Sea Slug/Nudibranch ID

[MrKris]

Hey, I have this odd looking "thing" which looks similar to a sea slug. A few observations tells me otherwise though... Here are just a few basic descriptions:
-Pertruding horns/spikes from the back (does not spread to the sides; the sides are clearly distinguished with a blue rim - similar to coloring the outsides of a circle)
-The horns are yellow at the top and near the base it reverts back to a light blue color.
-When it is on the glass, it resembles a whelk's body (there doesnt seem to be a mouth; it is similar to a snail's feet)
-The locations of the horns is on something that is like a shell. (You can clearly distinguish between the feet and the shell; the "shell" also looks somewhat solid) Here is a rough picture of how I would say it is like a shell
---> shell ( [] <-- feet ) <---- shell
-There are feelers coming out from the top which makes it look like a sea slug/nudibranch.
-The colors are: yellow for horns, dark blue for the middle part, light blue for the outer areas.
It resembles this one the closest, but the pattern and the fact that it looks like it is a whole thing makes me question its resemblance. [Will insert link when possible]

Behaviors:
-It used to be hiding with my clove polyps befoer it started moving around
-It seems to be active both during the day and night (slowly moves)
-Doesn't seem to be eating anything... I think?

I will attach some pictures if possible, but I doubt I will be able to without physically moving it.

Thanks for your time and I hope that everything made sense.

 

[mfinn]

Hope you can get some pictures of it. Sounds interesting

 

[MrKris]

I have finally done 3 posts (useful ones ). Okay here is what it resembles: Phyllidia varicosa from Apo Island, Philippines » Nudi Pixel

Here is what it actually is:

View image: id1 <--- as you can see the base seems to be covered by a shell-like thing
View image: id2 <--- this is the top view (i actually can't believe how good the quality was for this phone lol)

I can probably take more pictures, but it really depends on where it decides to scurry off to.

Thanks

 

[MrKris]

I know the first picture is extremely blurry, but here is a small description to accompany it:

The darker part is the foot (it was on top of a smudge of coraline)
The outer part as you can see is hollow from the foot and seems to be encasing the creature

 

[user 26995]

Awww, hes cute!
Here is a website that might help you
Nudibranchs of the Sunshine Coast Australia and Indo-Pacific - Nudibranch Blog - Peak Baggers Guide - Gary Cobb and David Mullins

 

[user 26995]

By the way, welcome to Reef Frontiers.

 

[MrKris]

Thanks.

Closest thing I see is the Phyllidia Varicosa, but it's not the same one cause of the patterns.

 

[MrKris]

Actually...

I take that back, apparently this site has a better picture - where the spikes seem coherent rather than wild growth and the pattern seems more solid. The Sea Slug Forum - Phyllidia exquisita


Hmm... I wonder if it is an exquisita or varicosa?

This nudibranch Phyllidia varicosa, sometimes called the scrambled egg nudibranch, doesn't have the feathery gills of the slugs earlier on this page, instead it has leaflike secondary gills under the skirt of its mantle. It releases a toxic and apparently pungent mucus when disturbed, which is poisonous to fish and crustaceans like shrimp and lobster. It can reach a length of over 10 centimeters.

Is there a difference between the two or is it the same thing, but different name?

On a side note... if this thing dies... it'll probably kill my boxfish which would be a double nuke in my tank -_-


I think I finally hit the nail on the head! I think it is the coelestis http://www.seaslugforum.net/phylcoel.htm

 

[kevnkev]

Wow, what a beauty! Too bad about the toxicity. Nudis also tend to have VERY specialized diets, so providing the right food can be near impossible. I wish they were easier to keep, they're some of my favorite critters of all time.