Spanish Dancer's diet

[Wrassy]

Read from books that spanish dancer are hard to rear as they require special diets. What exactly do they feed on?

I have 1 spanish dancer when I first started the hobby. But died within 2 days. Shop owner told me was that the water was too "new". Got such things one meh?

Now that my tank is almost 2 months old. Izzit advisable to keep one again?

Advices welcome

[Achilles Tang]

No. Sorry. Such nudibranchs have very specialized diets... and if you keep a reef tank.. forget it.

They eat coral polyps, sponges, tunicates, algae and they are also poisonous.

Best leave them in the sea.

[Wrassy]

Oh so sad... but they are so desirable

Anyway thanks for your advice

[junlover]

hw does a spanish dancer looks like?

hw much u bought it?

[Wrassy]

Huh? You interested ah? After what AT says is enuf to frighten me coz I really dun wan it to ruin my reefs you see.

But if you just wana know It looks like a sea slug to me with 2 colours white and red and when it moves around the tank it resembles a spanish dancer's dress with frills. That's all

It costs $10 when I bought.

[spade]

hw does a spanish dancer  looks like?

Dancing in the water column

more info

[Wrassy]

Yeah...manz you are rite

[Achilles Tang]

This info should convince you:

Spanish Dancer - Hexabranchus sanguineus

The Spanish Dancer may grow to 5 inches. Carnivore. The Hexabranchus sanguineus is generally peaceful toward other tankmates. Keep with caution in a reef aquarium. Many consider the Hexabranchus sanguineus a high-maintenance specimen. Not venomous. Be careful with copper-based medication and extreme nitrate levels. Ultra-sensitive to alkalinity changes, and will be venomous if it dies. It requires an expert reef keeper. It lives symbiotically with the Periclimenes imperator that actually eats its. These snails are empowered with skin glands that produce potent poisons; some species make sulfuric acid, others non-acidic noxious substances. There are celebrated species that use the cnidocysts (stingingcells, nematocysts) they reprocess from eating stinging-celled animals. Others have spicules embedded in their mantle. With their sudden and mysterious death, this stuff ends up in your water. To reduce the potential for disaster you need good chemical filtration with adequate circulation, regular partial water changes and a watchful eye on what you have and where it's at in your system. To emphasize the above point I like to recount my experience with a certain Spanish dancer, a swimming nudibranch. That's right, some of these snails are truly butterflies of the sea; in constant motion. Once at a Sears-Roebucks in the early seventies, when they were in the live pet business, we had a tank that whatever fish we put in, it would become shy and perish within a few days. We tried all the usual; massive water changes, dumping the tank completely, even throwing away the gravel, including the decor, all to no avail. Enough study and discussion led us finally to realize that the Spanish Dancer (swimming nudibranch) that had been in the tank had bumped up against the tank walls depositing stinging cells all over. These were zapping and debilitating everything they came in contact with. Once more we dumped, acid-bleach washed and salt-scrubbed the sides of the tank. Subsequently we were able to keep other livestock alive. Some of these snails even feed on the Portuguese-man-o-war. Yowch! Keep water quality high (SG 1.023 - 1.025, pH 8.1 - 8.4, Temp. 72 - 78° F).

[Puffer]

When I go scuba I saw alot of them. Nice swimming style leh

[Achilles Tang]

Do a search on nudibranch here.

I have a video of one swimming... very very cool.

[junlover]

no lar,juz hao qi abt it,can gain more knowlege mah~!

hee