae long term then they may become more widely available.
Also if they weren't toxic then they'd no longer be safe from predators in our tanks.
There are many marine critters that would thrive and be beneficial in our tanks exept for one of the big ifs; diet.

Regards,
David Mohr

 

[Chemical_Whore]

does the algae release toxins?? if not would it be though of a good choice for a fuge and have them in there? I really find this slug to be awesome loking, so if they could be kept in fuge that would be great to, and do slugs require and special flow?

 

[Anonymous]

Does the algae release toxins? No. It has to be ingestested.
I'm not sure what your question is here as far as flow. No particular type of current, the only thing you have to be careful of is powerheads and pumps as they can easily be sucked in.

Regards,
David Mohr

 

[Chemical_Whore]

well if I put the slugs in the fuge and the algae in the fuge, so all is good then right? thats basicly what I am asking. I was just making sure that the slug would survive and the algae would be ok to be in the fuge.