Breeding Journal, Species: Elysia diomedea

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Bongo Shrimp
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Breeding Journal, Species: Elysia diomedea - Monday, March 11, 2013 11:53 PM
Breeding Journal DataSheet
This first post should be updated regularly to include new information as events take place or changes are made to your system

General
Species:  Elysia diomedea
Social Structure:  Pair (hermaphroditic)
Size of Individuals: ~1.5"
Age of Individuals:  Unknown
Date added to Tank:  1/15/13

Broodstock Tank Details
Size of Tank:  29g
Substrate Details:  Crushed Coral
Filtration Details:  Modified wet/dry Biocube + Fuval G3 Canister
Water Changes:  Once a week
Water Temperature:  78.5ºF
Lighting:  Custom LED
Lighting Cycle:  10 hrs
Other Tank Inhabitants:  x2 Amphiprion ocellaris, x1 Salarias fasciatus, x1 Lysmata debelius, x1 Alpheus rubromaculatus, x1 Davidaster sp.

Broodstock Feeding Details
Food Types:  Bryopsis and possibly some hair algae
Feeding Schedule:  Constant

Spawning Details
Date of First Spawn:  3/10/13
Spawn Time of Day:  Afternoon
Dates of Consecutive Spawns:  3/13/13
Courtship Details:  Seen in a "ball" right up against each other before second egg ribbon appeared right where they were together
Egg Size:  ~.5 mm
Egg Color:  White
Egg Count:  Thousands? (Two ribbons)

Hatch Details
Hatch Date:  3/13/13
Hatch Time of Day:  morning
# Days after Spawn:  3
Larvae Description:  super tiny, ~100um (?), free swimming, transparent/translucent


Larval Tank Details
Temperature:  ~78ºF
Size of Larval Tank:  ~0.125g ( in-tank breeder box)
Substrate Details:  No Substrate
Other Tank Decor:  Small rock with bryopsis attached
Filtration Details:  None
Lighting:  10 hrs
Lighting Cycle:  1 per day
Water Changes:  none so far

Larval Feeding Details
Food Types:  Attempted ground up bryopsis with mortar and pestle. 
Feeding Schedule: 

Metamorphosis/Settlement
Date of Settlement Start: 
Days after Hatch: 
Date of Settlement End: 
Description of Fry: 

Grow-Out Tank Details

Temperature: 
Size of Grow-Out Tank: 
Substrate Details: 
Other Tank Decor: 
Filtration Details: 
Lighting: 
Lighting Cycle: 
Water Changes: 
Size at Transfer: 
Age at Transfer: 

Grow-Out Feeding Details
Food Types: 
Feeding Schedule: 

Additional Information

Miscellaneous Information: 
Since it seems this species of nudibranch has a planktonic larval stage, I have isolated the eggs in a small in-tank breeder box with an air line lightly bubbling so the water moves very gently.  Matt Pederson attempted to feed different types of phytoplankton with no success and although I do have phyto on hand, for my first attempt (if the eggs hatch) I will grind some bryopsis with a mortar and pestle to create a soup for the larvae.  I may also grind up some hair algae but I know the adults eat bryopsis so that is my first thought.  I also have read that some nudibranch larva will eat something different than the adults.
 
 
Resources-
Seaslugforum:
http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/elysdiom
Matt Pederson's Journal:
http://www.masm.org/mForums/tm.aspx?m=35852
<message edited by Bongo Shrimp on Thursday, March 14, 2013 9:11 PM>

Bongo Shrimp
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Elysia diomedea - Monday, March 11, 2013 11:54 PM
Egg Ribbons:

Parent:

 

Bongo Shrimp
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Elysia diomedea - Wednesday, March 13, 2013 9:53 PM
Well one egg ribbon hatched today.  I tried desperately to get a pic of the larva up close but my cheap digital microscope couldn't get close enough.  All you could see was this little thing swimming around.  And yes the larva are free swimming.  I may have inadvertently killed them when I tried my first feeding method which was to grind up some bryopsis with a mortar and pestle and pour it in.  Anyhow this is the best pic I could get to at least show they hatched.  It is of the almost empty egg ribbon which is now mostly transparent and the dust on the bottom of the container are the dead larva.  Hopefully its enough to file a report but I am also trying to find someone local with a real microscope I could use.  I have two more egg ribbons ready to go too.  One should hatch any second and the other should hatch in 3 to 4 days.  I'm going to try a different food next time with one and the other I think I will just let go to see how long they will live without food.
 


Bongo Shrimp
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Elysia diomedea - Wednesday, March 13, 2013 11:07 PM
So I was about to dump all the bodies out of the first batch and I saw a bunch were collected in the corner of the container probably from the flow of the bubbles from the air line.  So I sucked them up and put them under the microscope.  Not only was it easier to see them, but most were alive!  I tried to take a video but my $30 microscope is, well, a $30 microscope and I'm gonna work on the video.  Anyhow here is the best pic I could get.
 


Bongo Shrimp
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Elysia diomedea - Friday, March 15, 2013 12:02 AM
Microscope video of larva 2 days post hatch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywHAdzVNEIU

Bongo Shrimp
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Elysia diomedea - Saturday, March 16, 2013 11:38 PM
Hatch report was the 1000th report approved on MBI!  Sweet!

