Seahare concerns...

[rhodan]

I just received a new seahare to battle an algae problem. But once he was acclimated, he was moving really slow. Once I added him to the tank several blue legged hermits and some snails immediately surrounded him and he has not moved since, and the numbers of hermits and snails are increasing. Should I be concerned and remove him at once or is he just the life of the party and making new "friends"?

 

[ralph atl]

<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">ok, I hope you took the time to acclimate the slug. They are very sensitive to nitrates & powerheads. I would be a little concerned that he hasn't moved and crabs are surrounding him, however, they chill out a lot. Turn your lights off, & hope for the best. When he dies, he will just get bloated and float around, unless he's in your powerhead! Then, you'll know that by your water turning blue with his ink.</span></span>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">Phosphate reduction/ removal and high trates could be the answer. If you cannot get a fuge or sump (you can maybe make a "rubbermaid sump with chaeto in it for a few bucks) you can get a $35.00 hangon phosphate reactor for your tank and put some Phosar HC in there (or other). In the future, you'll most likely need a refugium with Macro algae. At first you’ll need to change your Iron based media in the phosphate reactor more often. Your media will get saturated in 2 weeks or so depending upon how much is bound up in your rocks, tank, algae, etc. Use less media, change every 2 weeks. Use a great test kit like DD Merck, Hack, Elos, or colormeter or send to AWT. If you already have a fuge & reactor, be aggressive & change the media every 2 weeks.</span></span>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">when you do your water change, take the end of the hose and suck all the algae down like a vaccum. It'll take a few water changes, but it works (especially after the phosphate remover kicks in)</span></span>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">You must export the same or more nutrients than you put in. Overfeeding, tap water, high phosphate foods, etc. Use a phosphate reactor with some phosar or ROWA or whatever, and something to lower nitrates like a fuge, AZNO3, or whatever. </span></span>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">check out:</span></span>
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-09/rhf/index.php"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #0000ff;">http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-09/rhf/index.php</span></span></span></a>
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[IMG]http://www.advancedaquarist.com/iss...st2003/chem.htm"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #0000ff;">http://www.advancedaquarist.com/iss...st2003/chem.htm</span></span></span></a>
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[IMG]http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #0000ff;">http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php</span></span></span></a>
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[IMG]http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-05/eb/index.php"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #0000ff;">http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-05/eb/index.php</span></span></span></a>
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[IMG]http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/august2003/chem.htm"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #0000ff;">http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/august2003/chem.htm</span></span></span></a>

 

[purplegorilla]

If he hasn't moved in 2 days from the same position, I would poke at him to see if he is still alive. I had a sea hare for like 3 wks, after he cleaned out all the hair algae he died..:sad: . He went to seahare heaven before I even get a chance to post to see if anyone on here needed him.

 

[rhodan]

He did acclimated for with a slow drip for about 2 to 3 hours I guess. It was long enough I cut grass and took a shower and put my kids to bed. But he was moving very slow. I will check when I get home tonight and hopefully all is well.

mysterybox - I have fuge in my basement with chaeto and I have already cut back my lights and feeding schdule. The water changes are my next big adventure. I'm trying to collect as much water as possible and have it sitting ready to go. Right now I have a 39 gallon trash ready with a powerhead in it "stirring up the pot" and I'm thinking of getting another 39 gallon can on my way home this evening. But that may have to wait until tomorrow. I think my filters in my RO unit may have reached their end, so I want to replace them before I do anything else. Thanks for the links they were very useful, a lot of reading, but also some nice charts that can printed and kept as a quick reference.

I just hope the little seahare is alright and just needed some alone time.

 

[geno]

I just posted my experience today with my sea hare.

I purchased him a few months ago -- he went to work immediately on the algae (no problem with crabs or snails as you mentioned) -- today he died -- probably from hunger. He did such a good job there just wasn't enough to sustain him. For me, it was an important lesson in properly caring for live stock

Watch him carefully -- my understanding is that they can completely crash a tank if they die and you don't find them.

 

[skriz]

They have a tendancy to randomly die. They stink when they die, so get him out quick if that's the case!

Mine nuked my house, not my tank. We had to leave for a few hours and vent the house out...disgusting!

 

[geno]

I was fortunate when mined died -- he was right at the front of the tank in a ball in the corner -- I got him out before he did any damage.

 

[rhodan]

Well it's over....Little guy didn't make it. He was floating around across the front. So I guess today I'll scrape the sides myself and have a garden hose pull out as much as possible.

Thanks everone for your help.