L. albus has been described principally as a generalist herbivore
(Vásquez, 2007) or a strictly herbivorous species (González et al.,
2008), and animal items such as sponges have not been reported as a
part of their natural diet. In this laboratory study, L. albus juveniles
ingested a species of sponge and were able to grow significantly more
than juveniles fed with M. pyrifera (based on test diameter measurements),
thus showing a plastic response to food availability