The Sluggy Wake

Yesterday a slug in my tank died. This wasn't a complete surprise - it was a large slug, and large slugs are more likely to have problems after shipping. And it had been acting a little oddly the day before. Still, it's not a good thing to come in to find a dead slug*. I gathered it up and disposed of the remains.

When I came back, all the slugs loose in the tank had gathered where the one that had died had been. I was trying to feed my post-procedure slugs, who were not interested in food.** The slugs gathered below had no such qualms, however, and all three of them got head-wavey as soon as they smelled the seaweed. Since happy eating slugs put out happy eating slug phermones (no joke, this is well documented) that will sometimes convince nearby slugs that are off their feed to get back on it, I alternated between enticing my post-procedure slugs with feeding the slugs below strips of seaweed. Soon they had quite the rollicking sluggy wake. (And the more recovered post-procedure slug even deigned to eat a little nori. Score!)

Of course, as is wont to occur at these gatherings, things got a little out of hand, and then next thing I knew, slugs were attempting to chow down on the airstones. Still, it's all fun and games until someone everts their odontophore, right?*** And no slugs were harmed during the events described.

And having been describing these creatures for a while now, I finally got around to uploading one of my feeding slug videos for your edification.

And as a bonus - Navanax vs. Aplysia (May be upsetting for sensitive individuals. However, may be cheering for gardeners.)
( Footnotes cut for graphic content... )