Alternat food for sea hares?

[Anonymous]

Hey guys,
Looking to find an atlernate food source for my sea hares. They have eaten all the hair aglea in the tank, and are now feeding on some weird algea on the sand that is almost gone now too.

I put a small bunch of prolifera in the tank a couple days ago, but they don't seem to interested in it. I don't think that they've touched any chaeto either. Looking to keep these guys alive and have a 10g set up and ready to go for them to move into, if I can figure something out for a food source.

Ideas and suggestions welcome.

 

[Anonymous]

Hey guys,
Looking to find an atlernate food source for my sea hares. They have eaten all the hair aglea in the tank, and are now feeding on some weird algea on the sand that is almost gone now too.

I put a small bunch of prolifera in the tank a couple days ago, but they don't seem to interested in it. I don't think that they've touched any chaeto either. Looking to keep these guys alive and have a 10g set up and ready to go for them to move into, if I can figure something out for a food source.

Ideas and suggestions welcome.

Do you have any idea what genus and species of Anaspidea you have? They feed soley on macroalgae so trying to feed them sponge (Porifera) wont work. Try filamentous algaes or sea grasses (turtle grass), you may have to grow algae specifically for them in another tank or see if your LFS can supply you with algae covered rocks. Or set up a dedicated tank for them with lousy lights to promote algae growth.

Regards,
David Mohr

 

[Anonymous]

I believe them to be Dolabrifera dolabrifera, which I found here
http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet.cfm?base=doladola
I was thinking that since it isn't interested in the caluerpa prolifera, maybe I could put rock rubble in some salt water out side in the sun. I got some red something that comes in with cleaner shrimp and put that in the tank and also picked up some toasted sea weed. I'll try to do anything at this point. I'm even hopeful that the build off tank grows some hair soon 8O

David the tank that has been set up for them, does have lousey light. And other than a little tiny bit of some red algea, nothing is growing in there.

 

[doublette]

I have one in my tank which I believe to be Dolabella auricularia. A wonderful cleaner, but we too ran into the problem of what do we feed it now? Someone else told me they feed their's the algae wafers like you feed to fresh water plecos. We tried it since we always have them on hand, and our sea hare will eat them. I place a couple of wafers in front him two or three times a week. It will even pick over the feeding rock I attached nori to for our tang. It has been seven months since we bought it, so far so good.

 

[Anonymous]

Hey guys,
Looking to find an atlernate food source for my sea hares. They have eaten all the hair aglea in the tank, and are now feeding on some weird algea on the sand that is almost gone now too.

I put a small bunch of prolifera in the tank a couple days ago, but they don't seem to interested in it. I don't think that they've touched any chaeto either. Looking to keep these guys alive and have a 10g set up and ready to go for them to move into, if I can figure something out for a food source.

Ideas and suggestions welcome.

Do you have any idea what genus and species of Anaspidea you have? They feed soley on macroalgae so trying to feed them sponge (Porifera) wont work. Try filamentous algaes or sea grasses (turtle grass), you may have to grow algae specifically for them in another tank or see if your LFS can supply you with algae covered rocks. Or set up a dedicated tank for them with lousy lights to promote algae growth.

Regards,
David Mohr

Dave, I think she meant she tried to feed Caulerpa prolifera algae and the hare wouldn't eat it.

 

[Anonymous]

doublette, that's one gnarly looking sea hare you got there, thanks for the suggestion! And I do have some spirulina algea tablets, I'll through one in on the usual feeding trail and see what happens.

Law, Plaeeeze edit your post to "she", don't want ppl getting the wrong idea :lol:

 

[Mihai]

Sally,

if the algae wafers don't do the trick you may try some nori.
To encourage algae growth do lots of bad things: overfeed the tank, don't use a skimmer, etc, etc .

M.

 

[Anonymous]

doublette, that's one gnarly looking sea hare you got there, thanks for the suggestion! And I do have some spirulina algea tablets, I'll through one in on the usual feeding trail and see what happens.

Law, Plaeeeze edit your post to "she", don't want ppl getting the wrong idea :lol:

pure typo on my part.....sorry!

 

[Anonymous]

Darn it Mihai, that's the last thing I want to do! I put 2 wafers in this morning, and the stinking clarkii stole one!! Wonder what she's gonna do with it? "Pose some Ulva would work?

I know the hares are eatting because they are pooping. I waited so long to get these things, only to have them eat their selves out of house and home if a few short weeks. <hangs head> will keep trying to find a anternate food source.

I know, I could rent them out!!!! :wink:

 

[Mihai]

The "algae" waffers have some algea in them. If you look at the ingredients you'll see that they have lots of other things that an omnivorous (even carnivorous) fish would love to eat. In my freshwater planted tank angels and betta (both considered carnivorous) eat wafers like nothing!

That's why I suggested the nori.

My tank is pretty clean right now - between a yellow tang and an army of stomatella and limpets nothing gets overlooked.

Good luck, keep us posted.
Mihai

 

[Anonymous]

Hey Mihai,
Is Nori the same as "toasted seaweed"? I got some (sushi party)yesterday, but they haven't found it yet. Oh, if I ever figure something out, I'll let everyone know about it in ALL CAPS no less :lol:

 

[gatorracer]

Sounds like you should send them to Rob who has been battling his hair algae problem.

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah, I was thinking about that too! I just don't trust my shipping skills w/ live animals.

 

[Rikko]

I've got one too and he's becoming more and more active during the day now that the hair algae is gone.. I've tried nori several times but when I place it near him he flees from it (well, yeah) and when I left it on a piece of LR I've yet to see him eating it. I don't know if he gets to it during the night (when I check in a few times during the night he's never near it) but it does disappear.

 

[Mihai]

Yeah, nori is toasted seaweed, but it seems that Rikko didn't have any luck with it. However, at your local asian market you'll find *lots* of seaweeds, some really looking like hair algae, some even fresh (both for cheap). You can try with those if you think they're starving.

M.

 

[Phil D]

Try Japanese Nori you find in the Asian-food section of your local supermarket. It is 100% natural and all algae eaters love it.
I even managed to keep a juvenile Moorish Idol alive on it for long enough till it started eating pellet food.
Just soak the Nori in fresh-water first (for about 30 min), before putting it in your tank

 

[sediener]

Just soak the Nori in fresh-water first (for about 30 min), before putting it in your tank

what is the reason for this? Wash off additives or just to loosen it up for the fish?

- steve

 

[Phil D]

Nori will hydrate faster in fresh water and if it leaches out anything you can avoid adding this to your tank.