Hi chums,
First of all it ISN'T a
Nudibranch slug --all of those are carnivorous. The beast in question is certainly a
Sacoglossan slug:
Some of the most popular
Bryopsis eaters are
Elysia spp. -- indeed the creature offered for sale as
Tridachia crispata, has actually long since been reclassified as
Elysia crispata.
A lot of
Elysias store the chloroplasts from the algae they eat, and use them to generate supplementary nutrition in the form of sugars/starches. They also store the harsher chemicals from their food as a defensive weapon.
Sacoglossan slugs include some so-called "
Sea Hares" (only by way of common-name confusion. True Sea Hares are Anaspidean slugs
). In nature they can be specific when it comes to chow, though they can learn to appreciate other plant foods in captivity.
Life span? Most of them live just under a year, though some tropical species can live longer than five. Since you're purchasing an animal that's already some months old, you're probably looking at 1-6 months of usefulness.
hth
horge
[This message has been edited by horge (edited 02-01-2001).]
