Where can I get a sea hare?

Dag · 11/04/2006, 06:45 PM

I've tried everything else to get rid of hair algae.

sandhillcrane · 11/04/2006, 06:59 PM

I just picked up one today from floridapets.com. Its been pretty active all day & is interesting to watch.

dippin61 · 11/04/2006, 07:19 PM

just be careful, they can kill your whole tank if they get too stressed or die.

Ursus · 11/04/2006, 07:41 PM

I too was looking to get a sea hare but my GHA cleared up on it's own. Possibly in part to my fox face, but I think it was more the tank stabalizing itself. Either way, having an animal consume the algae is really only a band-aid for the underlying issue of extra nutrients in the tank.

chrisstie · 11/04/2006, 07:43 PM

Would a lettuce sea slug be a better choice in that case?

Where I grew up in the winter time these sea hare things I think would migrate in to shallow waters to warm up.. they'd be EVERYWHERE.. when I was a little girl i'd hop down onto the beach from the dock and if you poked them they'd ink all over. It was funny when I was 7 ;p They are really interesting to watch.. We just called em ink slugs.. and gross when the tide would go out leaving them sitting there on the shore. the beach would turn purple from them stressing and i'd go put them back in the water

norm_al · 11/04/2006, 09:30 PM

Lettuce nudi are cute but never do the job on a reef tank,maybe 10g nano. If you find a hare get one thats 1 to 2" smaller the better. They always seem to die in a couple of months, aqua tech had a blue guy it soon died in a78g display tank w/tons of sps, good thing no damage. If u find one and acculmate 3 hrs.

TWallace · 11/04/2006, 09:46 PM

I've been battling hair algae and bryopsis for a few months. I think I've finally got the upper hand now. In my experience, lettuce sea slugs and sea hares both won't eat either algae. You may find some that do, but they wouldn't in my tank. One of the things I found that helped was blasting the areas where the algae is growing with a turkey baster. This removes detritus from the area, which the algae is feeding on.

I also added 10 Mexican turbo snails, but I'm not certain if they are eating the algae. They're nocturnal, so I don't see them often, but the algae did really start to vanish within a week of adding them. I think the biggest thing that helped was blasting the algae with a turkey baster to remove the food source.

11/04/2006, 06:45 PM	#1
Dag Premium Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Chicago Posts: 2,292	Where can I get a sea hare? I've tried everything else to get rid of hair algae. __________________ Aryeh Life is too short to learn everything from experience. Current Tank Info: 200 gallon reef tank

11/04/2006, 07:19 PM	#3
dippin61 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Oregon Posts: 1,897	just be careful, they can kill your whole tank if they get too stressed or die. __________________ Reefers Law: It can take about 48 hours to brown, and 48 weeks to color back up! Current Tank Info: 55 Gallon BB Low Iron Glass, Dual 110w VHO Actinics, 250w PFO MH 20k XM

11/04/2006, 07:43 PM	#5
chrisstie Premium Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 4,727	Would a lettuce sea slug be a better choice in that case? Where I grew up in the winter time these sea hare things I think would migrate in to shallow waters to warm up.. they'd be EVERYWHERE.. when I was a little girl i'd hop down onto the beach from the dock and if you poked them they'd ink all over. It was funny when I was 7 ;p They are really interesting to watch.. We just called em ink slugs.. and gross when the tide would go out leaving them sitting there on the shore. the beach would turn purple from them stressing and i'd go put them back in the water __________________ You lookin' at my wrasse? Current Tank Info: I find it odd that there are children starving in this country and yet we euthanize millions of stray dogs and cats every year and then incinerate the bodies. Not only that, but we make it illegal to butcher the meat. -MarkS

11/04/2006, 06:59 PM	#2
sandhillcrane Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Melbourne, FL Posts: 18	I just picked up one today from floridapets.com. Its been pretty active all day & is interesting to watch.

11/04/2006, 07:41 PM	#4
Ursus Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Boise, ID Posts: 480	I too was looking to get a sea hare but my GHA cleared up on it's own. Possibly in part to my fox face, but I think it was more the tank stabalizing itself. Either way, having an animal consume the algae is really only a band-aid for the underlying issue of extra nutrients in the tank.

11/04/2006, 09:30 PM	#6
norm_al Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: lancaster Posts: 35	Lettuce nudi are cute but never do the job on a reef tank,maybe 10g nano. If you find a hare get one thats 1 to 2" smaller the better. They always seem to die in a couple of months, aqua tech had a blue guy it soon died in a78g display tank w/tons of sps, good thing no damage. If u find one and acculmate 3 hrs.

11/04/2006, 09:46 PM	#7
TWallace Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Seattle Posts: 1,464	I've been battling hair algae and bryopsis for a few months. I think I've finally got the upper hand now. In my experience, lettuce sea slugs and sea hares both won't eat either algae. You may find some that do, but they wouldn't in my tank. One of the things I found that helped was blasting the areas where the algae is growing with a turkey baster. This removes detritus from the area, which the algae is feeding on. I also added 10 Mexican turbo snails, but I'm not certain if they are eating the algae. They're nocturnal, so I don't see them often, but the algae did really start to vanish within a week of adding them. I think the biggest thing that helped was blasting the algae with a turkey baster to remove the food source.