Nudibrach

What are Nudibrach(es)?

 

Sounds like a mispelling for nudibranches, which are sea slugs. Extremely beautiful animals.

 

Poisonous too, from what I was reading. I typed the "es" in parenthesis since I don't know if the spelling changes when plural.

 

Oh, but you spelt it nudibraches (missing second 'n'), so I thought you couldnt' find info on it anymore before that.

 

Technically "nudibranchs". The "ch" is pronounced as a "k".
They are really cool. They have such a wide variety of colors. Some of them blend in with coral and become invisible, others are brightly colored as a warning about their poisonous nature.
Apparently, they are a creature that might be "accidentally" added to a tank. Other than that, I have no idea how well they fare in a tank. However, the fact that some are poisonous could be a problem for a tank that isn't species-specific.

 

Thanks SirDarkSol. I've read up a little on them now. They don't need species specific, but, DO need peaceful mates. Even then, they could be startled by just routine maintenance. Not all secret poisonous chemicals, though all are, or at least the ones I read about are, poisonous. Some vomit their internal organs which are poisonous to some fish if eaten. In the wild these nudies grown their insides back, non have been reported to do the same in a tank. All of the ones I read about, however, require med/high to expert attention. They most definitely are beautiful and are a great asset to the tank (except for some are not reef safe), but, they are not easily kept. I think I'll pass.

 

Oh wow, Aaron, you're like our house researcher. Thanks so much for finding out, then summarising about them for us. Very informative. Hurray for Aaron!

 

Thanks SirDarkSol. I've read up a little on them now. They don't need species specific, but, DO need peaceful mates. Even then, they could be startled by just routine maintenance. Not all secret poisonous chemicals, though all are, or at least the ones I read about are, poisonous. Some vomit their internal organs which are poisonous to some fish if eaten. In the wild these nudies grown their insides back, non have been reported to do the same in a tank. All of the ones I read about, however, require med/high to expert attention. They most definitely are beautiful and are a great asset to the tank (except for some are not reef safe), but, they are not easily kept. I think I'll pass.

Almost all of the regenerative critters (like the sea cucumber, which might be part of this group, now that I think about it), do not fare well in tanks, because they often lose a body part on purpose when surprised (like a lizard's tail coming off when it is grabbed).
The problem is that, no matter how hard we try, we will never get our tanks as clean as, the same temperature as, the same mineral mix as, etc... natural bodies of water. This is a constant stress, but a minor one, on our fish. However, when the creature stresses itself, say, by vomiting out its internal organs, this minor stress can easily make the difference between regeneration and death.

 

Sigh, so true.

 

My LFS has a few Australian ones. He does not recommend them to anyone but the most seasoned of tank owners. They will wipe a tank in minutes if they're stressed. I try to avoid anything with a disclaimer like that.

 

LoL, probably a good Idea in my case too. Thanks