Sea Bunnies. Good idea or bad?

[traderdan]

I just got back from my lfs and they had a sea bunny. They said they are a good algae eater and are reef safe. They also told me that they don't release any toxins if the die. I was wondering if this was true and if it would be recommended for a 24gal nano.
Thanks

 

[GTR]

They do a good job but I doubt you can keep it alive very long in a 24g tank. If the algae grows faster than it can eat it IMO you have serious water quality issues in the tank.

About the longest I've kept them is 6 months or so.

SteveU

 

[fishyvet]

If it's the same thing as a sea hare than it can release toxins. I had one for a time and really liked it but it kept knocking everything over plus it was not a good algea eater. They can get pretty large. Here's a pic of mine.

 

[greenbean36191]

If it's the same thing as a sea hare than it can release toxins.

That's has been assumed for a long time, but testing seems to show that isn't the case. Some species are reportedly toxic if they or their eggs are eaten, but that's about it.

I think to really answer your question better we need to know more about the slug in question. There are about 35 different species of sea hare, all of which have different diets and behavior. Most you see in the hobby are Dolabella like in fishyvet's picture, but all of the slugs I've seen sold as "sea bunnies" have been different species with very different needs.

If the slug isn't the one in the picture above, have a look through the "Aplysoidea" here and see if you find something similar: http://www.seaslugforum.net/specieslist.cfm