Another Sea Hare Thread

[J. Montgomery]

My tank has been overtaken with hair algae and all my attempts to rid it through water changes, etc . . . have been unsuccessful. So I bought three sea hares from Reef2go, based out of FL. The sea hares showed up looking good, but for the past few days they've been more concerned with laying eggs than eating hair algae . . .

So my questions are:
1. Can anyone id this particular species of sea hare?
2. Is this a bad signs that they're going to lay eggs and die soon thereafter?

 

[greenbean36191]

They're Bursatella leachii. Yes, they are probably going to die soon. Usually when this species shows up in the hobby it's around the time of year they gather in shallow water to breed and die. The facts that these are large individuals and they're laying eggs doesn't bode well for them.

 

[J. Montgomery]

ugh . . . . thanks, Greenbean.

I was paranoid about that before I even placed the order Could you point me in the direction of what species of sea hare doesn't fall into the category of "shallow water breeder about to die"?

Or more importantly, a reputable online store that carries them?

 

[greenbean36191]

Most sea hare species do that. However, this is about the only one collectors seem to really capitalize on the phenomenon with. I'm guessing it's probably because the aggregations return to the same areas year after year, whereas other species don't.

Almost any sea hare you get will be short lived though. In general, sea slugs only live about a year or so, so if you buy an adult you should only expect it to live for a few more months. Dolabella auricularia is at least one exception. They can live for at least 2 years in the wild and up to 5 in captivity. Most online retailers that carry slugs have this species, though they're often mislabeled as Aplysia. Have a look at some of the pictures here so you know what you're looking for: http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet.cfm?base=dolaauri

 

[J. Montgomery]

:thumbsup:

Thanks

 

[J. Montgomery]

Just for a quick update . . . all three sea hares died within a few days of laying eggs.

 

[redfishsc]

If I were in your shoes, I'd be calling the place you got them from .


See if greenbean can put you onto some documented evidence that these things come in shallow to spawn and then die.

If they don't suggest doing something to make it up to you,
politely (I do mean politely) tell them that you will not do business with them anymore since you must consider them to be unethical in their practice.

FWIW, selling an animal that is going to die a natural death (when it's predictable like this) is unethical by leaps and bounds. If the distributor was unaware of this situation, provide them with whatever you find documenting their life cycle.

Ask them what they plan to do about it. Be assertive but polite--- I've gone out of my way to work with companies in situations like this (in and out of our hobby) and as often as not, they appreciate the input and might give a credit.