Dwarf Blue Spot Sea Hare and flow...

[hikarishadow]

I just purchased a blue spot sea hare last night after wanting one for quite some time (a problem of availability). I did my homework and "baby-proofed" my powerheads (a modded maxijet and little koralia).

When I dropped the little cutie in, he seemed just fine and happy and nomming the algae eagerly. The problem now is that he can't seem to grip onto the sand or rocks well enough not to be rolled over and tumble away. I know that my maxijet is about 1400gph with the smaller prop from the mod kit pointed midlevel, but that being my main circulation in a 75 gallon, I don't consider it to be a whole lot.

As of this morning, he was huddled up against a rock on the sandbed where he couldn't be blown away and had been there since last night when I went to bed.

Is this a normal problem? Should I move him to another tank that's nearly stagnant or will he adapt?

I've had nassarius snails, turbos, a cowrie, and a lettuce nudi do just fine in similar flow. Perhaps the hare was exhausted after the 3 hour trip home?

I'm most interested in what's best for him.

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[greenbean36191]

A couple of things could be going on.

First, these slugs aren't adapted to strong water flow. You usually find them on sandy bottoms in lagoons and bays. Being unable to hold on in 1400 gph wouldn't be a big surprise.

Second, the reason they're often unavailable is that they're mostly collected when they form seasonal spawning aggregations. They come together in the shallows by the thousands, which makes them easy pickings for collectors. Unfortunately, most of these slugs in the aggregations die shortly thereafter, so hobbyists that buy slugs collected this way are buying animals on the verge of death.

 

[hikarishadow]

Wow! Thank you, greenbean, for all the insight! I'm hopin that since my hare is pretty small, it's still young. However, I realize that size on these guys is a very relative thing. Mine is only about 1.5" long, but so very fat.

I miswrote previously: The powerhead is actually situated midlevel and pointed up and I'm just beginning to wonder if that may be why there's such algae on the sand.

I'm sorry to ask more from you, but would you suggest moving the hare or lettin him remain?