Care Level: Moderate
Temperament:Â Peaceful
Reef Compatible:Â Yes
General Description: The Lettuce Sea Slug, also known as the Lettuce Nudibranch, is a charming and entertaining addition to the marine aquarium. Its highly folded appendages give it a ruffled appearance similar to lettuce, and while the majority of individuals are green in color, there are some that can look more yellow or brown. The Lettuce sea slug stays quite small, only reaching a maximum size of 3″. A really unique characteristic of the Lettuce sea slug is that it incorporates the chloroplasts (cells that are responsible for photosynthesis) from the algae it eats into its own tissues, thus having the capability to photosynthesize for part of its energy. This sea slug is a peaceful and welcomed addition to the health of your marine aquarium by maintaining nuisance algae growth.
Diet Requirements: Lettuce sea slugs are both autotrophs (produces energy using light via photosynthesis) and heterotrophs (produces energy by consumption of algae). It is important that the aquarium has natural sources of algae for the Lettuce sea slug to graze on.
Tank Requirements: An extremely established, minimum aquarium size of 15 gallons is recommended to house a Lettuce sea slug. Maintaining stable water parameters is a component to the success of keeping this invertebrate; sea slugs are intolerable of high nitrates. The Lettuce sea slug prefers an abundance of live rock so that it has large areas in which it can graze on. Be sure to house the Lettuce sea slug with appropriate inhabitants that will not harass or cause stress to it; the Lettuce sea slug is not poisonous compared to some other slug/nudibranch species. Given its small size and delicate body, take care to ensure that filter intakes and drains are properly screened off that would otherwise cause harm if encountered. It is imperative to take time acclimating a Lettuce sea slug; we suggest via drip acclimation. Recommended water conditions: 76-78° F, dKH 8-12, pH 8.1-8.4, salinity 1.024-1.026.
Purchase Size: 1/2” to 1″
Note: Your item may not look identical to the image provided due to variation within species. Purchase size is approximate.
