For other marine aquarium players, raising a marine creature that needs to eat fresh green algae and bask in the sun frequently is undoubtedly asking for trouble.
But for Xiang Yang, this is not a problem at all.
You just need to prepare a small fish tank for it on the boat, and then it will be easy to keep.
The Oriental Emerald Sea Hare has a skill that no other animal can learn, which is that after eating a big meal of seaweed, it does not need to eat anything for the next few weeks or even half a year.
However, there are some other creatures that can go hungry for several months after a full meal.
But the Oriental Emerald Sea Slug and other creatures that go hungry for several months after a full meal are two completely different concepts.
Other marine creatures can go hungry for months after a full meal because they store food as fat due to lack of food.
The Oriental Emerald Sea Slug is different. After a full meal, it can go without eating for several months, but it does not store the food as fat.
But it is the Oriental Emerald Sea Hare, which can absorb chloroplasts in food.
Then these chloroplasts can also carry out photosynthesis in the body of the Oriental Emerald Sea Snail. Relying on this skill, the Oriental Emerald Sea Snail can even eat only one meal in its entire life and survive on water and sunlight. It's simply outrageous.
It is said that a team of scientists once studied the Oriental Emerald Sea Snail. They believed that if they could extract this function of the Oriental Emerald Sea Snail and then transfer it into the human body, humans would be able to survive solely on water and sunlight. In this way, the human food crisis could be completely solved.
But obviously, this research experiment failed.
Chloroplast is an energy converter that can convert solar energy into chemical energy. It is a highly efficient energy converter and is found in algae and various higher plants.
Including the Oriental Emerald Sea Slug, humans have only discovered a few organisms that can steal chloroplasts. Scientists call this phenomenon the kleptotropic constitution, and it is obvious that humans do not have this constitution.
Xiang Yang believes that to truly research a method to allow humans to possess this physique is as difficult as researching an elixir of life.
Ever since the Oriental Emerald Sea Snail was discovered in the 1960s, one thing has always puzzled scientists from all over the world.
Scientists have discovered that the chloroplasts in the cells of the Oriental Emerald Sea Aplysia are extremely fragile. When humans eat vegetarian food, the cells of the vegetables will be broken down by various digestive enzymes in the body.
This digestion leaves no chloroplasts left in any form.
Therefore, even if humans eat a lot of vegetables or kelp, they will not be able to carry out photosynthesis.
However, the chloroplasts in the Oriental Emerald Sea Snail can resist the digestive juices in the body of the Oriental Emerald Sea Snail.
This problem has not been perfectly solved to this day.
Scientists have only put forward a hypothesis, which holds that the Oriental Emerald Snail has a special nature that preserves chloroplasts without damaging them.
Although this hypothesis is outrageous, it has been recognized by the majority of scientists because only in this way can it explain why chloroplasts can survive the digestion and absorption process of the Oriental Emerald Sea Hare, and continue to accumulate in the densely branched intestine and move around until it reaches under its epidermis.
These chloroplasts collect light and generate carbohydrates. After the Oriental Emerald Sea Slug absorbs these substances, it no longer needs to forage for food. It can provide itself with a steady supply of energy by relying on the production of micro photosynthesis factories in its body.
It is precisely because of this magical ability that the Oriental Emerald Sea Slug only needs to eat once in its lifetime.
After the Eastern Emerald Sea Hare enjoys its first meal of green algae, its body is filled with chloroplasts and it can go without eating anything for the rest of its life.
After catching this Oriental Emerald Sea Hare, Xiang Yang looked at the time on his watch.
Almost half an hour had passed since he went into the sea.
Xiang Yang memorized the end of this patch of seaweed and then swam quickly towards the surface of the water.
When Xiang Yang returned to the fishing boat, exactly half an hour had passed, and the crew members who went into the sea to collect agar-agar also returned to the boat.
"Brother Yang, what good stuff have you brought up this time?" Fang Youqun came up to Xiang Yang enthusiastically when he saw him. At the same time, he handed Xiang Yang a bottle of Red Bull that he had just opened and was about to drink but had not yet finished.
Xiang Yang shook his head and rejected Fang Youqun's offer. "It's too cold. I won't drink this. I did find some good stuff this time, but I didn't catch them. I only brought this up."
When Fang Youqun heard that he had found another good thing, his eyes lit up immediately. But when he heard Xiang Yang said that he hadn't caught the good thing, his face fell immediately. "Brother Yang, why didn't you catch the good thing? What is this in your hand? A leaf?"
Xiang Yang smiled and said, "I found a living nautilus. Do you think I dare to catch it?"
"Well."
Fang Youqun was speechless for a moment. The Nautilus is a protected animal. Although he has a carefree personality, he still knows in his heart what he can and cannot do.
"Then what did you catch, Brother Yang?" Fang Youqun asked, pointing at Xiang Yang's hand.
"This is called the Oriental Emerald Sea Slug. I plan to put it on the deck and raise it for fun." Xiang Yang said.
"Raising it for fun?"
Fang Youqun blinked his eyes and said, "Brother Yang, if you want to raise a pet, you should raise something that looks good. Why do you raise this thing? It looks like a leaf."
Xiang Yang glanced back at Fang Youqun, "The prettier the fish, the harder it is to take care of it. Why don't you raise a prettier one and take care of it every day?"
Fang Youqun immediately laughed awkwardly. It was simply a joke to ask him to serve. It would be fine if it was during normal sailing. He was free anyway and might as well find something to do.
But when trawling to catch fish, people are so exhausted that day that they have no time to raise ornamental fish.
This is still good. The most important thing is that when the fishing boat is docked for rest, Fang Youqun is asked to go on the boat to raise fish every day during his holiday. It would be better to kill him.
However, Fang Youqun was still not convinced. He asked, "Brother Yang, it's hard to take care of a nice-looking ornamental fish, but is this thing that looks like a leaf easy to take care of?"
Xiang Yang grinned and said, "This Oriental Emerald Sea Hare does not need to be taken care of, it just needs water."
"Help me find a small fish tank." Xiang Yang said to Fang Youqun.
Fang Youqun immediately turned around and quickly found a glass fish tank that was slightly larger than a rice cooker for Xiang Yang. This was the smallest fish tank on the boat.