Sea Hare (Maybe). Can you ID?

[Jeff_H]

Hello all,

I was moving a couple of emerald crabs from QT to the main tank today and while I was looking for them, I found the following creature. After some Internet searching, I think it is a sea hare since it has four horns on the head, but I'm not positive. It is about 3 inches in length.

- Does anyone know what type of sear hare it is, assuming it is one?
- Is it a friend or foe?
- Would it be a good complement to the CUC in a 150 gallon?

As a side note - This goes to show how important it is to use a QT. All the rock in the QT stared dry and I dipped and scrubbed all the coral and plugs that I added. It might have snuck in on one of two clams I added, but I scrubbed the Shells as well. It's crazy what can get through the process even when you try to take the right precautions.

 

[Lovemyreef2015]

Looks like a Polyclad flatworm. They can feed on clams, snails and small inverts. I would remove it and keep an eye out for more.

 

[Jeff_H]

Lovemyreef2015,

Thanks for the response!

I agree it resembles a Polyclad flatworm, but I can clearly see four horns on the one I captured. Looking at polyclad flatworm pictures on the Internet I don't see four horns. Either way, it's not going back in either tank. I do want to get a positive ID though since I'm wondering if there are more or if it has laid eggs.

I just reached my 45 day QT period and was planning to move several corals and a maxima clam today. The interesting thing is early on something munched on one of the torch coral heads, I've lost 9 peppermint shrimp and one emerald crab with no signs of the exoskeletons. That said - I have three trochus snails and the maxima clam all doing fine.

 

[Jose Mayo]

It looks Jorunna sp, to me, maybe Jorunna alisonae, a nudibranch that feeds on sponges.

Regards

 

[Jeff_H]

Jose Mayo,

Thnka for your post. The coloration is very close, but in your picture, I think I can see gills or cerata on the back half. The individual I have does not appear to have this. Also, my original picture doesn't show it well, but there are four horns on the front. Here is a better angle of the headshot with the horns. Like I mentioned earlier, I think I'm not going to keep it in either tank, but if it was a sea hare, I might give it to the LFS, plus I wouldn't need to worry about eggs or others in my QT.

 

[Jose Mayo]

Yes, you are right; in this angle of vision, and by the face, it seems to be Aplysia californica, but very badly fed:

 

[Jeff_H]

Jose, it does look very close to the Aplysia californica. I will say if it is, it had plenty of hair algae to eat in the QT so I don't know why it would be under fed. I did a very close inspection when everything went into QT and dipped the frags twice. There is no way something this size made it past me so whatever it is, it has been growing for the past 45 days. The only place where it could have hitchhiked in is possible on the maxima clam. I say this because it was the only thing that didn't get dipped. I decided to put it in a container with small holes in the lid and put it back in the QT. I also but a piece of nori and a small bit of Hikari clam in there to see if it will eat something tonight. Maybe that will help ID it.

Thanks again for your response.

 

[Neo Jeo]

I had a sea hair long long ago. It inked in my tank and I had a full tank crash.

 

[Jose Mayo]

Jose, it does look very close to the Aplysia californica. I will say if it is, it had plenty of hair algae to eat in the QT so I don't know why it would be under fed. I did a very close inspection when everything went into QT and dipped the frags twice. There is no way something this size made it past me so whatever it is, it has been growing for the past 45 days. The only place where it could have hitchhiked in is possible on the maxima clam. I say this because it was the only thing that didn't get dipped. I decided to put it in a container with small holes in the lid and put it back in the QT. I also but a piece of nori and a small bit of Hikari clam in there to see if it will eat something tonight. Maybe that will help ID it.

Thanks again for your response.

What I meant is that the animal, if it is Aplysia californica, as it seems to be by the face, is very emaciated, as if it were not eating or was coming from a place where it had nothing to eat ... or as if it were sick . But only time and observation will tell us.

Regards

 

[Jeff_H]

Jose, I understand, I was just doing a poor job of communicating it could be a juvenile. If it eats hair algae, it had an all you could eat buffet for the past 45 days which can explain the 3" size it is now. Also, I think the only way it could have made it past my screening process is it must have been very small. I gave the clam a really good exam for pyramid snails and the one frag plug that I kept when through 2x coral dip and a fierce round with the toothbrush. I would assume the dips and toothbrush would have killed it if it came in on the plug, but who knows.

I hope it decides to eat tonight and we will get closer to a positive ID. For what it's worth, I'm hoping you're right so I don't have to start the QT process over.

 

[Kamden Uelton]

It's a Dwarf Seahare they are very common in Florida... He shouldn't get larger than 4 inches.

 

[Kamden Uelton]

Scientific Name is Dolabrifera dolabrifera

 

[Jeff_H]

Kamden,

Thanks for your replies. I agree it does look like a sea hare. I assume their color will reflect the color of what it eats which might explain the different colors in the pictures I've seen. The QT had a ton of brownish hair algae this is an almost exact match for it's color.

 

[cristata.reef]

+1 Dolabrifera dolabrifera. Common in tropical waters worldwide. Aplysia californica has a smooth almost slippery body with streaks of white and/or reddish-brown (several phenotypes). He shouldn't cause you too much trouble aside from maybe leaving slime on the glass and rocks. Color is not a result of their diet. D. dolabrifera also has several phenotypes inckuding red, black, grey, and varying shades of brown.

 

[Jeff_H]

All,

Thanks for the feedback and helping me to get a positive ID. I was also able to confirm (again) with someone I know who is a Marine Biologist and it appears to be Dolabrifera dolabrifera. I'm going to be adding it to the Display as part of the CUC.

 

[newreefguyy]

All,

Thanks for the feedback and helping me to get a positive ID. I was also able to confirm (again) with someone I know who is a Marine Biologist and it appears to be Dolabrifera dolabrifera. I'm going to be adding it to the Display as part of the CUC.

Hey don't mean to Necro but how was it? Im asking cuz I'm thinking of getting one of these for my CUC