Sea Hare?

[Gary Ellis]

I put a Sea Hare in my tank to eat some algae and read that they can release a purple dye when threatened. Should I be concerned about this? Everyone seems to recommend these for green hair algae control.

 

[P-Dub]

I put a Sea Hare in my tank to eat some algae and read that they can release a purple dye when threatened. Should I be concerned about this? Everyone seems to recommend these for green hair algae control.

Don't know for certain just how effective they are for hair algae per se' but yes, they can release toxins. Sometimes not even if threatened but stressed as well.

 

[D4jack]

I have 1. It cleared my tank of algae in a couple weeks. I'm looking for someone who needs it now. I had to put it in the sump After it kept knocking rocks over. They get big too. Up to 16 inches I believe. I haven't had any inking issues but would recommend having plenty of fresh carbon and salt on hand if you keep one.

 

[Marc2952]

I put a Sea Hare in my tank to eat some algae and read that they can release a purple dye when threatened. Should I be concerned about this? Everyone seems to recommend these for green hair algae control.

I had a sea hare that got stuck in a pump a while ago and threw the ink in my tank, doesnt really affect anything, i do always run carbon though so maybe thats why.

 

[Sdot]

I had a sea hare that got stuck in a pump a while ago and threw the ink in my tank, doesnt really affect anything, i do always run carbon though so maybe thats why.

This... i had the same issue and nothing happened.

 

[KWT]

I rented one from the lfs recently. 2 weeks ate most of my gha, there are a few nuns left that I know will grow back. Another trip to the rental yard. Lol. Did not have a single issue with it what do ever, just did not want it to starve and did not want to keep it too long. It never inked the whole time, including catching and bagging for return.

 

[Gary Ellis]

Are they nocturnal? I never see mine.

 

[PR_nano]

How did it work out for you Gary? I picked one today and trying to gauge how long it might take to clear the GHA. Tank is only 20 gallon but after dosing potassium (ICP came as half the recommended level) GHA exploded. Po4 w Hanna URL has been stable at .054 and NO3 w Nyos at 1 want to bump to 5-12 but with the hair algae out of control I'm hesitant. I do plan to take the Hare back to the LFS for credit.

 

[Sarcazian]

Just a question, are you guys getting big hares (6-8+ inches) or smaller ones?

It has been many years, but I tried buying two for two different tanks (both died in 2-3 months) and neither of them seemed to put a dent in my HA. They were huge though.

PS. No HA issues atm, just curious if little ones are now old and work better.

 

[sfin52]

I put a Sea Hare in my tank to eat some algae and read that they can release a purple dye when threatened. Should I be concerned about this? Everyone seems to recommend these for green hair algae control.

No. No concern. The purple dye is not toxic. I had one turn my tank purple absolutely no die off and I never did a water change. Be prepared for the skimmer to go nuts

 

[sfin52]

Don't know for certain just how effective they are for hair algae per se' but yes, they can release toxins. Sometimes not even if threatened but stressed as well.

I've had several die in my tank nothing is effected. I've never seen them release toxins. I killed one moving rocks and it never released toxins.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Ive had several and even one was attacked by unknown mantis shrimp. No ink- no threats.
It may or may not eat hair algae depending on thickness of the strands. Other cleaners that will or Should deal with hair algae are : Blue Leg hermits, Cerith snails, Chitons, Turbo grazers, Conchs, Emerald Crabs, Urchins andastrea snails

 

[PR_nano]

The one I got today is around 2" which I guess is small but already working. Reminded me of the Turbo but they became lazy and spend the times in the backwall vs clearing the rock. Lights out, I can get better pics in the morning.

 

[JumboShrimp]

Ones that I have had have tended to be short-lived (under 6 months), but algae-eating powerhouses!

 

[sfin52]

Ones that I have had have tended to be short-lived (under 6 months), but algae-eating powerhouses!

If you can keep algea growing in the tank and you get them really small 1yr to just a tad over. Thats the longest I got mine to live

 

[Gary Ellis]

How did it work out for you Gary? I picked one today and trying to gauge how long it might take to clear the GHA. Tank is only 20 gallon but after dosing potassium (ICP came as half the recommended level) GHA exploded. Po4 w Hanna URL has been stable at .054 and NO3 w Nyos at 1 want to bump to 5-12 but with the hair algae out of control I'm hesitant. I do plan to take the Hare back to the LFS for credit.

He dies in 3 days.. don't know why, I've had fish for 3 years since I started my tank.

 

[BloopFish]

You kind of have to poke them a bit for them to even ink. They also get desensitized or run out of ink. Long time ago I looked into my 55g tank outside and saw a huge sea hare crawling on my powerhead, not really sure how that got there. It must have came in a piece of seaweed I collected at one point and came in as a tiny pin sized individual, but that thing devoured the algae and grew so quickly. After a while, I actually never saw it again, presumably the tank ran out of algae for it to eat (which is quite odd, because it gets full sunlight and never got a water change and was basically an algae factory). I am assuming the sea hare died, but nothing else seemed to die in conjunction to it - perhaps their toxins are simply bad tasting and not too toxic. I would definitely not put them in nano tanks though, just in case. They are odd fellas, you'll see them making a sort of sea slug train, butt to face, when its breeding season for them. They are so common, especially during certain time of the year, and I absolutely hate the look and feel of them when I encounter them... some of them look like slimy vomit.

If you are worried, just always be running carbon and your skimmer - that would minimize the damage.

 

[sfin52]

He dies in 3 days.. don't know why, I've had fish for 3 years since I started my tank.

Most of the time they are starving before they reach us. If its been sitting at the lfs for more than a few days I pass. the exception is if its sitting in with a bunch of algea.

 

[Bubba002]

I have 1. It cleared my tank of algae in a couple weeks. I'm looking for someone who needs it now. I had to put it in the sump After it kept knocking rocks over. They get big too. Up to 16 inches I believe. I haven't had any inking issues but would recommend having plenty of fresh carbon and salt on hand if you keep one.

What do you want for him

 

[Windywakefield]

I've read from others that Dolabellas don't really ink. My guy is about 3 inches, and he cleaned a 20 gallon of all the GHA in maybe 2 weeks. Right now I have a few macros in the tank with him, I'm hoping he will take to them.