sea hare toxin?

[alliecat]

im having a friend loan me his sea hare because hes starving in his tank and at the moment... my tank is pretty much an all you can eat buffet for one of those guys lol... should i be worried about the "ink" toxin they release? is there a right/wrong way to acclimate these guys? how toxic is this stuff really? hes going in my 55 reef.

 

[Mike J.]

A disclaimer on Live Aquaria.com. "Caution: This species secretes or releases toxins when stressed or injured that may kill fish in the aquarium. LiveAquaria.com cannot accept responsibility for any loss that may occur should this animal poison the aquarium." You should acclimate them slowly - like any other invertebrate. They are great algae eaters, but different species eat different algae. You should probably look up the care requirements for your specific species.

 

[3Twinklets]

Seahares are great at removing algae. They only "Ink" if they are being attacked or disturbed much as a skunk would. I have had them in the past, and have seen them do it on occasion, with no harm to my fish.
They consume large amounts of algae and can grow quite large, so they can die of starvation if not fed when algae supplies are depleted.

 

[alliecat]

yea im only borrowing him because i have a friend that is having that very problem, cleaned his tank and its starving now. im borrowing it for a week or so, then giving it back and maybe his algae will grow. i have a friendly valentini puffer that doesnt bother my snails or crabs... hopefully he wont pose as a problem

 

[Reefing Madness]

I had one awhile back, didnt' have any issues with him either. Neat lil dudes also.

 

[alliecat]

im around all night tonight anyway... if puff does act up ill move either puff or the hare to my 20 until i can give the hare back

 

[alliecat]

just an update: so far my puffer really doesnt care (as he usually is with corals and other inverts) and I LOVE THIS SEA HARE IT IS AN EATING MACHINE OMG!!!!!!!! :bigsmile:

 

[Reefing Madness]

 

[Sbednar90]

Mine just inked a ton in my 100 gallon tank so i did a 20 gallon water change. ‍ I was just trying to move him a little because I have a ton of hair algea on top of my rock but he never gets up there.