Sea Hare

Cope · 12/23/2007, 08:08 PM

So I got a Sea Hare for free from my LFS, Any thing I should know about this thing? They said it is non toxic, and eats algae.
Is this true? It's light brown w some white, @ 4".
I did a Google search and found some info, one site says they only live for a year, is this true?
Any way it's kinda cool and I hope my fish dont bother it.
Thanks
Cope

Demonic · 12/23/2007, 08:33 PM

My LFS gets these things. They eat hair algae. And yes on the life span, as they live for about a year or until the food(algae) runs out. Ugly looking creatures though.

rickh · 12/23/2007, 09:07 PM

Mine lived for about 4 months. Never saw it eat hair algae or Byropsis, only Coraline. R

sfarid123 · 12/23/2007, 09:57 PM

Mine only eats film algae and never touches hair algae. There are many species of them and some do eat hair algae. You need to do your research before buying or ask your LFS to show you one grazing on hair algae before buying.

greenbean36191 · 12/23/2007, 09:57 PM

There are lots of species of sea hare. Their diets are all different. Most live for a year or less, but a few may live as long as 5. The big thing to know about them is that most of them get pretty big. For the most part they aren't reef animals either, so in a reef tank they can be very clumsy and knock stuff over. They also seem to have a knack for getting sucked into pump intakes.

spanglish · 12/23/2007, 10:59 PM

I added one to my tank to battle my HA .

When the lights went out, I wanted to show him
to my wife. I turned on flashlight to find my peppermint
shrimp(s) swarming on it. (muderous %#^$# shrimp)
I scooped him out to the safety of my nano, but it was
too late. He lived about two days more. They excrete
some truly nasty "ink like" stuff when under attack.
All over my tile floor

greenbean36191 · 12/24/2007, 07:56 AM

Well it looks nasty, but it's really almost entirely made up of amino acids with a tiny little bit of pee mixed in.

12/23/2007, 08:08 PM	#1
Cope Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: In deep water (SLT CA) Posts: 595	Sea Hare So I got a Sea Hare for free from my LFS, Any thing I should know about this thing? They said it is non toxic, and eats algae. Is this true? It's light brown w some white, @ 4". I did a Google search and found some info, one site says they only live for a year, is this true? Any way it's kinda cool and I hope my fish dont bother it. Thanks Cope

12/23/2007, 09:57 PM	#5
greenbean36191 Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Ft. Lauderdale Posts: 10,598	There are lots of species of sea hare. Their diets are all different. Most live for a year or less, but a few may live as long as 5. The big thing to know about them is that most of them get pretty big. For the most part they aren't reef animals either, so in a reef tank they can be very clumsy and knock stuff over. They also seem to have a knack for getting sucked into pump intakes. __________________ Some say the sun rises in the East. Some say it rises in the West. The truth must be somewhere in the middle. Current Tank Info: tore them down to move and haven't had the time or money to set them back up

12/23/2007, 10:59 PM	#6
spanglish Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: DFW Texas Posts: 788	I added one to my tank to battle my HA . When the lights went out, I wanted to show him to my wife. I turned on flashlight to find my peppermint shrimp(s) swarming on it. (muderous %#^$# shrimp) I scooped him out to the safety of my nano, but it was too late. He lived about two days more. They excrete some truly nasty "ink like" stuff when under attack. All over my tile floor __________________ " I quit drinking weeks ago! No one noticed, but I guess that's a pretty good indicator that I conducted myself quite well when I was drunk. " Current Tank Info: 90 G Bowfront, 30G refugium,T5's,Euroreef 100,1 true perc, 1false black, 1 ember blenny,Eight Line Flasher Wrasse, Mandarin,various LPS

12/24/2007, 07:56 AM	#7
greenbean36191 Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Ft. Lauderdale Posts: 10,598	Well it looks nasty, but it's really almost entirely made up of amino acids with a tiny little bit of pee mixed in. __________________ Some say the sun rises in the East. Some say it rises in the West. The truth must be somewhere in the middle. Current Tank Info: tore them down to move and haven't had the time or money to set them back up

12/23/2007, 08:33 PM	#2
Demonic Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Minot, ND Posts: 815	My LFS gets these things. They eat hair algae. And yes on the life span, as they live for about a year or until the food(algae) runs out. Ugly looking creatures though.

12/23/2007, 09:07 PM	#3
rickh Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Lost_in_Michigan Posts: 1,306	Mine lived for about 4 months. Never saw it eat hair algae or Byropsis, only Coraline. R

12/23/2007, 09:57 PM	#4
sfarid123 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: maryland Posts: 456	Mine only eats film algae and never touches hair algae. There are many species of them and some do eat hair algae. You need to do your research before buying or ask your LFS to show you one grazing on hair algae before buying.