Saltcorner
By Bob Goemans
By Bob Goemans
Not Reef Tank Suitable
Not Suitable for Fish-Only Tank
Range: Western Pacific Ocean
Size: 1 inch (2.5 cm)
Natural Environment: Inhabits shallow coral reefs and found on and near soft corals.
Aquarium Suitability: Feeds upon soft corals, where the specimen in the photo was seen munching on Mike's leather coral.
I've also seen this type slug on some of my leather corals, which is mainly a nighttime feeder.
Always check your soft corals early in the day to see if this pest is present in your reef aquarium.
Remove when seen with a long handle tweezers.
May also burrow into the base of some soft corals and eat them from within. Look for dark spots along the base area, especially leather corals. If found, may be a must to remove that coral from the aquarium and carve-out that dark area to remove this pest.
This has happened to me once, and the coral wound was washed with fresh water, and returned to the aquarium where it healed perfectly.
Taxonomy:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Order: Nudibranchia
Family: Dendronotidae
Genus: Dentronotus
FYI: Shown here for identification only.
