#nudi is short for nudibranch/sea slug

[tauforged]

Is keeping sea slugs difficult? I love them and probably won't get them anytime soon because cats but if I ever do...

i’d say it’s pretty difficult, yeah. depends on what species you’re looking at, but all nudibranchs (and ‘things-that-get-labeled-as-nudibranchs-even-though-they-technically-aren’t, like the blue velvet slugs i just got) are very picky eaters and will often Exclusively eat one type of food down to species. the ‘easiest’ are probably lettuce slugs, as they’re algae grazers, but even then some say they’ll only eat certain species of macroalgae.

i have two species of slugs in my nano reef right now— berghia nudibranchs and the blue velvet slugs. i bought them because i have an excess of pest animals that they both prey on exclusively (aiptasia anemones for the berghia and flatworms for the velvets) and can’t control these pests via chemical means (for the safety of the other animals in my tank) or mechanical (they’re very hard to fully remove and i have hand tremors anyway), but it’s often accepted that if you don’t have a good supply of what these guys eat, they’ll starve to death pretty fast.

of the two, i’d honestly say the berghia nudis are generally easier to keep - lot of people will breed them and just keep a separate tank full of aiptasia to feed them with, since they’re very fast growing anemones. blue velvets are a bit harder because they’ve got short lifespans as-is and flatworms are hard to get ahold of except for by accident, while some people purposefully culture and sell aiptasia as feeders.

i’m taking a STRONG gamble with my slugs, and honestly i’m only doing it because i have a fair amount of confidence in my ability to maintain good water conditions, but even then it’s not bulletproof. they’re one of those things where even if you do everything “right”, they still might not thrive because we don’t really know them as well as we know, say, shrimp or corals just yet. for me this is really my only option for handling my flatworm problem, so i’m taking that risk, but it may not work out and i’m prepared for that outcome.

i’m hoping the will continue to improve when it comes to getting better at keeping and breeding these animals, though, because they’re very cool! while i can’t say i’d want to see them wild-caught in the pet trade, the ability to aquaculture them would be a huge step. and it would be wonderful to see them in aquariums more often :)

[mostroloungepart-timer]

Here is the story of how I became a Mostro Lounge part-timer:

One time, I was eating lunch by myself when I heard that the Octavinelle dorm was giving out free drinks. Being the broke student that I was, I decided to head for the Mostro Lounge to get some. After all, only a fool would hear of such an offer and turn the other way. I was no fool.

At least I thought I wasn't, not at that time.

It was a turnover party for the new dorm leader. Azul Ashengrotto was his name. Quite a mouthful, but I remembered him. We shared one class. Okay, that pipsqueak was actually a dorm leader now? Hm.

The cafe was filled with students from different dorms. And I just casually walked, touching shoulders without really talking to anyone. I was just there for the drinks, so why bother?

Did I get what I came for there? Oh, definitely. I was presented with a glass filled with a flaming blue substance. It looked quite different from what the others were having, but I thought maybe it was another kind of beverage on the house, you know?

Not paying attention to anything else, I took a sip, but before I could help myself, I've already downed the glass.

I didn't notice Azul Ashengrotto standing behind me, not until he cleared his throat and I had to look over my shoulder.

He smiled at me, but his eyes were clearly staring daggers.

"My, you seemed to have enjoyed that."

I gulped, licking my lips. Of course, it was super. I was going to leave, but then the pair of infamous twins started blocking my way. The Leech brothers. I’ve had a few classes with them too.

"Azul, we'll get you another one." Jade Leech speaks, looking at me with strangely apologetic eyes.

"Oh, forget it, Jade. I can get something else."

"Eh? But you waited months to get a gram of akoya pearls." Floyd Leech snakes an arm around my shoulder. "And this nudi just took it away."

The air thickens and I looked at each of them; then they gave each other knowing stares before settling their sights on me. This staring game went on and I felt my hands going sweaty.

That was when I realized I made a mistake.

"I'm sorry, I thought it was free. I can pay for it if you'd like?"

That was my second mistake.

How in the world was I supposed to know akoya pearls were expensive as hell?

Right there and then, I was subjected into a life of servitude. Remember, there’s no such thing as free lunch. Although it could have been -- had I not touch that stupid drink. 

 At first, I thought it was going to be the end of me; how I’m going to be worked to the bone with no salvation to come my way. 

Yet surprisingly, Mostro Lounge has grown quite interesting the past months. There's always music and I get free leftover food -- most of all, I always know what those three are up to. With the way they’re always whispering, and sometimes, with the occasional bursts of ideas, it’s not hard to listen in on their conversations.

If that’s not the best takeaway from this, then I don’t know what is.

Unless...

[webejungin]

THE BANDA SEA

December 5, 2016 - December 16, 2016

With plans for our international travel to come to a close soon, we both decided we had to do another trip on the Samambaia. This time we decided to try for a trip thru the Banda Sea. This post has a ton of photos, so we've separated them into different categories below.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by some familiar faces. The crew of the Samambaia are part of the reason we've returned yet again. Also exploring areas completely off the beaten path really gets you truly off the grid. And now that Allie has taken a true interest in diving, spending time in the underwater world is a must before it's gone.

The first gallery below are views from being on board the boat (sunrises, sunsets, etc.).

This next gallery is a collection of underwater landscape shots that hopefully give you a bigger picture feel for what it's like underwater.

In preparation for this trip, we invested in an underwater housing for our Sony a6300. Previously, our attraction for the big stuff in the ocean has always been the focus. However, this trip really grew both of our amazement and interest in the macro stuff. We also gained a higher appreciation of coral being living organisms. This next gallery is macro shots of different types of coral and hopefully showing the variation that exists in coral and the homes they create for other organisms.

Some of the coolest things underwater are the smallest. In the gallery below are shrimp and crabs, some of the smaller than your fingernail. Seeing these creatures in the wild is just unreal and amazing. In some of the photos you may not even be able to find the shrimp or crab unless it's pointed out to you. Nature is simply amazing.

The gallery below is  different types of nudibranchs (short name nudi). These little guys are little soft bodied sea slugs and come in all different colors and decorations on their backs. They don't do a whole lot, but they're very pretty.

Pipe fish and sea horses are some of the coolest looking organisms underwater. They don't do a whole lot, but they're beautiful.

Scorpion fish are commonly disguised with their surroundings and sometimes don't pop out to you until you're extremely close to them. The camouflage is seriously amazing, but best not touch these guys because they are poisonous.

The gallery below is of miscellaneous creatures we saw on this trip; everything from little box fish, eels, cuttlefish, a few rare mandarin fish, frogfish, sea stars, among others. So many creatures and so little time.

And last but definitely not least, a gallery of the people who made this trip what it was. Samambaia's incredible crew as well as some of the guests. Ambrogio and Mario from Italy, our diving buddies, didn't speak much English and would yell at us in Italian (mostly Mario), but we got along just fine with them and continue to exchange emails with them long after this trip. The kind of old guys you meet and hope that you can be as cool as they are when you're their age.