Sea hare laid eggs!!

milkton

New member
My seahare laid some eggs that i find disgusting. My question is that they wont hatch without a male fertilizing them right? Also, what triggered this to happen? I had this seahare for abouth a month or 2 now, i have plenty of hair algae in the tank and my water conditions are good but i do have some phosphates (given the reason for the hare). Is it because its about to die so it laid eggs as a last resort to radiate the species?

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IIRC, some species of sea hare complete their life cycle by migrating into the shallows to spawn (sort of like salmon). That makes them easy targets for collectors. By the time they get to your tank they're pretty much wiped out . . . :(

I've had this happen more times that I'd like to admit to myself.
 
Your sea hare is both male and female, although I'm pretty sure it can not self-fertilize. Some slugs can carry sperm and lay fertile eggs at a later time; not knowing what species of sea hare you have, I can't even venture to say whether your hare's eggs could possibly be fertile or not. Many people eat sea hare eggs, so they can't be that gross.

Someone on here had a hare who laid eggs for months before dying (I assume it eventually died), so it isn't a given that your hare will die soon, but often in nature hares are seen in large breeding groups and then there is large die off. It is believed that many of the animals have a life span of about a year, but perhaps the trip to the breeding groups is stressful, or many go without feeding during breeding (or there is a lack of food.) You will just have to wait and see. Your hare will do no more damage in your tank when it dies than any other animal of the same size -- it is not toxic.
 
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