Tridachia (Elysia) crispata

The lettuce sea snail is a nudibranch that feeds on higher algae. Unlike most other sea snails, which specialize in a specific target species, they feed on different...

The lettuce sea snail is a nudibranch that feeds on higher algae. Unlike most other sea snails, which specialize on a specific target species, they feed on different types of algae. The food consists of algae such as Halimeda, Penicillus and Bryopsis. The latter makes it very interesting as a possible counterpart to the spread of Bryopsis in the aquarium. However, Elysia crispata is a slow eater. Ideally, place it directly on the algae you want to get rid of.

To feed, Elysia crispata sucks the juices and tissue from algae. A remarkable ability is that this snail family can retain chloroplasts from the algae in their tissues. They remain intact for several months and the lettuce snail can use them for photosynthesis. This process is called kleptoplasty, which is why these slugs are also called "solar-powered sea slugs."

Elysia crispata grows to about 5-6 cm tall and is suitable for tanks of 30 liters and more, provided there is sufficient algae present.

Characteristics

• Grows to about 5-6 cm
• Be careful with flow pumps
• Peaceful