Where there are rich congregations of sponges, ascidians, soft corals and zooanthids, nudibranchs are likely to be found in numbers. Many, like this polka-dotted Jorunna funebris, consume little else besides their food of choice, making them poor candidates for captivity, particularly in the hands of ill-thought collectors and mindless aquarists. To this duck, tis far better to leave the animals on reefs like Cyrene where their beauty remains wild and priceless in its fleeting glory. 
Other nudibranchs, like this Phyllidiella nigra and other Phyllids, not only eat nothing but sponges, they are wont to exude toxic poriferid metabolites into the surrounding water when stressed, which in domestic conditions means the death of every creature in the tank, including the nudibranch. I couldn't find much information about the diet of the nudibranch on the right though, which is probably Dendrodoris tuberculosa. If so, this specimen crawling on the coralline algae is a mere stripling, for the adults are foot-long monsters that prowl the southern shores. 
Possibly the most bizarre of all nudibranchs are the Melibes. These slugs have bodies that perfectly mimic the habit and colour of various algae, with large cerata along their back to top off the camouflage. But unlike their distant sap-sucking cousins, Melibes are predators who sweep the water before them with an inflatable hood that traps minute crustaceans and worms which are brought into the mouth. When disturbed, the animals flex their body vigorously to propel themselves up from the substrate away from danger, and if sniffed, some are said to smell like sweet fruit. These slugs were earlier thought to be rare in local waters, but they are now showing up at every outing to Cyrene, and now risk becoming a banal familiarity than a novel delight. Perhaps it's because their search image is now embedded in the minds of reef walkers. Or maybe it's a sign that these shores simply haven't had the chance to reveal all their secrets before they are condemned to a living burial by people who can't believe there's anything at all in these waters or worse, deem their loss a price worth paying in a perpetual pursuit of progress.
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