An eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Berghia with blue cerata and yellow tips, documented feeding on sea anemones. Current taxonomy uses Laurillard, 1832; the photograph retains its older 1830 filename. Blue-and-yellow aeolids can look similar, so the ornamented rhinophores and other characters matter.
See Blue-cerata Berghia Sea Slug clearly
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Aquarium suitability not established
Aquarium suitability has not yet been established for this record. Available observations do not constitute an acquisition recommendation.
The aquarium lexicon explicitly rates identified B. coerulescens as not suitable for aquarium keeping. This is independent editorial suitability advice, not an inference from missing papers; retain a specialist suitability review rather than present commercial B. stephanieae care as this species’ method.
MLL precaution: require confirmed prey acceptance and source-matched conditions. Keep this species separate from the commercially cultured B. stephanieae; reliable pest-control performance and long-term captive nutrition remain unresolved. Numerical temperature, salinity, pH, enclosure and stocking limits remain unverified in this review. Published culture conditions and retailer recommendations are not proven tolerance limits.
Assessment sources: Reeflex/Meerwasser-Lexikon: Berghia coerulescensResearch Evidence and Limits
These source findings support institutional assessment, identification or wildlife research. They are separate from aquarium-care completion.
Source findings and their limits
Fresh full aquarium lexicon explicitly assesses the species as unsuitable but provides no captive methods validating numerical water/enclosure limits; museum observations are wild records.
Source limit: No species-matched captive water or enclosure method was retrieved. Reeflex’s temperature entry is not accompanied by a captive method or evidence of safe tolerances and is not adopted as an operating range.
Sources: Reeflex/Meerwasser-Lexikon: Berghia coerulescens · Australian Museum Sea Slug Forum: Berghia coerulescensFresh full museum expert account attributes species-specific Aiptasia feeding to Tardy (1962); fresh aquarium lexicon lists Aiptasia mutabilis and advises against aquarium keeping. These support qualified prey planning, not validated long-term nutritional or stocking outcomes.
Source limit: Prey-supply and observation guidance follows the documented specialist diet; species-specific ration, prey production, stocking density and complete long-term nutrition remain unvalidated. Commercial B. stephanieae culture cannot resolve them.
Sources: Australian Museum Sea Slug Forum: Berghia coerulescens · Reeflex/Meerwasser-Lexikon: Berghia coerulescensFresh primary taxonomy confirms that commonly cited aquarium Berghia culture concerns a distinct species, B. stephanieae.
Source limit: No complete population- and stage-matched rearing protocol was retrieved.
Sources: Carmona et al. (2014), Berghia systematic reviewIdentification
Current taxonomy uses Laurillard, 1832; the photograph retains its older 1830 filename. Blue-and-yellow aeolids can look similar, so the ornamented rhinophores and other characters matter.
Habitat and Distribution
The taxonomic review restricts verified regional records to the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean. The supplied photographer observed this animal at Banyuls-sur-Mer, France.
Feeding and Ecology
The museum account describes anemone feeding; the supplied observation identifies Aiptasia couchii as prey. This individual observation does not establish acceptance of every aquarium Aiptasia population.
Reproduction and Evidence
Museum discussion includes a possible egg ribbon, explicitly awaiting confirmation. A complete species-specific captive rearing method was not verified.
Aquarium Planning
MLL precaution: require confirmed prey acceptance and source-matched conditions. Keep this species separate from the commercially cultured B. stephanieae; reliable pest-control performance and long-term captive nutrition remain unresolved.
Responsible Observation and Sourcing
MLL precaution: favour documented, responsibly sourced material and observation over speculative collection. Check lawful origin and current conservation information. A photograph alone does not establish a Canadian occurrence.
Deeper care evidence review
Molecular and morphological evidence separates B. coerulescens from the commercially cultured Aiptasia predator B. stephanieae, which historically carried this species name in some reports. A culture protocol for the commercial animal does not establish this species’ prey breadth, breeding performance or aquarium limits. Remaining evidence gaps: Corroborated numerical water and enclosure limits; Complete long-term captive nutrition and stocking validation; A complete population- and life-stage-specific rearing protocol. Full lifetime husbandry remains unverified.
A living record
Accepted taxonomy and species-specific evidence reviewed. Source-labelled images, historical names, aquarium recommendations and remaining gaps are distinguished. Public content last reviewed October 2, 2026.
- WoRMS — accepted species, reviewed 1 October 2026 ↗Reference source
- Carmona et al. (2014) — Berghia taxonomy and regional records ↗Reference source
- Australian Museum — Sea Slug Forum species account; historical names checked against current taxonomy ↗Reference source
- Carmona et al.: molecular phylogeny of Aeolidiidae (2013) ↗Reference source
- Carmona et al. Berghia revision ↗Reference source
- Carmona et al. (2014), Berghia systematic review ↗Reference source
- Reeflex/Meerwasser-Lexikon: Berghia coerulescens ↗Reference source