Bongo Shrimp
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Elysia diomedea - Sunday, March 17, 2013 12:53 AM
So I checked on the larvae under the microscope today and they are a lot more sparse.  Most are moving slower or not at all and are probably dead.  I think the thing that really needs work here is the food source.  The other two egg ribbons have not hatched yet and I think they may not have been fertilized.  Hopefully I'll get more to play with soon.

shannpeach
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Elysia diomedea - Sunday, March 24, 2013 10:01 AM
Do you know what particular phytoplanktons have been tried before? I feel you are more likely to get them to eat a phyto over ground bryopsis. Are you sure they even need to feed? I've read that E. hopei doesn't need to feed during its planktonic phase. This paper "The missing links: larval and post-larval development of the ascoglossan opisthobranch Elysia viridis" used Rhodomonas.

Have they laid more eggs yet?

Bongo Shrimp
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Elysia diomedea - Sunday, March 24, 2013 4:39 PM
I read that Matt Pederson tried a few species which ill get off his thread and I tried the reed mariculture shellfish diet which I'll also have to look up (typing this on my phone). I have no idea whether they need to eat or not. It sure would be cool if they didn't need to. Is that other species free swimming when they hatch? I have hatched 2 more egg ribbons so far and appologize for my laziness in recording the times.

shannpeach
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Elysia diomedea - Sunday, March 24, 2013 4:53 PM
From the little I have read about Elysia, it is sort of variable. Some seem to eat, some don't, some are planktonic and some aren't. I haven't come across much for your exact species (I've been looking up the sea slugs and sea hares that I have mostly). I think your best bet will be T-iso. Many of the slug culturing I've read about has utilized T-iso.

Bongo Shrimp
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Elysia diomedea - Sunday, March 24, 2013 7:52 PM
I'll look into getting some T-iso but Matt tried it to no avail apparently.  Thanks!  If you end up finding anything on my species please let me know.
 
Matt Pederson tried:  "Live Phyto (Nanno, Tet, possibly some T-Iso, and possibly Rhodomas lens at one point)"
Reed Mariculture Shellfish Diet (nonliving):  Isochrysis 40%, Pavlova 15%, Tetraselmis 25%, Thalassiosira weissflogii (TW) 20%

shannpeach
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Elysia diomedea - Monday, March 25, 2013 3:47 PM
So I have been doing a lot of reading today about sea slugs and although I haven't found much about E. diomedea, I have found some common culturing techniques.  First, the surface is a huge problem.  Successful culturing uses cetyl alcohol flakes sprinkled on the surface to keep the veligers from becoming trapped on the surface.  An alternative is to put them in a flask, fill it to the tippy top, and cover it with parafilm (or plastic wrap) to elimnate the surface problem.  The successses I have seen have all utilzed T-iso (Bursatella leachii, Hermissenda crassicornis, Aplysia californica, Aplysia brasiana, and IIRC E. clarki...but don't have that paper handy to verify again, and I am sure there are others) to some extent.  H. crassicornis was raised successfullly with Isochrysis and Monochrysis lutheri. 
One paper I saw about Aplysia californica did feeding experiments with the veligers and compared survival between diets .  Best survival was with 1:1 T-Iso and Chaetoceros muelleri (gracilis) (Larval growth, development, and survival of laboratory-reared Aplysia californica: effects of diet and veliger density. Capo et al. 2009)
 
Culture of the larvae seems to be done at room temperature for many of these guys, and with no aeration (at least none is mentioned).  So it seems that 2L bottles could possibly be used in place of erlenmeyer flasks and petri dishes.  The room temperature culture may allow for greater experimention since you wouldn't have to worry then about heating multiple tanks. I haven't had access to all of the papers to read the methods sections in detail, so a bit of experimentation is necessary
 
My first question is if a motile algae needs to be present.  With my Bursatella leachii, success of culturing was reached without using air...but if there is no movement, is it better to have motile algaes? Or is the T-iso a nutrional issue only? Or is it a size issue?  Many of the successes are with T-Iso, Monochrysis, Rhodomonas and one paper I read mentioned nanno chloroplasts found in the gut of an Elysia sp veliger (can't remember which one)...all of those are on the "small" side.  Is that suggestive of requirement only of a "smaller" phyto? The other thing is they have all been live phytos.  I don't know if the veligers are selective for live foods or not, or if it is more that live phytos remain in suspension easier, or what.  Bursatella leachii veligers are TINY when they hatch, so aeration even with a slow bubble probably had them flinging out of the water and getting stuck on the sides (I found quite a few dried up on the sides of my container)
 
This is a bit rambly, but I am working on Bursatella and have two Elysia sp. also (not sure if they are E. clarki or E. crispata yet) that I hope to work with soon if they lay any eggs for me, so I am doing a lot of reading about it and wanted to share what I have found with you in case some of it helps  

Bongo Shrimp
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Elysia diomedea - Monday, April 1, 2013 4:51 PM
Thanks so much for the info!  Sorry for the late reply.  I have been kinda busy lately and have fallen behind on these guys.  I was thinking about taking a break from them for a while but hearing that I may be able to do it in room temp with no air I might give it another shot in some 2 liter bottles.  Thanks again!