Dolabella Sea Hare

Kelso · Oct 5, 2018

fantastic specimen but unfortunately I have never been able to successfully keep slugs, they always seem to end up in the return flow, sump or just plain pulverised by the random flow generators.

Monkeynaut · Oct 6, 2018

@ Dustin Head Aquatic cove had some big ones a couple weeks ago. You could call and see if they still have one.

H@rry · Oct 6, 2018

Dustin Head said:
Where is a good place to get a sea hare? I have some turf i want gone?

saltwaterfish.com has them for $18. Wherever you get one make sure it is a Dolabella.

Dr. Reef · Oct 6, 2018

fishybusiness has them cheap at 8.99 while saltwaterfish.com has then starting at 15.99

H@rry · Nov 16, 2018

Incidentally, a couple of weeks ago I moved the Sea Hare from the 120 to the frag tank. In the process of trying to pick it up from the sand I drug it around and rolled it around a couple of times. It started squirting ink enough so the end of the tank was definitely tinted. When I put it in the frag tank it squirted 3 or 4 more times. I never saw any ill effects in either tank and it is out grazing almost every night.

I was surprised as I have heard that the Dolabela does not ink.

Brew12 · Nov 16, 2018

H@rry said:
Incidentally, a couple of weeks ago I moved the Sea Hare from the 120 to the frag tank. In the process of trying to pick it up from the sand I drug it around and rolled it around a couple of times. It started squirting ink enough so the end of the tank was definitely tinted. When I put it in the frag tank it squirted 3 or 4 more times. I never saw any ill effects in either tank and it is out grazing almost every night.

I was surprised as I have heard that the Dolabela does not ink.

Looks like they do!
http://seaslugsofhawaii.com/species/Dolabella-auricularia-a.html

H@rry · Nov 16, 2018

Mine squirted ink from the opening in the flat part of it's rear and another slit on it's back.

Tomoko Schum · Nov 17, 2018

Similar to Dollabela sea hare, the sea hare called Amefurashi (Stylocheilus stratus), which a few Japanese hobbyists occasionally collect on the beach after a storm, eats cyanobacteria:
http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/stylstri

I am sure that there are other lookalikes. I often wondered about the small sea hares that Lucy's Lagoon used to carry. It looked a lot like Dollabela but somewhat smoother in texture. It seemed like a different species of sea hare. It ate green turf algae like crazy. If we are observant, we may find some other sea hares mixed in a bunch.

GWHouston · Jan 2, 2019

If anyone knows a place to buy one of these, let me know. @Tomoko Schum which species is good for cyano?

Mrx7899 · Jan 2, 2019

GWHouston said:
If anyone knows a place to buy one of these, let me know. @Tomoko Schum which species is good for cyano?

My local petco usually has them.

Dr. Reef · Jan 2, 2019

saltwaterfish.com has them in stock all the time.

GWHouston · Jan 2, 2019

Mrx7899 said:
My local petco usually has them.

I’ve never seen one at our petco stores. Hopefully they do. I need algae control.

Tomoko Schum · Jan 3, 2019

I have not seen the type that eats cyano around here. Fighting conch supposedly eat some.
If you are wanting to control cyano, the best tool is Chemi Clean IMHO. I've used it in my SPS dominated tank in the past without any harm.

headdr · Jan 3, 2019

I just got 2 as part of a package thru saltwaterfish.com not sure if they eat cyano. Once they clean up my tank, I can lend you one if you like.

GWHouston · Jan 3, 2019

Dustin Head said:
I just got 2 as part of a package thru saltwaterfish.com not sure if they eat cyano. Once they clean up my tank, I can lend you one if you like.

Thanks that would be great. Having my water analyzed and hopefully with the sea hares help, my tank will start turning the corner.

Makers Marc · May 2, 2019

Anyone here know if Dolabella ink is toxic to corals and/or fish?

H@rry · May 2, 2019

H@rry said:
Mine squirted ink from the opening in the flat part of it's rear and another slit on it's back.

I never say any ill effects to the coral or fish.

davethej · Aug 9, 2019

How long will these guys survive once gha seems to be gone?

Makers Marc · Aug 9, 2019

davethej said:
How long will these guys survive once gha seems to be gone?

I've noticed my sea hare no longer eats the longest strands of gha anymore.

Initially (1st month) it mowed down anything in its path. Now, I watch it eat around the parts I want eaten most [emoji35], see attached.

Sorry. Didnt answer your question did i haha.

Tomoko Schum · Aug 9, 2019

I suppose that the older, longer stuff is very tough to chew on. It obviously like young tender thing. You can help the sea hare by taking out the tough old algae manually yourself. You might also consider adding a pink short spine sea urchin. They are dynamic duo when it comes to eradicating hair algae.

Davethej - I cannot tell you how long the sea hare will live after your green hair algae is gone. When your tank is clean, you can share it with another fellow reefer.