My friend Tyler (inland_reef on Instagram) messaged me last week that he had found a strange white nudi hanging out on his Heliopora Blue Ridge Coral. After consulting Sean Ono, he determined it was Tritoniopsis elegans.
This nudibranch species was first described in the Red Sea in 1826 but has since been found across the Indo-Pacific. It can vary from milky white to an off-orange color. It has been reported as far west as Tanzania and east as Hawaii. From what I can find in research, this species eats most Octocorallia (soft corals), with reports of it eating Cladiella, Lobophytum, Sarcophyton, and species from the family Clavulariidae.
While not widely reported in the industry this species does pop up from time to time and serves as a reminder to always dip and inspect any new corals added to a system.
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