Sea Hare

petunia · 03-22-2007, 01:13 PM

CarmieJo has one...

does anyone else?

I am very interested in getting one of these. Does anyone have an online store that they would recommend? Or, would it be a critter that I should buy from the LFS?

Any experience and input on the Sea Hare would be greatly appreciated.

P.S. Thanks CarmieJo!

iglowce · 03-22-2007, 05:24 PM

i heard they contain toxic material and when they died, it could pollute the tank.

i personally wouldnt get one because of the look.

its great for hair-algae clean up. =]

**Seahorsedreams** · 03-22-2007, 06:04 PM

I LOVE the look of the sea hare. Awesome critters. They can be nice to share because once the algae is gone they will starve. I loved ours.

**CarmieJo** · 03-23-2007, 01:14 AM

They are in the so ugly it's cute. I got mine from the LFS. They are pretty short lived, maybe a year or so. Mind died but it did not foul the tank. It never inked either.

**Seahorsedreams** · 03-23-2007, 01:20 AM

Mine didn't harm the tank either when it died.

Reefbaby · 03-23-2007, 08:15 AM

I thought this article had some interesting information regarding Sea Hares.

petunia · 03-24-2007, 01:48 PM

thanks everyone.

that WAS an insteresting article Christi... thanks much.

petunia · 03-24-2007, 03:11 PM

is a thirty gallon tank big enough? do you feed your hare Caulerpa?

JayBeDriften · 03-25-2007, 01:31 AM

Hello Petunia, Sea Hares are awesome little creatures. Their ugliness also adds to their cuteness. They are extremely short lived animals and I personally feel they should only be added to an aquarium in circumstances where you have an algae problem that is out of control and want a natural way to get rid of it and then hand it off to a friend who also has an algae problem.

If you still choose to keep this animal in your reef then here are my suggestion it is best that you attempt to at least purchase a minimum of three from your local pet store. They only live for about one year and their are no determining factors for age so this will give you a chance to have them breed. Since they breed in a line you have a 2 out of 3 change that they will mate and lay their yellow eggs in your tank.

As for foods supplementation I would recommend daily feeding of algae sheet since they are voracious eaters. Anything else would be cruelty in my eyes. Since you have a 30 gallon tank it may be a bit cramped depending on your aqua scaping so I leave the choice of purchasing these animals to you.

petunia · 03-26-2007, 12:22 PM

thanks for the info jay.

i do have an algae problem and i think this is a good way to get it under control. all the lfs recommend some type of additives. i don't like to add those to my tank unless it something that is beneficial, such as iodine or calcium.

I was wondering if they would eat the algae sheet. Thanks for that info... trying to keep caulerpa for feeding would really be a pain.

Next time that I get to the Twin Cities in Minnesota, I'm going to see if they have one.

How long would you all recommend for acclimation? And, any certain method you would recommend?

Reefbaby · 03-26-2007, 02:02 PM

yes, they will eat Nori sheets

**CarmieJo** · 03-27-2007, 12:19 AM

I drip acclimated mine for a couple of hours.

saxman · 03-27-2007, 07:33 PM

there's a frilly seahare that has bright blue spots...my daughter's LFS had them a few weeks ago...VERY cool-looking.